Looking for operator who does advanced night diving trips in Cozumel.

[Dr. Jeff Hester]

I've been diving Cozumel regularly for 30 years, so know the area and the reefs well. While nothing would tear me away from Dive With Cristina during the day, I would also like to spend a few nights doing 2-tank night dives on more interesting parts of the reef than Paraiso and Chankana'ab. Can anyone recommend an operator? I'll be there first week in October.

 

[waterone]

I've been diving Cozumel regularly for 30 years, so know the area and the reefs well. While nothing would tear me away from Dive With Cristina during the day, I would also like to spend a few nights doing 2-tank night dives on more interesting parts of the reef than Paraiso and Chankana'ab. Can anyone recommend an operator? I'll be there first week in October.

I meant to ask, what keeps you going back to Dive with Cristina?

 

[ChuckP]

You'll be hard pressed for a two tank night dive unless you get enough people together - heck, I want to do all of Punta Sur in the dark - that'd be wild!!!

Like Henry said earlier - Robery Stansfield is doing blackwater dives and I think he does two a week - his pictures are fantastic and they have a pretty good system going on, I think this is his Facebook group: Cozumel Blackwater

heck, if anything, it's just fun to hear Robert talk, that dang Brit accent.

 

[ggunn]

You'll be hard pressed for a two tank night dive unless you get enough people together - heck, I want to do all of Punta Sur in the dark - that'd be wild!!!

Like Henry said earlier - Robery Stansfield is doing blackwater dives and I think he does two a week - his pictures are fantastic and they have a pretty good system going on, I think this is his Facebook group: Cozumel Blackwater

heck, if anything, it's just fun to hear Robert talk, that dang Brit accent.

Blackwater dive photos are all incredibly colorful; do the subjects look that way in real time, or are the photos jacked up?

 

[ggunn]

I meant to ask, what keeps you going back to Dive with Cristina?

I suspect it's like many of the rest of us - you go to Cozumel and go diving with an op someone has recommended or maybe just for convenience, you meet some people, make some friends, and every time you go back it's like you are returning home.

 

[waterone]

You'll be hard pressed for a two tank night dive unless you get enough people together - heck, I want to do all of Punta Sur in the dark - that'd be wild!!!

So how many is enough, 4, 5 or more?

 

[Dr. Jeff Hester]

I have used Bottom Time Divers for night dives and these are generally a single dive after two day dives. However, we have done a twilight and night dive for two tanks. We have done many dives on Cedral Pass, top of San Francisco wall, Santa Rosa (top), Dalila and La Francesa and Villablanca (if everyone outvotes me .) I can't say I have ever done two night dives. You would get back around 11 pm as an average. Maybe later depending on where you stay. Sunset is about 6:30 pm the first part of October.
Be good at ducking behind coral heads. Cedral pass can be fast and it's not long.

In years past, we stayed south before I lived here and Raul (DM/Owner) would come down south. Lately if we have only two divers then he stays closer to Fonatur marina due to costs which means Paraiso normally unless he has other divers staying south. Then we dive southern sites.

I can say generally on the southern reefs mentioned above, you won't see other boats/divers on night dives. We generally don't do the walls at night for unpredictable currents (the out and/or down kind). The Palancar and Colombia sites are too far for one tank dives. Your chances of going further south increase with two tanks.

I would contact him and let him know what you want and he can tell if he can accommodate you. He will most likely poll his current divers. He wouldn't go out for a single diver. On the other hand, if you pay alot, he'll go (like rent the boat).
btw San Francisco and Santa Rosa should be closed if they are maintaining the reef closure rotation in October and November. I have not seen an update to the 2020 closure list.
Not alot of people want two night dives. If any dive op has morning two tank dives, then doing two night dives makes for a long crew day.

San Francisco and Santa Rosa this October as well.

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c493ceeee175955204432b7/1612408624647-CBOIFKN1G3YPVWM716F4/Cozumel+Reef+Closures+2021.jpg

 

[Dr. Jeff Hester]

If you're down to try something a little different, Aldora offer Blackwater diving excursions:

Oceanographic Magazine - In Black Waters​

​

​

I have not done any black water diving, but not for lack of interest. Thanks for the recommendation. Other night diving aside, I'll look into it.

 

[Dr. Jeff Hester]

I meant to ask, what keeps you going back to Dive with Cristina?

I've gone out with many operators over the years. Dive with Cristina is special. We found her looking around at operators about 20 years ago. In the interest of full disclosure, after we got there we realized that we knew each other from the dark ages. She was the girlfriend of a good friend of mine in graduate school back in the early 80's. Small world, but that is not the point.

Things we like:
- A leisurely day. There is no rush to anything. Including a civilized 9:00 AM departure out of Marina Caleta.
- Small groups, mostly composed of people who, like us, found Cristina and have been diving with her ever since.
- She is good about understanding her divers and grouping them according to ability. That remains true even when it means splitting half a dozen people into two groups. It's unusual for a dive not to last at least an hour. If you are a big guy and ask, she'll happily arrange 100 cf tanks. I've seen her share her own air to avoid having to end a dive early.
- She does all she can to make the experience a pleasure all around. Last year we took our 12 year old with us. Cristina said that she would be happy to snorkel with her before we came down. After working with her for a day, Cristina said, "I think I'll do a dive experience with Christina (our daughter)." By the end of the week the "dive experience" had become Cristina and Christina more or less diving with the group. Our young one is excited about our upcoming visit, and will certainly have a leg up on her classmates when she gets certified later this year. (Clearly don't count on that. As I said, we have a very well established relationship. But it gives you a flavor.)
- Great and stable crew, so familiar and friendly faces all around.
- Lunches are homemade, fresh, and good. (That's especially true when her brother is on the boat; he's a chef.) They are also fun, at least if you enjoy snorkeling and doing cannonballs off of the top deck.
- Cristina is extremely knowledgeable about and respectful of the reef and happy to share.
- And so on. It's just a different kind of experience.

I mean to take nothing away from other operators on the island. Many are excellent. As per this post, we sometimes go out with someone else if there is a particular reason. She is not for everyone, especially if you want to get out and back as quickly as possible. But if you are in Cozumel for the diving and looking for something about as far removed from a cattle boat as can be imagined, you won't regret giving her a try. I don't know what else to say but that at this point she and the crew of La Nena are family.

My wife is an elementary school principal. For anyone interested, here is a video I put together pre-pandemic for her to share with her school:

 

[Dr. Jeff Hester]

I have used Bottom Time Divers for night dives and these are generally a single dive after two day dives. However, we have done a twilight and night dive for two tanks. We have done many dives on Cedral Pass, top of San Francisco wall, Santa Rosa (top), Dalila and La Francesa and Villablanca (if everyone outvotes me .) I can't say I have ever done two night dives. You would get back around 11 pm as an average. Maybe later depending on where you stay. Sunset is about 6:30 pm the first part of October.
Be good at ducking behind coral heads. Cedral pass can be fast and it's not long.

In years past, we stayed south before I lived here and Raul (DM/Owner) would come down south. Lately if we have only two divers then he stays closer to Fonatur marina due to costs which means Paraiso normally unless he has other divers staying south. Then we dive southern sites.

I can say generally on the southern reefs mentioned above, you won't see other boats/divers on night dives. We generally don't do the walls at night for unpredictable currents (the out and/or down kind). The Palancar and Colombia sites are too far for one tank dives. Your chances of going further south increase with two tanks.

I would contact him and let him know what you want and he can tell if he can accommodate you. He will most likely poll his current divers. He wouldn't go out for a single diver. On the other hand, if you pay alot, he'll go (like rent the boat).
btw San Francisco and Santa Rosa should be closed if they are maintaining the reef closure rotation in October and November. I have not seen an update to the 2020 closure list.
Not alot of people want two night dives. If any dive op has morning two tank dives, then doing two night dives makes for a long crew day.

I'm very interested. How do we start the conversation for real? Contact info for Raul? We are at El Cid, but I am perfectly happy to find my way south on land if that makes it easier on you. My pockets aren't "just rent the boat" deep, but I can certainly be flexible when forming a group. I love twilight dives, and wouldn't be averse. But the blue flurodiving light is burning a hole in my pocket... ;-)

 

[Dr. Jeff Hester]

Let me broaden the question. Several people chimed in saying they'd love to do the same thing. We make an annual trek to Cozumel. Any interest in getting a group together with an eye toward arranging some more serious night diving?