Scuba Club Cozumel for my children beginners?

[stevenschwartz]

Hi Folks,

We are thinking of making a dive trip to Cozumel next winter. My wife and I have been certified for 20 years, but our children (by then 14 and 18) have just recently completed their certifications. We will be diving in the keys this summer, so by the time of this trip they will have about 15 dives in, but clearly they will still be beginners and certainly will have no real drift diving experience.

Scuba Club Cozumel seems very highly recommended, but will their large boats be appropriate for beginners? Would it be a better idea to try a small operator (Blue XT Sea Diving seems good?)

Any advice would be appreciated.

Steve

 

[redacted]

SCC is a fairly conservative dive operation so unless you don't thing they will be ready for a "normal" Coz 2-tank dive (80 ft 1st dive and 40 to 60 for the 2nd) you should be fine with them. If you want, I'm sure you could arrainge for a private DM to guide just the 4 of you for a day or 2. Even their big boats are not crowded (16 divers max) and always break down into smaller groups for the dives. Plus the shore diving opportunities will give you opportunities to work on skills in a fairly pleasant environment. They should really like the night shore dive which is as easy as they come.

 

[NancyLynn]

Scuba Club Cozumel seems very highly recommended, but will their large boats be appropriate for beginners?

My daughter (the 15) did the resort course there. (She had completed all of the course work and pool work, but her instructor and I agreed she wasn't comfortable enough to be jumping off a cattle call boat in the middle of the ocean - so we deliberately went without a referral). After a couple of days paddling around the shore area with mask, fins, and snorkel, she felt ready to try diving so we had her do the resort course - reinforcement, extra practice, a couple of shore dives, and a leisurely entrance off the boat with her own personal divemaster for a couple of drift dives. Manuel (Free Willy) Briceno was the divemaster who accompanied her - he was great with her!

SCC is a fairly conservative dive operation so unless you don't thing they will be ready for a "normal" Coz 2-tank dive (80 ft 1st dive and 40 to 60 for the 2nd) you should be fine with them. If you want, I'm sure you could arrainge for a private DM to guide just the 4 of you for a day or 2. Even their big boats are not crowded (16 divers max) and always break down into smaller groups for the dives. Plus the shore diving opportunities will give you opportunities to work on skills in a fairly pleasant environment. They should really like the night shore dive which is as easy as they come.

I loved SCC and would go back there as my first choice (assuming I'm not going with a group that has made other arrangements - but I found them not terribly conservative. Our first dive every day was to 90' - and the bottom times they suggested didn't match any profile I could dive using tables (which is what I was using at the time). They were also a bit rushed getting us into the water.

That said, it seems to be SOP in Coz - Dive House dives (Fiesta Americana) were slightly shallower for the first part of the day (80') and our boat was smaller than SCC (but they also had some the same size) , the current makes relatively quick entries necessary, and it is expected that you will be using a computer.

Shore dives are wonderful (although they can be a bit choppy). Lots of rubble = lots of places for critters to hide. Who knows - your kids may make a new friend, like my daughter did:

 

[TheUWPhotographer.com]

I think I've seen that face before! Good for her!

On my last trip down I met a family on the ferry over from Playa and they mentioned that their daughter wanted to try diving. I gave them the names of several of my favorite dive shops. They did come to Scuba Club after trying somebody else, and she finished her full open water certification that week. Her instructor was Raymundo. Having made this recommendation and feeling a little bit responsible, I watched him work with her and I have to say I'd trust him with my own niece. This girl was so excited when she got out of the water, she had a grin ear-to-ear!

They have very nice facilities there for teaching, whether you're a kid or not. The shore diving there has entry and exit points all along the shore. One of the entries has a well-protected stairway directly into the water and its really, really easy to get in and out.

I've dived many times with Manuel and he is also an excellent instructor. I'll be there all next week and can't wait to get down there.

 

[NancyLynn]

I think I've seen that face before! Good for her!

It's in the 2006 scrapbook on the SCC website (and for a good while was the "cover" shot

 

[jlyle]

Absolutely! Two of my children and one son-in-law were certified there. You'll love it.

While you're there, sign them up for Advanced Open Water class! They will have their own DM/Instructor for their dives and get a bunch of dives under their belts under close supervision. Private instruction at group rates.

IMHO, bigger boats are better for your kids - more comfortable, shaded, and more people interaction. They are also easier to climb back on board after the dives.

 

[stevenschwartz]

Thanks to you all guys - I think this is the way to go.

Steve

 

[Wiilldd1]

I took my son to SCC for his first warm water trip when he was twelve. The DM's and instructors are top notch. I have since had my son take his Jr advanced and also Jr rescue with them. We try to go a couple of times a year with them. The people at the dive op are the main reason we return every year.

We will be there at the end of March and can't wait!

 

[stevenschwartz]

Final question on SCC for all you experts. How is their equipment. The kids don't have BC's, and ours were so old, I junked them. We recently dove off a cruise ship (Don Foster in Cayman and Dive house in Cozumel.) I was very very impressed with the quality of their BC's (we had our own regulators.) I would assume I will be equally happy with SCC? If you have used their rental equip, please let me know.

 

[Wiilldd1]

The equipment is normal for a dive op. If your kids are small, you might want to call and see what they have. My son was pretty small when he was twelve. 70lbs, so we always had to bring his gear.