Sargasso.

[M@lly]

Hi fellows,

I would like to go to Cozumel, decembre/january, what's about sargasso, thanks?

 

[mcpowell]

Tagging on to this thread because I'm curious as well.

We just came back from a week long trip (Mid May) and from Punta Sur to most of the East side it was piled up one the beach. The smell was bad enough from the road we didn't even think of stopping. We like Chen Rio's, Coconuts, and wanted to stop at Punta Moreno, but were unwilling to stop at any of them due to the smell.

Is the Sargasso seasonal, or just random?

 

[Brules]

Cozumel doesnt usually have much of a problem with it as all the hotels/beaches on the west side of the island stay pretty clear year round, UNLESS a Norte blows in and the wind blows from the North/West towards the west side. East side of Coz is where you will see it, just like the east facing beaches in Cancun.

But then again in winter, colder months the seaweed isnt usally an issue as it isnt hot enough for it to grow like it is in the hotter summer months.

 

[ggunn]

Hi fellows,

I would like to go to Cozumel, decembre/january, what's about sargasso, thanks?

I just got back a couple of weeks ago; it's much worse there now on the east side than I have even seen it, and I have been going there every year for 30+ years. I don't know if it will be gone by December, but I'll bet it will get worse before it gets better.

 

[JamesBon92007]

We took the ferry to Playa yesterday and it was pretty awful over there, all the way down to Tulum. We have not been on the East side this trip but haven't noticed any along the West side, at least from San Miguel to Puerto Maya.

 

[ggunn]

We took the ferry to Playa yesterday and it was pretty awful over there, all the way down to Tulum. We have not been on the East side this trip but haven't noticed any along the West side, at least from San Miguel to Puerto Maya.

When we were out fishing a couple of weeks ago, the guys on the boat told us that lots of people were coming across on the ferry to escape the dismal state of the beaches in Playa del Carmen. While we were fishing (which was not good at all in part because of the sargasso) when we were passing the seawall in front of the Calica resort, we could see that it was solid orange-brown with the stuff for 2-3 feet above the water line.

Contributory to the sargasso situation while we were there was the strong steady SE wind that blew the whole two weeks we were there. It also kept us away from some of our favorite diving down at the south end. But the west (leeward) side of Cozumel was fine for both the diving and the (lack of) seaweed.

 

[JamesBon92007]

When we were out fishing a couple of weeks ago, the guys on the boat told us that lots of people were coming across on the ferry to escape the dismal state of the beaches in Playa del Carmen.

That might explain where all the people are coming from that are not from cruise ships and there have been too many of them to attribute it to escapees from A.I. resorts.

We brought our swim suits to Tulum to the Maya ruins and were disappointed to find the beaches to be un-swimmable. We dove Playa just a couple of years ago and the water was great then.

 

[Snoweman]

Tagging on to this thread because I'm curious as well.

We just came back from a week long trip (Mid May) and from Punta Sur to most of the East side it was piled up one the beach. The smell was bad enough from the road we didn't even think of stopping. We like Chen Rio's, Coconuts, and wanted to stop at Punta Moreno, but were unwilling to stop at any of them due to the smell.

Is the Sargasso seasonal, or just random?

This link gives some information on the sargassum plumes. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/06/mysterious-masses-seaweed-assault-caribbean-islands

 

[Dave Dillehay]

For the last 5 years or so, the mid atlantic gyre (circulation) has shifted to the south and is now pulling sargassum from the famed Sargassum Sea. That means it is now passing south of Cuba and fouling the eastward facing beaches when the normal easterly trade winds blow. Usually not a problem for the west side of Cozumel, but the east side and Cancun beaches take the brunt of it (like does Galveston Texas).

For most of the time now the channel has lots of floating sargassum…heading north. But when a strong west wind hits and persists, the west side of Cozumel can get pretty ugly. Thankfully a rare event. See photo attached of the Cozumel ferry pier.

It is only seaweed but because so many small creatures live in it…it stinks like heck when they die.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[keepdivin]

Dave,

Is that picture of the ferry pier from today?