Should I check out other dive ops?

[ggunn]

I'm only suggesting it's OK for the OPs trip, not for diving in general. I stayed at the Presidente and dived with Scuba Du when I had a small number of dives. They are very safety conscious, they don't do challenging dives and the DMs are on the lookout for wayward divers. You'd have to work at it to get separated. And even if you somehow managed it, you are likely surfacing within siight of several other boats since they stick to the popular sites.

Again I disagree. Separation from a group on a drift dive can happen to anyone, any time, with any dive op, and it's not necessarily due to any misbehavior on the part of the diver. It may be less likely under more conservative conditions but it's never impossible. I don't care if the OP decides to dive Cozumel without an SMB; it's his decision, but I never would.

 

[Charred]

Again I disagree. Separation from a group on a drift dive can happen to anyone, any time, with any dive op, and it's not necessarily due to any misbehavior on the part of the diver. It may be less likely under more conservative conditions but it's never impossible. I don't care if the OP decides to dive Cozumel without an SMB; it's his decision, but I never would.

^^^^ This is important to stress. There are times the current will split and then split your your group. It happens.

I was on a dive maybe 10 yards from my wife and the rest of the group. We came around a coral island and the current split. I was being pushed away from the group. As much as I tried as a strong swimmer and strong Mares fins I could not cross the 10 yards to the group. I literally waved "bye bye", gave the "Up" signal and pulled out my SMB for them to see. They signaled OK.

I surfaced solo and we met back on the boat.

You absolutely have to be prepared to be separated at Cozumel. Have a SMB, a whistle, mirror and know the radio code of your boat. I've used all of the above except the mirror at Cozumel. Its not unheard of to need to flag down a near by boat and ask them to call your boat.

Not trying to scare you, but just trying to share that you do need to take your safety into your own hands.

 

[ggunn]

I will just add that the primary role of a DM in Cozumel is to protect the reef. Just like when diving anywhere else, it is the responsibility of the diver to take measures to preserve his or her own safety.

 

[Shawn C]

Interesting take. What I get from this story is that carrying gear you don't know how to use is not particularly helpful. It's certainly not a substitute for staying with your group in a DM-led drift dive.

You seem to be missing the point that it took the guy without the SMB three times longer to get spotted than it did us.

 

[ggunn]

You seem to be missing the point that it took the guy without the SMB three times longer to get spotted than it did us.

And it must have been a scary time for him to be out there alone in boat traffic with nothing but his head showing above the water.

 

[Bookworm11]

I stayed at the Intercontinetal and had two of the worst dives I've ever experienced with Scuba Du. I would never dive with them again. The dive shop also stole my flashlight, and then denied taking it. I had to fight with the manager to get them to compensate me for it. It was clipped on my gear, and when I got my gear back after they cleaned it, it was not. They accused Aldora of stealing it (I dove with Aldora prior to diving with them. I only dove with Scuba Du as I was at the Intercontinel for 5 days and decided to dive an extra day. I wish I had not!
Our group had six people in it-most all of them beginners except me. The DM did not stick to his announced plan and went much deeper than he said, and stayed much deeper longer than he had said he was going to. He stayed at 90 feet for over ten minutes with people who had dove 5 times! The current was very strong, and the entire group struggled immensely with it except for me. They were being swept all over the place. I was the only one who got to see anything he pointed out on both dives. Both dives were fairly short as people ran out of air because they were so deep so long.

 

[lowwall]

You seem to be missing the point that it took the guy without the SMB three times longer to get spotted than it did us.

Did you miss that he started the dive with a DSMB?

It's not my example. Someone else brought up a real situation to explain why a new diver should carry a DSMB in case he gets separated from your group and in that example, the diver actually had a DSMB at the start of the dive but managed to lose it so it didn't do him any good.

For the third or fourth time, this isn't a general question as to whether DSMBs are valuable, it's about whether it's valuable for someone with only a handful of dives and no training on deploying a DSMB diving with this dive op in Coz.

IMO, the risks of a person in this particular situation of trying to deploy a DSMB at depth are unacceptable. Especially if stressed by being separated from the group and whatever conditions caused the separation.

Can we agree on this advice to this diver on this vacation? Go ahead and take a DSMB, but leave it in your pocket while under water until you have a chance to train on deploying it. You can take it out and blow it up on the surface if you need to use it as a signalling device.

 

[ggunn]

Can we agree on this advice to this diver on this vacation? Go ahead and take a DSMB, but leave it in your pocket while under water until you have a chance to train on deploying it. You can take it out and blow it up on the surface if you need to use it as a signalling device.

That much, yes. That he could only get separated from a group if he were to "work at it" (your words), no.

 

[Shawn C]

Did you miss that he started the dive with a DSMB?

It's not my example. Someone else brought up a real situation to explain why a new diver should carry a DSMB in case he gets separated from your group and in that example, the diver actually had a DSMB at the start of the dive but managed to lose it so it didn't do him any good.

For the third or fourth time, this isn't a general question as to whether DSMBs are valuable, it's about whether it's valuable for someone with only a handful of dives and no training on deploying a DSMB diving with this dive op in Coz.

IMO, the risks of a person in this particular situation of trying to deploy a DSMB at depth are unacceptable. Especially if stressed by being separated from the group and whatever conditions caused the separation.

Can we agree on this advice to this diver on this vacation? Go ahead and take a DSMB, but leave it in your pocket while under water until you have a chance to train on deploying it. You can take it out and blow it up on the surface if you need to use it as a signalling device.

You also missed the point that I made about learning how to use it. Telling any diver, new or old hat, not to carry a DSMB is something that I will never agree with, which is what you already said. If you are now changing what you said it to say 'carry it but don't deploy it at depth until you've had some training/practice', that I can get behind.

 

[lowwall]

Telling any diver, new or old hat, not to carry a DSMB is something that I will never agree with, which is what you already said.

Do you really think it should be a required item of scuba gear? IMO the only required pieces for OW dives beyond the basics are an octo and a cutting tool. DSMBs definitely have a place depending on the dive, just like snorkels and lights and pony bottles and towed dived flags and gloves. But I don't think they should be a requirement for all dives.

FWIW, only a tiny fraction of all the dives ever made have been accompanied by a DSMB. Even if we restrict it to the last 10 years or whenever they started including it in OW courses, they are still only carried by a minority of divers. Are they all doing it wrong?

If you are really concerned about separation, DSMBs may not even be the best signalling device depending on conditions. And nothing compares to the effectiveness of an EPIRB or PLB in getting you found.