Newly Certified and Limitations?

[banff50]

Hello,

I am almost finished with my OW course.

I will be traveling to Cozumel in a month and am wondering/concerned about three things:

1. Drift diving for the first time
2. Going deeper than 60' feet (a lot of the dive operations seem to do dives in the 80' range?)
3. Am considering whether to do a night dive (a very easy night dive hopefully) since it will be a full moon

Any advice?

 

[Diver0001]

Hello,

I am almost finished with my OW course.

I will be traveling to Cozumel in a month and am wondering/concerned about three things:

1. Drift diving for the first time
2. Going deeper than 60' feet (a lot of the dive operations seem to do dives in the 80' range?)
3. Am considering whether to do a night dive (a very easy night dive hopefully) since it will be a full moon

Any advice?

I'm not clear about why you're concerned.

Are you concerned because you'd like to try those things but you're not sure you're up to it or are you concerned because you'd like avoid those things and you're worried that once you get on a boat you won't have any options?

if it's the first, then I'd consider taking the AOW course before you go, making sure that you take drift as one of the options. If you're leaving in a month, you have the time.

If it's the second, it's a matter of being assertive with the operator.

R..

 

[fisherdvm]

I would say the danger is on the top. Try to find your group first, before you surface. If you get lost, you often can find another group to join, and surface just above the second group. Then board their dive boat which might be near by. There are too much boat traffic on the surface in Coz, and they are constantly moving with their engine on, and off, due to the current.

You might want to email the different operators, and see if the larger ones have dives for beginners which might be more shallow. My concern with beginners is running out of air before the rest of the group. Many DM will not end a dive, and will tell you to surface. Just make sure you fin hard enough to stay above the main group, so your dive boat will not hit you. They focus only on the main group's bubbles when trying to keep up in the current.

There is a thread called "wisdom boat dive" that has alot of good ideas from different divers. Reading it will gain you good info that you might or might not get in a boat dive class.

Make sure you bring along a small dive light as a back up on the night dive, and rent the main one from your dive operator. In case you have to surface early, and your light fail, you are less likely to get hit if you had a working light.

Eventhough it is against the local law to wear gloves, I would recommend a beginner to don one. The DM loves to lead you through dive through. While it is tempting to avoid them, and swim overhead, some locations the currents are very strong and will sweep you away. If you want to avoid the swim through, the gloves will let you grab on to rocks and DEAD corals at the bottom to remain stationary util your group finish. Gloves are nice to hang on so you can see many interesting sea creatures pointed out by the DM. You can grab with bare hand, but have to accept little cuts.

 

[fisherdvm]

Drift diving is very relaxing. Just make sure you don't dawdle too much, as some DM likes to show off their stamina, and see how many old geezers will have a heart attack keeping up. As a beginner, you and your buddy should stay close to the DM, so you don't burn air trying to chase after him/her. It is easy to get lost and accidently join the wrong group... By then, give up, don't try to find your DM, as he is long gone in that 3 to 6 MPH current. If you board the wrong boat (got lost), make sure you know the name of your boat - imprint it in your memory, I see them swapping passenger all the time... They have radio that can call one another. It is impossible for you to surface and find your boat, and very unsafe for a single diver to swim in this pond filled with moving motor boats.

 

[spectrum]

Hello,

I am almost finished with my OW course.

I will be traveling to Cozumel in a month and am wondering/concerned about three things:

1. Drift diving for the first time
2. Going deeper than 60' feet (a lot of the dive operations seem to do dives in the 80' range?)
3. Am considering whether to do a night dive (a very easy night dive hopefully) since it will be a full moon

Any advice?

Those might be nice things to try with direct supervision at the end of the trip but you have no business jumping into a current or past 60 feet or into the night until you have reasonable proficiency with the basics. From your status description I don't hear that. You are clueless about your air usage and can't hope to plan for a deep or drift dive.

I don't care what many divers do or get away with. At best these would be "trust me" dives and you will either have a great time, survive with war stories or plunder the dive site and come out traumatized. Walk before you run. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Put the night dive at the top of the list.

Pete

 

[fisherdvm]

I agree, night dive might be an information overload for a beginner, especially when you have too much surface hazards.

Look for the bigger dive operators who are more likely to have a boat assigned to beginners. There are spots in cozumel with slower currents that you should stick to. With the tourist industry at a slump in Coz, it might be hard to find one with a beginners only boat. But search, and you shall find. The beginners boat should make all divers exit at the same time when one is low on air, and that is much safer for all participants in the dive.

If you get lost, cozumel dives are always on the west side of the island. Your group is heading always to shallower water, which is east ward. East is the way to go if you are looking for your missing group. Learn to use a compass on land, so you are more comfortable with it under water.

 

[Fordan]

Best bet would be to complete an Advanced Open Water class before your trip if possible, that would get you training/experience in diving below 60' (deep is one of the required dives), and night and drift are possible elective dives. There's a decent chance depending on where you are that drift might not be offered, since local conditions may not allow it. Most dive sites, however, are subject to night conditions at least part of the time.


It may also be possible to complete on your trip, although doing skills rather than looking at the reefs may be a poor use of Cozumel wonderful environment, and the required navigation dive may be more interesting in Cozumel's currents.


Another option is to hire a private DM for at least your first day of diving in Cozumel. This is what I did, since while I had AOW, I hadn't gone very deep past 60', and we didn't cover drift. The dive op I used when I went to Cozumel suggests (and may demand) one if it's been a while since your last dive or you have very few ocean dives.


You might want to check out the Cozumel forum here on Scubaboard. It's pretty active with lots of good info.

 

[deepblueme]

Take AOW while you are there, Great way to have a private guide to show you how to dive good ol' coz.
Navigation you need.
Deep you will do.
Nite is an option along with drift and u/w naturalist/fish finder for fun.

So you get your feet wet on the first couple of days with a guide teaching you how to dive Coz then head out with some comfort and a new skill set under your weight belt and maybe even getting to see some fish that other won't.

 

[tropical]

First, you need to let the dive boat operator know that you are a new diver.

Every dive in Cozumel has some drift, and as long as your buoyancy is okay, it is not that difficult. Again, make sure the dive operator knows you are a beginner so they put you on a dive that has a slower drift.

After a few days you should become comfortable in the water and will be able to do more difficult stuff but you should not exceed 80 ft until you are very comfortable, and in Coz there is little reason to exceed 80 ft. For your first few dives, have them choose something that is shallower. There are lots of great dives in Cozumel that don't go deeper than 60 ft.

Always ask lots of questions, and you will learn a lot. If you are going to do cold water diving in the future, you should probably do the AOW in cold water, where the conditions are more demanding. You probably will not learn that much more if you do your AOW than if you just get lots of dives in while on your trip to Cozumel.

 

[Karibelle]

Any advice?

I'm no expert, but I think there's a lot of hogwash in the responses you've received.

I do agree that you need to let your operator know your experience level. Most dive ops will put like divers together. If they know you are new, they won't put you on a boat going to Devil's Throat. I disagree that the best way to do this is to ensure you are with a large boat, as has been advised. Find a smaller operation would be my suggestion.

Re drift diving - taking an AOW is a fine idea, but what if the diving in your area doesn't provide drift? like if the OP is near Banff, for example? I think that again, advising the dive op of your experience, and asking to do some of the "easier" dives will get you the drift experience. Go to Paradise; don't go to Barracuda. How on earth do you think so many people actually GET certified in Cozumel, without doing drift dives before they do their AOW?

Re night diving - I like to take newer divers out from shore for the first time, usually in front of the Caribe Blu Hotel (between there and Papa Hog's dock). Ask to have a DM with you. Go in at twilight and it will become dark while you're underneath; you won't even notice it. Until you go "Hey! I'm doing a night dive!" and I think you're on the right track wanting to do a night dive during the full moon. On a shallow dive (like the one described above which is about 22' or at Paradise which is about 43') you will see the moonlight reflect off the bottom, and it will be magical.

Oh - and don't pay much attention to the "the boats are out to get you" post (JMO). The boat operators are very aware of where the divers are in the water, and it is unlikely that you will have to get on a different boat and then swap back to your own... your boat will be there when you surface. Also, expect that when you and your buddy are LOA, you will surface. The DM will not end the dive for the entire group when the first person becomes LOA. Ascend slowly, do your safety stop and finish your dive.

Have a good time. Know your limitations and dive within them. Get extra assistance if you feel you need it; the suggestion to hire a private DM may work for you. Let your operator know what you need and expect, and then make sure you get it.


kari