Nortes and Port Closure

[berick]

How much wind (speed) does it usually take to close the Cozumel Port with a Norte?

 

[donooo]

It's not just the speed but the direction that the waves are hitting the mouth of the port. Christi will come in and tell you the speed. Might just be pounding waves.

adios donO

 

[Moodiejeff]

My question is:

If the port is closed, do they still allow shore dives?

 

[Christi]

How much wind (speed) does it usually take to close the Cozumel Port with a Norte?

Donoo is right. Typically, if the wind is coming directly from the west, NW, or North higher than 10 to 15mph, the port being open will be questionable. It's 100% up to the Harbor Master and we literally don't know until he gives his morning report and his subsequent reports throughout the day.

The day before Ivan got close to hitting us, the seas were absolutely flat, no wind, beautiful. He closed the port at 10am and anyone caught out past noon was fined.

He looks at other things as well, not just the current conditions, but what is still coming as well. The status could be any of the following:

Open to all boats
open only to boats over 30'
open to boats only over 40'
open to boats only over 40', but closed for aquatic activities
closed to ALL boats and to aquatic activity

If the port is closed, do they still allow shore dives?

Depends on the port status and how bad the conditions are at shore.

 

[berick]

Thanks for the info. I was curious.

 

[PlanoDvr1]

I will be coming from PDC to dive w/ an DO on Cozumel. If the port is closed I imagine there could still be diving out of PDC. Is this true Christi?

Thanks.

 

[ggunn]

I will be coming from PDC to dive w/ an DO on Cozumel. If the port is closed I imagine there could still be diving out of PDC. Is this true Christi?

Thanks.

Could be, but not for sure. It depends on the strength and direction of the wind and waves. It could be too rough in both locales if a strong wind is coming straight down the channel.