Get the DAN insurance

[ReefHound]

Not any more for me. I finally learned that in addition to it being dangerous to dive with a hangover, feeling bad because of a self inflicted malady is a stupid waste of valuable vacation time. I still enjoy a beer or two but drinking to the point where I am impaired the next day is a thing of the past for me.

I agree, but it's probably the young and inexperienced taking most of the hits.

 

[El Graduado]

I would be amazed if there were a thousand divers in the water in any given day. I doubt if all the permitted boats even have that total capacity. Christi, do you have an idea?

 

[Christi]

I would be amazed if there were a thousand divers in the water in any given day. I doubt if all the permitted boats even have that total capacity. Christi, do you have an idea?

Actually all permitted boats do have that capacity, but all permits are not "active" - on the other hand there are MANY boats out there currently operating without permits. We ran these numbers recently as part of our case for the unwarranted port closures - but I don't have them handy and I will be logging off until next year

Happy New Year everyone!

 

[BRT]

Yes, this. Hard for most people to appreciate how many divers are in the water every day in Cozumel. I would guess it's a couple thousand, but that's just a rough guess. Which means roughly a million dives per year. If you have a more detailed estimate, please share.

Also, if anyone knows how many DCS incidents happen each year on Coz, it would probably help establish that the rate of incidents per dive is no different, on average, than anywhere else.

A guy at Meridiano told me once that they filled 2000 tanks a day, but that may not be true. But they are obviously not the only air fill on the island.

 

[deepsea21]

Also, if anyone knows how many DCS incidents happen each year on Coz, it would probably help establish that the rate of incidents per dive is no different, on average, than anywhere else.

I think there are far more DCS incidents than one would like to think. Obviously no one wants to talk about it but with that many boats and that many divers there are going to be a lot of hits taken both deserved and "undeserved". The popularity of diving has grown tremendously and we've all seen "certified" divers that have made us wonder, "Where the heck did they get certified?". Most divers are not 18-22 year old Navy divers in their prime that the original dive tables were based on over years of testing and experimenting on Navy Guinea Pigs. Dive computers have built-in cushions in their algorithms - some are more conservative, some more aggressive but do they truly compensate for the physiological differences between a 20 year old Navy diver and a 50 year old diver who rides a desk 40 hours a week? I don't think so and, as such, I prefer to dive conservative. Others run themselves to the absolute NDL all the time, every dive without incident, until they have one that is. Some of you may know Chino who used to DM for Aqua Safari and then went freelance. He must be 50 years of age if I were to guess. 1000's and 1000's of dives took their toll and he lost hearing in one ear several years ago - Doctors couldn't explain why. Recently he took a hit and was told no diving for a month. Went back in and took another hit. He's now reported to be leading snorkel groups which must suck for him until he gets his nerve up to try DMing again (if the Dr. said he could even try it after enough time passes).

 

[jbjclj]

I agree, but it's probably the young and inexperienced taking most of the hits.

Don't think so! I am 74 and have over 1000 dives. I had a touch of "turistas" and took azithromycin (like cipro) that cured it, but dehydration was probably a major factor as Christi said.

 

[CajunDiva]

Don't think so! I am 74 and have over 1000 dives. I had a touch of "turistas" and took azithromycin (like cipro) that cured it, but dehydration was probably a major factor as Christi said.

Glad you are OK!

 

[scubafanatic]

A guy at Meridiano told me once that they filled 2000 tanks a day, but that may not be true. But they are obviously not the only air fill on the island.

That sounds plausible, Meridiano probably fills the vast majority of tanks consumed daily, and most Coz divers do a 2-tanker/daily package, so 2000 tanks divided by 2 tanks per person daily = 1000 daily divers in Coz.

 

[scubafanatic]

Which level DAN do you guys have? I’m a new OW diver an have been looking into it. I figured just go and get the $125 level but a local store said that for a new diver like myself who doesn’t dive tons could get away starting with the $40 version?

Not to sound snooty or anything but cheaping out on DAN insurance is NOT the place to cut cost corners.

 

[scubafanatic]

Wow hope your wife makes a full recovery. A thread like this needs to be stickied so new people see it and read it (hopefully!). I have carried DAN for years and will NEVER dive again without it. A few years ago a couple staying at my hotel had an incident where the wife had a pulmonary edema. They had NOT renewed their DAN that year as they "had never needed it before".

Hospital bill was huge! That right there convinced me to never dive without it again and never let it lapse.

Please heed the warnings and GET DAN!

There are many dive ops Requiring advance proof of DAN or similar dive insurance coverage. For example, try booking an Aggressor LOB trip without said insurance and see how far you get.