Recently back from Cozumel 'aka' the 'Hiroshima of the Caribbean' !

[Divedoggie]

I started to type something, erased it, typed something else, erased it....

 

[pilot fish]

Fellow divers, what is the big deal? Why are some folks getting so exercised over this exaggerated description of Coz dive sites? There are only two divers that say Coz is devestated, total destruction, like Hiroshima, huh?, and 50+ other people that say Coz is still a great dive destination. Which do you thinik people are going to trust as more accurate? As I said before, the problem is not with Coz, or a totlaity of Coz dive sites, but the crummy Dive Op they used.

I do find it odd, yeah, a bit suspicious, that the original poster has not come back to this thread to answer any questions or defend his post.

 

[texas-buzzard]

Dive with a good dive operation like Christi, she will show you the beauty of the CZM reefs.

See you in august, Christi

 

[Gregdarads]

I've got about as much experience with internet forums as I do diving. I was certified (PADI) in early March in Cozumel and I'm now wrapping up a more intensive SSI Cert. back here Oregon where my checkout dives most likely will be testing my temp. endurance as much as my skills. I had my four checkouts in Coz at Cardona Reef. I saw an abundance of critters including a hawksbill, spotted moray, lobster, yellow rays, very large grouper and so much more. I also saw many things that I'm guessing used to be on shore a few months ago. In short, diving is the one highlights of my life. I'm guessing there are more spectacular places in this world to dive and explore than I'll have the time and money to get to. I'm sure going to try for as many as I can. It sounds like a few members on the forum are going for some different undersea venues. I personally encourage them to seek out and report back. The one mild downer I noticed was some litter from the snorkelers, but my SI and I were able to pick it up. I plan on returning to Coz ASAP and I would even if I didn't dive. I had a blast from the moment I arrived, or more accurately, the moment I escaped the airport until I left. Thanks to everyone on this forum, as a new diver you are all an incredible source of information, inspiration and entertainment.

 

[ggunn]

Karl the folks who that are going to attack you do not know you and their is the Coz thing that people got in their heads I do not understand and it,it has to be one of the following.

1) They have a financial reason.

No

2) Coz was their first ocean dive.

No

3) They never dove Coz before the cattle boats came in

No

4) They never had to hire a fishing boat too go diving well I only had to do that twice

Well, no, I never had to do that, but I don't see the relevance.

5) Money-Money-Money

I don't know what that means

6) Or heck it was warm water and was better vis than the local lake/quarry

No... well, it is better than anything local to me, but that's true for nearly all of us. I can (and do) go other places.

7) Sometimes a person can never get over the loss of his/or hers first love, put me in that place. My high school sweatheart who I saw awhile back is no longer the awesome reef I once loved and she will never look like the girl I fell in love with to me Cozumel will never be what it once was....

Yes, it's different; change is the only thing in life that's constant. Wilma did not deal the first or only change I've seen to Cozumel since I started going there in 1978. You can get over it or move on, the same as the rest of us.

As long as you insist on considering the posts of folks who disagree with you to be attacks, yes, the "attacks" will continue when you post misleading "observations". As you so eloquently put it in an earlier post, deal with it.

 

[Blue Moon]

Hello Jimmy! (domino 22)

....so, I see you also just dove 'Hiroshima of the Caribbean' ....... Karen (Nurseshark) and I blew a weekend there this past Valentine's Day...........

....I won't detail my Cozumel experience here right now, other than to say that Emerald Dolphin Dive Services was the WORST dive operator I've ever experienced, and I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy ! The boat was fine, the tanks were full and the Nitrox mixes were correct/appropriate, the DM/crew operated safely.. (to the point of paranoia) ......but the DM severely restricted our dive times ( 700 psi/45 min 'rules') and I've never been with an operator so obcessed/fanatical about terminating dives early....

Regarding Emerald Dolphin Dive Services, http://www.cozumel-diving.net/edds/ they may not have been the right choice for ScubaFanatic and Nurseshark but we had a good experience diving with them the week before ScubaFanatic was apparently in Cozumel.... Emerald Dolphin was highly recommended to us from a friend in Texas that has booked them on multiple occasions for private charters.

For our perspective, Emerald Dolphin provided a private charter experience on a large boat by Cozumel standards that offered us the privacy that we were seeking with amenities that included an enclosed head, dive platform that allowed giant stride entries, a safe crew, and had a DM that was very good with my newly certified girlfriend. It was fast for a big boat and certainly faster than any of the normally faster small six pack boats that we were able to fly past, high and dry, while the smaller boats were pounded by the heavy seas that El Norte spun up.

The owners, Tony & Suzanne Costillo are long time Cozumel veterans, with highly regarded dive industry qualifications: Tony was the GM at Del Mar Aquatics for 7 years and has 12,000 dives logged. Suzanne has 4,000 dives logged, see: http://www.cozumel-diving.net/edds/instrutr.htm

It is also impressive that Suzanne spends her non-diving time as a RN saving lives of deco victims on Cozumel... Might explain why they use the same 700 PSI accent rule with mandatory safety stops that most operators also encourage on the island…

Emerald Dolphin’s boat provided a comfortable platform for my girlfriend to gain confidence as a newly certified diver. The new diver concerns about being on a small boat in heavy seas, not having a head on a small boat, not having privacy, and most importantly the concern about being rushed to kit up and hit the water with the group were all eliminated and my girlfriend was able to focus on her first dives as a newly certified diver and gain confidence at her own pace.

We dove solo with Emerald Dolphin for the first three days, then moved on and dove with Blue X~T Sea as space became available with Christi’s highly sought after operation. Everything good that you hear about Blue X~T Sea is true. They added tremendous value to my girlfriend’s progression as a new diver and while Christi will without a doubt be our first choice as a dive operator in Cozumel, if Christi is booked and unable to accommodate us during our often limited and last minute vacation window, then I’d consider Emerald Dolphin as a fall back option...

Regarding the post Wilma concerns in this thread, being from Texas and having easy access to Cozumel, I logged a lot of dives in Cozumel in the 80s before I found a way to start diving the GBR in Oz on a regular basis. While some of the well known sites took a hit from Wilma, they have taken similar hits before and always rebounded in a magnificent way. Overall, Cozumel is still one of the best dive sites in the world and I can't wait to get back...

My girlfriend and I spent a week in Grand Cayman in October as we diverted from Coz as Wilma coincided with our scheduled vacation. From a new diver’s perspective, my girlfriend actually enjoyed the diving in Cozumel over Grand Cayman and she only had post Wilma as a reference…. That speaks volumes about what Cozumel still has to offer for divers… I’m glad that she found the magic that I first found a long time ago in Cozumel….

They say that pictures are worth a thousand words, so here are a few pictures from our Feb Coz trip that were taken the week before the original poster, Scubafanatic, was in Cozumel, see: http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=52566

 

[O'Malley]

I, too, had a good experience while diving 6 days in Cozumel last year with Emerald Dolphin Dive...my LDS has been diving with Tony Castillo for the past 15 years, back to his days as GM for Del Mar Aquatics and highly recommended his services. I, however, do remember getting passed up by the faster boats but overall, the DM, Carlos, was great, locating all the critters and going back to check my dive log...not one dive was less than 50 minutes.

When we were there in Feb. some people we met were using Emerald Dolphin who took them diving to Tormentos, Yucab & Chankanaab... All of which were closed at the time!!!

This, however, concerns me...

 

[SteveDiver]

Fellow divers, what is the big deal? Why are some folks getting so exercised over this exaggerated description of Coz dive sites? There are only two divers that say Coz is devestated, total destruction, like Hiroshima, huh?, and 50+ other people that say Coz is still a great dive destination. Which do you thinik people are going to trust as more accurate? As I said before, the problem is not with Coz, or a totlaity of Coz dive sites, but the crummy Dive Op they used.

I do find it odd, yeah, a bit suspicious, that the original poster has not come back to this thread to answer any questions or defend his post.

That's right quit giving them attention by arguing with them it fuels the flame. What they say does not matter according to majority. They are probably trolls anyway trying to stir things up to compensate for a boring life.

 

[Blue Moon]

I, too, had a good experience while diving 6 days in Cozumel last year with Emerald Dolphin Dive...my LDS has been diving with Tony Castillo for the past 15 years, back to his days as GM for Del Mar Aquatics and highly recommended his services.

O'Malley, thanks. I'm glad someone else spoke up on their behalf since they came across to us as very sincere and nice people. They are doing their best to recover from Wilma just like everyone else in Cozumel. When we dove with them in early February, they mentioned that they had only had 12 trips since Wilma... of course, we were on one of the first charters that started flying out of Dallas after Wilma and other divers had a difficult time getting there as well...

I, however, do remember getting passed up by the faster boats but overall, the DM, Carlos, was great, locating all the critters and going back to check my dive log...not one dive was less than 50 minutes.

Yes I agree, Carlos is a great DM. Regarding getting passed up by the smaller boats, I'm sure you would have been passed up in calm sea conditions... However my reference was to a heavy El Norte sea condition... as the owner of an offshore style sport fish boat as well as a couple of smaller, faster boats, I can tell you first hand that the larger boat, similar to what Emerald Dolphin operates, can maintain cruise speed in heavier seas and still provide a comfortable ride for the passengers while the smaller boats have to slow way down otherwise the ride would be too uncomfortable for the passengers... Still safe, just a bit wetter and rougher... On the day that I was referring to, the people that we spoke to that were on the smaller boats did not have a pleasant ride back in as they were wet and cold for a long time....

Don't get me wrong, in Cozumel, 90 percent of the time I'd rather be on the smaller boat myself, however, there are times and circumstances that I mentioned in my post when the big boats are hard to beat.

When we were there in Feb. some people we met were using Emerald Dolphin who took them diving to Tormentos, Yucab & Chankanaab... All of which were closed at the time!!!

This, however, concerns me...

While you certainly have a right to your feelings, I am not sure why you would be concerned about what occurred on a private charter.

 

[MMM]

Two...two...two mints in ONE!!

Different people have different views. Doesn't mean one is wrong and one is right....particularly when the views compare a 30 year horizon. They are all valid opinions. No trolls here, I'd wager given the number of posts they have made on technical forums. I think we've concluded this - the diving isn't what it was 30 or 40 years ago. Pretty much the case throughout the Caribbean. Wilma made a huge hit on Cozumel and severely damaged a number of sites. Cozumel is still a pretty good dive destination, relatively speaking. Have I summarized this accurately in a couple of sentences?

Give it a rest, already. Agree, disagree, whatever - I don't much care. But everyone take a deep, calming breath and ask yourselves why you need to react so stridently.

BTW, I sincerely doubt that this is a "crummy" dive op. Dawinian law would weed out the worst in such a highly competitive market. Because some of you haven't heard of the op doesn't mean they aren't suitable. There are hundreds of dive ops in Cozumel. Probably less than a dozen are regularly profiled on this board simply due to word of mouth referrals.