Why Come to Coz in January?

[Prop Joe]

Kind of like boating on Lake Michigan, near Chicago in the summer. I own a small boat. Plans are made weeks in advance. Sometimes the wind comes down the lake out of the North East. This is how it goes.
Beautiful summer day but wind out of the NE with a nice Fetch blowing down the entire lake. Plans are made people and kids are ready to go. Then, I have to make the call about the weather. I say, "Look, It's really not safe to go out on the water today". Next comment "Really"? "The weather is so nice here on land". Then, "Are you sure we can't go"?
We don't go. I feel kinda like a major buzz kill...
Then there are the usual reports of boats hitting the breakwater barriers nearshore and undertows drowning swimmers on the news. Mother nature is a bitch.
I strive to not be a statistic.

 

[mstevens]

Attacks from the other dive ops mainly?

I’m not sure what he had in mind, but surely other ops are aware of this.

He may be thinking of boosters who sometimes shout down or minimize any criticism of the island. For the most part, those tend to be people with no investment beyond the emotional.

I love to be here in January, but I don’t mind if I don’t dive. We got 3 very nice days in last week, might get a few more next week or might not. I have plenty to do without diving. If i needed to dive as much as possible, now would not be the time to be here.

I wore a jacket today, though not a parka. A few days ago it was slightly warmer in New Hampshire (during the “January thaw”) than it was here. With lots of wind, it can get pretty uncomfortable, and hardly anyone has heat so it can be unpleasant even if you’re cold-adapted.

 

[tridacna]

I was in Coz in 2011 in mid-Jan. Got in 3 dives in 7 days. Never again. Thanks for the reminder @Dave Dillehay

 

[DandyDon]

Isn't January the best month to see Eagle Rays?

Otherwise, I agree with your warning. By the time we get into consistent winter weather up north, it's tempting to want to come south for a taste of summer - but that's not guaranteed at all. Some of those arctic fronts are monsters and still strong all the way to Central America.

 

[Streydog]

Isn't January the best month to see Eagle Rays?

Otherwise, I agree with your warning. By the time we get into consistent winter weather up north, it's tempting to want to come south for a taste of summer - but that's not guaranteed at all. Some of those arctic fronts are monsters and still strong all the way to Central America.

We saw 7 eagle rays in a group at Punta Sur on Friday, last January we saw seven in the exact same spot.

 

[RayfromTX]

We saw nine there in late December. It's really special. Here is a video that shows 8 of them because one snuck behind me.

 

[mcohen1021]

LOL Vomit Comet!

 

[tridacna]

No amount of Eagle Rays make up for sitting in a restaurant watching waves and wind screw up your one week dive vacation.

 

[mcohen1021]

No amount of Eagle Rays make up for sitting in a restaurant watching waves and wind screw up your one week dive vacation.

You could not have said that any better - happened to us Dec 2017

 

[buffdiver]

Agreed! We were there over New Years 2018. We were lucky in we got our second dive scrubbed on Tues, Jan 2 from the harbor closing. Then we did two dives Wednesday. Our dive op sent a notice that Thursday was optional. If you wanted to dive, they WERE going out but if you weren't comfortable with the forecast conditions then we could cancel with no charge. That was a very good gesture for our dive op. So? We went to the beach at Chankanuba park snorkeled and found Jesus! What a day! Friday and Saturday were diving days but rough. I got a great vid of an eagle ray and nurse shark. I probably will not return in the month of January again but all was good.