Why Come to Coz in January?

[DandyDon]

Cruise ships and their mobs of pod people are what Cozumel tourism caters to, not scuba divers. Scuba divers economic impact is so small relatively, it's little more than a rounding error in the accounting books, so to speak. The Carnival Freedom is rather less affected by El Norte seas than the average Cozumel 6-pack scuba boat, all the snow birds head south for their winter vacation, so that's is why high-season happens when it happens...nothing to do with scuba divers suddenly mobbing all the hotel rooms, etc. poor seasonal diving conditions in winter are irrelevant for the pod people.

Oh, that might be true for the cruise market, which has little to do with the market most divers here participate in. Two different markets with some overlapping on the island. The high season he was referencing is connected to land based hotel room-nights, plane tickets that turn around in Cozumel & Cancun, and how busy the diver Ops are. Apples & oranges are both fruit, but different - like cruise tourists and multi night tourists.

 

[Zman96]

So based on the updated numbers (adding a whopping 3 more closed days to her original post) by Christi, the port has been closed 11 times in the last 141 January diving days. That is 8% of total dive days, doesn't seem like that many days of small boats being stuck on the beach in total. Yes loosing any day to weather stinks. I have been there and lost dive days to Nortes in October, November, Feb, and March (never have been there in Dec or Jan), while I get January might not be optimal to be in Cozumel, the allure to be there and out of the 0 degree temps in the north are too much for many to pass up.

 

[scubadada]

I look forward to the more extensive report being assembled by@Christi

 

[Mark IV]

So based on the updated numbers (adding a whopping 3 more closed days to her original post) by Christi, the port has been closed 11 times in the last 141 January diving days. That is 8% of total dive days, doesn't seem like that many days of small boats being stuck on the beach in total. Yes loosing any day to weather stinks. I have been there and lost dive days to Nortes in October, November, Feb, and March (never have been there in Dec or Jan), while I get January might not be optimal to be in Cozumel, the allure to be there and out of the 0 degree temps in the north are too much for many to pass up.

This post completely misses several valid points made earlier.
Again, the issue with going down in winter isn't just that there's a decent chance you'll miss 1-4 days of diving due to bad weather, but that many of the days you DO dive, can be in cold,rough conditions. Dave wasn't warning the world to stay away like there's a radiation leak, he's just pointing out that for scuba diving, there are more optimal times of year to be there. That isn't self-serving negativity,hysteria or hyperbole, it's a simple seasonal fact of life down there.
Now, obviously, some folks will have schedules or vacation windows that make a winter trip their only option, and others will consider diving in choppy seas and a brisk 60 degrees to be a big improvment over where they came from. Fair enough, no harm, no foul.
But that doesn't change the fact that winter IS a much less optimal time to be there, for the majority of people that are envisioning diving in glassy smooth,clear turquoise waters like they saw in the travel brochures.

 

[Zman96]

MarkIV, did you read the last sentence I typed? "while I get January might not be optimal to be in Cozumel, the allure to be there and out of the 0 degree temps in the north are too much for many to pass up."
I have read the thread, I know and so do most people that there may be better times to visit, my point is January isn't the only time the weather can be less than ideal. I have dove port open days in October that were very rough and for less in shape people than me, were a real struggle. My issue with this thread is that it may even give people the idea that other months besides January are better, when Dec, Jan,Feb and March are all impacted by winter weather there.

 

[Streydog]

I came back yesterday, planned on diving 7 days but only dove 6. I did have to ferry to Playa 2 days. Not near the level of Cozumel but I was diving. I think if you know going in what to expect and have contingency plans for the bad days you can make the best of Cozumel in January but I agree Summer is the best time. Here is a video of some of the eagle rays we saw last week. Quality is poor, kind of deep with a Gopro without a light.

 

[Mark IV]

MarkIV, did you read the last sentence I typed? "while I get January might not be optimal to be in Cozumel, the allure to be there and out of the 0 degree temps in the north are too much for many to pass up."
I have read the thread, I know and so do most people that there may be better times to visit, my point is January isn't the only time the weather can be less than ideal. I have dove port open days in October that were very rough and for less in shape people than me, were a real struggle. My issue with this thread is that it may even give people the idea that other months besides January are better, when Dec, Jan,Feb and March are all impacted by winter weather there.

And did you read what I actually wrote?? I clearly acknowledged that some folks had good reason to only come down in the winter, and, it was Dave that focussed on Jan in the OP, but I repeatedly referrenced ALL the winter months, not just January. And, I also referenced the fact that open-port days, in the winter, can still be miserable and challenging (in fact, that was the salient point of my first post).
And, as for Christi's eagerly awaited report, I'll say it again: it is completely irrelevant how many or how few days were actually closed, the point here is that diving the winter months are freqently cold, difficult, sometimes even dangerous, and in general, are much less plaeasant and fun, versus diving most of the rest of the year is.
This is a demonstrable fact, and was the essence of the pont made in the OP, and I'm baffled why there's so much nearly hysterical denial in this thread of this reality. Nearly every tourist destination on the planet has more and less ideal times to be there, partly based on seasonal factors, so why is everyone choking on their gum because someone addressed it concerning Cozumel?

 

[Christi]

And did you read what I actually wrote?? I clearly acknowledged that some folks had good reason to only come down in the winter, and, it was Dave that focussed on Jan in the OP, but I repeatedly referrenced ALL the winter months, not just January. And, I also referenced the fact that open-port days, in the winter, can still be miserable and challenging (in fact, that was the salient point of my first post).
And, as for Christi's eagerly awaited report, I'll say it again: it is completely irrelevant how many or how few days were actually closed, the point here is that diving the winter months are freqently cold, difficult, sometimes even dangerous, and in general, are much less plaeasant and fun, versus diving most of the rest of the year is.
This is a demonstrable fact, and was the essence of the pont made in the OP, and I'm baffled why there's so much nearly hysterical denial in this thread of this reality. Nearly every tourist destination on the planet has more and less ideal times to be there, partly based on seasonal factors, so why is everyone choking on their gum because someone addressed it concerning Cozumel?

Mark - with all due respect, you're entitled to your opinion and to express your thoughts and experience. You've been gone for quite awhile and things are a lot different than they were then - even in my 16 years of operation, things have changed dramatically.

I'm not defending or in histeria or angry at anyone for their thoughts or opinions. Dave opened the door so I am simply going to present some factual data. With that said, I will say that the Harbor Master is MUCH more conservative than in the past. There are days it is closed when it really shouldn't be - and if it's questionable and miserable as you describe, it's typically closed - so these closures over the past 5 years actually ARE very representative of real conditions with an exception here or there. And yes, topside temps can be a bit chilly when you're wet on a boat - no denial there.

What I DO find offensive is that you presume operators would put divers in danger and jeopardize our own businesses and assets by ignoring actual conditions and going out anyway. Yes, I guess there are a few cowboys out there, but I'd say that 90% of the legitimate, legal operations here put safety first.

And BTW - the recent boat sinkings had nothing to do with weather - each of them were due to failures in sme way and/or being over capacity.

Again, you are entitled to express your opinions, but expect some discussion and factual details to be presented so that people can make their own decisions about when is best for them and what risks they are willing to take.

 

[Mark IV]

Christi, I appreciate your polite,diplomatic response, and respect your knowledge and experience on the current realites down there, and I'm not at all looking for big fight (or even heated debate), it's all good, we're just shootin' the breeze here, so, that being said........

Mark - with all due respect, you're entitled to your opinion and to express your thoughts and experience. You've been gone for quite awhile and things are a lot different than they were then - even in my 16 years of operation, things have changed dramatically.

Yes, I also saw drastic changes in the decade+ I worked there ( proliferation of cell phones, internet cafes, the 2nd cruise ship pier,etc) and more in the couple times I've been back in the last 15 years. But, most of these changes are superficial, you'll never convince me that the dive buisness.....stopped being the dive buisness, or that Mexico.....stopped being Mexico, or that human nature has taken a drastic step upwards ! I realize different operators have better and worse degrees of personal ethics, but I know most of them did, do, and always will send the boat out if they can, rather than voluntarilly grounding it and refunding money. That's just the reality, in every buisness.

And yes, topside temps can be a bit chilly when you're wet on a boat - no denial there.

Bit of an understatement there . In the winter, I used to dive a 7mil 2-piece farmer john, and every diver i knew was wrapped in as much neoprene as they could get their hands on. I can't even recall how many trips I've been on where everybody on the boat was shivering and miserable, with the boat slamming them every couple seconds, all the way to the 2nd dive, and then again back to the caletta, and afterwards saying, "well, damn, that sure sucked!!" A bit chilly, wasn't a problem, these other days were.
That was dave's (and my) point. No one is saying "at all costs, don't come down in the winter, you're gonna be miserable and maybe get killed", he was just giving folks a heads-up on the seasonal realites in that part of the world. It's no different than telling folks that the worst time to go vist New Orleans or Pheonix Arizona, is during the blazing heat of summer.

And BTW - the recent boat sinkings had nothing to do with weather - each of them were due to failures in sme way and/or being over capacity.

Wait, what ?? Dive operations knowingly filled their boats over capacity ???? Say it isn't so, Joe !!

Again, you are entitled to express your opinions, but expect some discussion and factual details to be presented so that people can make their own decisions about when is best for them and what risks they are willing to take.

I'm pretty confident nothing I've said, (or the essence of Dave's OP) has been un-factual, it's all just been over-reacted to, and taken out of context, as being some sort of assault against Cozumel. I'm all about people having the info and freedom to make the best decisions for them, which is why it's being pointed out that if they come diving in winter, they better not expect to be in the tranquil Caribbean ideal that they may be anticipating (their travel agent sure ain't gonna to pass this nugget along,right?).
I don't see how presenting this accurate info is a bad thing.

 

[Zman96]

Mark again respectfully read both of my posts again. I am not arguing with you per se, I took an issue with Dave and his posting about lost diving days in January only. His post was about lost diving days. I agree with you winter is optimal for diving but for some that is what they get and they love it, challenges aside.