Playa del Carmen Dive Report

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

April 18, 2009: Pared Verde and Moche

Today the wind was kind of strong at 15mph/13knots from the E, but surprisingly the water was pretty calm considering. The temperature at the start of our dive was 80F/27C. The water was a beautiful Turquoise and very warm.

Pared verde was great again today. Visibility was at about 80ft/24m and the water temp at our max depth of 90ft/27m was about 75F/24C. Little to no current today and a lot of things to see. Saw a nice big 1.5m Grouper, several large Barracuda, 3 Southern Stingrays and 2 Hawksbill Turtles. Pared Verde is such a vibrant wall full of great coral formations, sponges, Urchins, and little spotted morays wiggling in and out of the wall.

Moche Shallow was nice today with the visibility at about 65ft/20m. Didn't see the Sea Horse again, but saw plenty of other things. 3 big Southern Stingrays, Barracuda, Jacks, but no bait ball. Saw one Hawksbill just gliding through the current. Really nice dives!

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

April 21, 2009: Mama Vina and Barracuda

Today that weather was awesome. The wind was blowing at 4.5mph/4knots from the N so the water is like glass right now. At the time of our dive the temperature was 75F/24C. Pretty cloudy today, but the water conditions make up for it.

Mama Vina was very nice today, but quite crowded. The visibility was around 100ft/30m. Saw a nice school of Permits and Barracuda. The sweeper fish inside the cabin were out in numbers today as well. Great dive, just wish there weren't as many people there.

Barracuda was very nice today as well with the vis at about 70ft/21m. We saw 3 Hawksbill turtles. We saw 2 Southern Stingrays and the big schools of Grunts. Several Spotted Morays were out and a couple Channel Clinging Crabs in the Horseshoe. Good day of diving and the weather could have been better.

 

[still new]

Returned from Puerto Aventuras a couple of weeks ago. I did the open water portion of the Rescue Diver with John Flanders and Geo Fish! They treated me like an old friend, Steve and his sons are very good and easy to work with. I'll be back next year.

 

[DeepSeaDan]

...on May 1st to introduce my son to tropical ocean diving. We are both eagerly anticipating these dives & look foreward to meeting the good folks at Geofish.
Report to follow...

Regards,
DSD

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

April 27, 2009: Tortuga and Sabalos

Today the wind was blowing pretty strong at 14mph/12knots from the E. The waves were at 7.5ft/2.3m and the temperature at the time of our dive was 79F/26C.

Tortugas was nice today, strong current and good visibility at about 70ft/21m. Saw 4 turtles all pretty small, but very beautiful. Lots of fish and several Green and Spotted Moray's.

Sabalos was great today the visibility was about 60ft/18m. Fairly strong current, but manageable. Lots of fish and the always breathtaking schools of Grunts and Snapper at the swim through's. Really nice dive no turtles, but 2 Southern Stingrays and 2 big Green Moray's.

The swine flu is getting a lot of buzz right now and it seems it will be affecting a lot of people. As of right now there is no record of any cases here in Playa or in the Quintana Roo. I know that all schools in Mexico have been closed as a precaution, but as of right now Playa, Cozumel, Cancun and all of the Riviera Maya is still not affected. Hopefully it will stay that way. Be safe and happy diving!!

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

May 6, 2009: Chunzumbul Wall

Today the wind was blowing at 12mph/11knots and the water was pretty choppy. The temperature at the time of our dive was 82F/28C. At Chunzumbul wall we saw a huge Loggerhead turtle that came so close I could almost smell his breath. Saw a nice Southern Sting Ray. Also several big Jack's and and Cubera Snapper. Great Dive.

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

Been pretty slow lately, mostly DSD's to the shallow reefs like Moche and Jardines. The conditions have fantastic though. Yesterday was the first windy/choppy day in a long time. The water is so flat and so clear, the diving is top notch right now! Yesterday the high was 86F/30C and today there is no wind, the water is like glass and we are headed to Moche and Chunzumbul. The high is supposed to be 86F/30C with the wind blowing at 3.5mph/3knots from the W. Tomorrow we are headed to Tortugas and Barracuda.

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

May 26, 2009: Tortugas and Barracuda/Sabalos

Yesterday the wind was pretty strong and the water was quite choppy. The temperature at the time of our dives was 82F/28C. The water temperature was 81F/27C.

Tortuga: The current was pretty strong and eased us along very nicely. Saw 3 turtles the last one was a Loggerhead and was no doubt the biggest turtle I have ever seen. Jeri was swimming next to it and it was definitely bigger than her. As we were on our safety stop we drifted over a school of about 30 Tarpon. Great dive!

Barracuda/Sabalos: The current was absolutely ripping at Barracuda, so much that we saw everything at Barracuda and drifted right into Sabalos. We saw 1 turtle at Barracuda and a huge Green Moray Eel hanging out in one of the over hangs. We got to Sabalos and saw the massive schools of Grunts and Snapper. I have never seen the current like that and have never gone to dive Barracuda and finished at the end of Sabalos. It was really nice though, they got to see two of our best reefs on one dive. Great day of Diving. Today we are going to Tortugas again and then followed up with Sabalos and Barracuda.

May 28, 2009: Mama Vina

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

May 29, 2009: Moche Shallow and Jardines

Today the water was pretty choppy, but nothing out of the ordinary. The wind was blowing at 11.5mph/10knots from the SE. The temperature at the time of our dive was 86F/30C. The water was like jumping into a bath with the temp being 82F/28C.

Moche was awesome today. The visibility wasn't the best at about 50ft/15m, but the sea life made up for it. Right when we hit the bottom and I made sure everyone was good I look towards the reef and there were 2 huge Blue Marlin. First time ever seeing them and it is truly a privilege seeing them in the water. Saw a nice Green Turtle towards the end and in the swim through the huge Black Grouper that lives in there. Great dive!

Jardines was nice today as well. Visibility was at about 50ft/15m and the current was quite strong. Saw two huge Green Moray Eels, tons of fish, a nice Southern Stingray at the end of the dive. Really nice afternoon dives!

 

[Geofish Dive in Playa]

June 6, 2009: Tortugas and Sabalos

Today was great day for diving. The water was flat and crystal clear. The temperature at the time of the dive was 80F/27C, with hardly any wind blowing from the E.

Tortugas was unbelievable today. The current was perfect not too strong, just really pleasant. We saw 5 turtles in total, a school of Cubera Snapper. The highlight of the dive was the massive Eagle Ray that we saw towards the end of the dive. I always feel so lucky to be able to see those diving, they are so incredible. Great dive!

Sabalos was the perfect follow up dive today. With seeing all we saw at Torgugas and then being able to come over to Sabalos is really nice. We saw 2 turtles and the large schools of fish. But none of the schools were as large as the school of about 50 Tarpon all ranging from 4ft-7ft. It is so cool to watch them just swim effortlessly into the current and to see the mass of them is really amazing. Great dive and another 1, 2 punch from Tortugas and Sabalos.