Found him ~3 miles out after an hour of searching

[ggunn]

Yes defo good idea....

Replying to the comment "I wish Cozumel dive ops would require all divers to carry a SMB. If they don't have their own, the dive op should have loaners on the boat to provide to them."

If one doesn't have an SMB and practiced deploying it I would not advise trying to inflate a loaner buoy except at the surface. Loaner SMBs should probably not have a reel or spool attached.

 

[NDL_Diver]

Replying to the comment "I wish Cozumel dive ops would require all divers to carry a SMB. If they don't have their own, the dive op should have loaners on the boat to provide to them."

If one doesn't have an SMB and practiced deploying it I would not advise trying to inflate a loaner buoy except at the surface. Loaner SMBs should probably not have a reel or spool attached.

Exactly why my SMB is on a reel and my wifes SMB is not. I practice inflating at least once a trip at depth. I tell DM before I go in the water that I will be doing it so there is no confusion.

 

[ggunn]

Exactly why my SMB is on a reel and my wifes SMB is not. I practice inflating at least once a trip at depth. I tell DM before I go in the water that I will be doing it so there is no confusion.

Same. I deploy mine often, not on every dive, necessarily, but more than half the time. I have the line marked at SS depth, and when I am weighted correctly I can get a little bit negative and hang from it like a subway rider. It gives my wife a visual reference so she doesn't have to keep checking her depth gauge.

 

[Himself]

We are of the same ilk…

I have a DSMB, a whistle, a mirror, two cutting devices and an Applewatch Ultra as my backup DC. My son/dive buddy, also has an Ultra and SMB. He tells me our Apple Watches will alert the local authorities via satellite if you initiate an emergency services call. Probably not as good as your PLB, but still more comforting than nothing.

I dive only at Cozumel. While there I have never seen any line or other obstruction that needed cutting. Perhaps I was just fortunate. Is a cutting tool recommended if one is diving only at Cozumel?

 

[Scubagermany]

I dive only at Cozumel. While there I have never seen any line or other obstruction that needed cutting. Perhaps I was just fortunate. Is a cutting tool recommended if one is diving only at Cozumel?

I would recommend having a cutting tool with you at any dive you make!

 

[jbjclj]

We had a diver get ensnared in fishing line yesterday. Took 2 of us to untangle him

 

[Dan G]

+1 for having an easy to access a cutting device on every dive. I use a trilobite cutting device with a pouch that fits around the shoulder strap on my backplate harness. Caribbean destinations that do not allow knives have no problem with these.

We had a diver get ensnared in fishing line yesterday. Took 2 of us to untangle him

In Cozumel? If so, which site? I have never seen people fishing in the park.

 

[Shawn C]

+1 for having an easy to access a cutting device on every dive. I use a trilobite cutting device with a pouch that fits around the shoulder strap on my backplate harness. Caribbean destinations that do not allow knives have no problem with these.
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In Cozumel? If so, which site? I have never seen people fishing in the park.

I've personally pulled fishing lines and hooks off the reefs in the park a few times over the years. If I logged my dives, I could tell you which reefs but... alas.

 

[Charred]

We had a diver get ensnared in fishing line yesterday. Took 2 of us to untangle him

I have a trilobite and a pair of trauma sheers on my belt. People snicker at me all the time.

There are lots of things floating in the ocean.

This stuff is trivial to carry. In fact, I use the trilo to tuck in my extra belt slack so it has a function on every dive. I'll never understand why people don't carry basic safety gear just because nothing happened on your last dive.

 

[Bookworm11]

I've never seen a dive operator that allowed a diver to dive without a buddy or to dive 20 or 30 feet above the other divers. I've dove Cozumel 5 times and the operators I've used don't require computers, but strongly suggest them. Personally, I don't ever want to dive without one. Now, as far as buddies go, some are great, some are good, some are OK and a few are awful. I travel alone, so I am at the mercy of who I get assigned to. But I always stay close and check in. I prefer it when I get to have the same one and hopefully get a good one. And I pretty much glue myself to the group.