MasterMachinist
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You will love it . Try holding your light point to your bodyy to coover i tn wave your hand and watch what you see its cool
Cozumel Night Diving - Need Tips suggestions
- Thread starter Budgirl
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One other thing - if it's a moonlit night, it will be just about as bright on the bottom as it is out of the water.
jlyle
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Some suggestions:
1. Dive the same spot in daylight to get an idea of what it will look like after dark. If you are doing a boat dive, it will most likely be on Paradise Reef.
2. If possible (definitely possible with a shore dive), get in the water at dusk. It will get dark gradually and won't be as intimidating as jumping into inky, black water.
3. Take a back up light, use a cyalume or other tank light.
4. Turn on your light before you jump in and keep it on until you are back on the boat. That way, if you drop the light, you can easily locate it on the bottom. [one exception - I hate to bring this up, but tiny marine inverts are attracted to lights. You may find yourself in a swarm near the bottom or near the surface. If that happens, turn the light off. They will quickly go away.]
5. Most night dives at Paradise Reef are similar to the scene in the movie E.T. where they are looking for the extraterrestrial in the forest - lots of lights and a little amusing.
6. At some point, cover you lights and look around in the dark. Wave a fin or hand, and experience the luminescence.
7. Enjoy yourself.
1. Dive the same spot in daylight to get an idea of what it will look like after dark. If you are doing a boat dive, it will most likely be on Paradise Reef.
2. If possible (definitely possible with a shore dive), get in the water at dusk. It will get dark gradually and won't be as intimidating as jumping into inky, black water.
3. Take a back up light, use a cyalume or other tank light.
4. Turn on your light before you jump in and keep it on until you are back on the boat. That way, if you drop the light, you can easily locate it on the bottom. [one exception - I hate to bring this up, but tiny marine inverts are attracted to lights. You may find yourself in a swarm near the bottom or near the surface. If that happens, turn the light off. They will quickly go away.]
5. Most night dives at Paradise Reef are similar to the scene in the movie E.T. where they are looking for the extraterrestrial in the forest - lots of lights and a little amusing.
6. At some point, cover you lights and look around in the dark. Wave a fin or hand, and experience the luminescence.
7. Enjoy yourself.
OP
Budgirl
Contributor
Okay...now I am thinking that one night dive may not be enough! We will be diving about 4 or 5 days before the full moon...
I have a hard enough time in the day recognizing my husband, I'll probably need to tether myself to him at night...last time we dove with a group I grabbed another man's thigh when I thought it was my husband! He didnt seem to mind though
...
I have a hard enough time in the day recognizing my husband, I'll probably need to tether myself to him at night...last time we dove with a group I grabbed another man's thigh when I thought it was my husband! He didnt seem to mind though
...
MasterMachinist
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I think you will have a blast. A buffy's son on one of his early askedd his mom why i was so mad at him , she what he meant , he looks mad under water lol
Mastermachinist
Mastermachinist
redflstfi
Registered
I've always gotten extremely excited about night diving and still do. There are some advantages:
1) less crowds - many fear night diving, many operators will not offer runs
2) quieter waters - the seas usually calm toward evening
3) "new" life - you will see creatures/critters you would not see during the daylight hours as well as nocturnal transformations of animals you may be familiar with
4) better situational awareness - you will become a better, more proficient diver and be aware of your position/situation, your buddies' position and your relative position to the group in the water.
Night diving off the coast of New Jersey is one thing and a night dive in beautiful Cozumel or any tropical location is quite another. Do it, you'll love it.
1) less crowds - many fear night diving, many operators will not offer runs
2) quieter waters - the seas usually calm toward evening
3) "new" life - you will see creatures/critters you would not see during the daylight hours as well as nocturnal transformations of animals you may be familiar with
4) better situational awareness - you will become a better, more proficient diver and be aware of your position/situation, your buddies' position and your relative position to the group in the water.
Night diving off the coast of New Jersey is one thing and a night dive in beautiful Cozumel or any tropical location is quite another. Do it, you'll love it.
sharky60
Contributor
One thing that will help with the anxiety is that you will most likely do a "twilight" dive for your first night dive. The sun will still be setting and there will be still quite a bit of natural light at the beginning of the dive, so you can sort of ease into the darkness.
The dive will most likely be pretty shallow if it is a boat dive, Paradise is very popular for night dives.
Although shore dives aren't the most spectacular dives during the day on Coz, at night the shallows are pretty lively, Villablanca shallows, Scuba Club & Airplane flats have always been popular night dive spots.
Like any dives you do, make sure you let the dive op know of any conserns you may have. They are there to make sure you have a good vacation and will accomodate you any way possible.
The dive will most likely be pretty shallow if it is a boat dive, Paradise is very popular for night dives.
Although shore dives aren't the most spectacular dives during the day on Coz, at night the shallows are pretty lively, Villablanca shallows, Scuba Club & Airplane flats have always been popular night dive spots.
Like any dives you do, make sure you let the dive op know of any conserns you may have. They are there to make sure you have a good vacation and will accomodate you any way possible.
jlyle
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cduffey
Contributor
We just got back from Coz. We hadn't night-dived in a couple of years, and it was my first (I think) when there was no moon. Paradise is amazing at night. I found that identifying other divers by their fins worked best for me. That way, if you're trying to find your husband, you don't end up shining your light on someone's face, just their feet. Relax, go slow and you'll be hooked. BTW, I disagree about the post that it's no colder at night. I got MUCH colder with the same thermal protection as day diving. Next time, I'll dress more warmly.
mstevens
Toadfish. Splendid is implied but not guaranteed.
I'm opposed to tank lights, including glowsticks, for Cozumel night dives. One of the nice things about night diving is the relative darkness. This is especially true on bright, moonlit nights when you can do a dive without turning on your light at all (though you'd miss the octopuses...) It's not as if you're in a cave or murky water. Extraneous lights are just distracting and can kill dark adaptation ("night vision").
Yes, divers can lose track of their groups. We were diving with just my family of 3 and a DM when someone appeared to go way out of his way to leave a large, cattle-boat-sized group to join us. I didn't mind until he literally elbowed my son out of the way while the kid was trying to photograph a squid. I turned him by his shoulders and pushed him toward his group then made "shoo" motions to try to get him to rejoin them before they got too far away to find. Only when the DM, my wife, my kid, and I all lined up shoulder-to-shoulder and motioned him away did he seem to get a clue. Tank lights would have done nothing to keep him oriented, since he ignored much more basic evidence that he was with the wrong group. My belief is that all it takes is a bit of situational awareness to avoid losing your buddy, even at night.
The analogy mentioned above to a scene in "E.T." is apt - people tend to go nuts with the lights.
Yes, divers can lose track of their groups. We were diving with just my family of 3 and a DM when someone appeared to go way out of his way to leave a large, cattle-boat-sized group to join us. I didn't mind until he literally elbowed my son out of the way while the kid was trying to photograph a squid. I turned him by his shoulders and pushed him toward his group then made "shoo" motions to try to get him to rejoin them before they got too far away to find. Only when the DM, my wife, my kid, and I all lined up shoulder-to-shoulder and motioned him away did he seem to get a clue. Tank lights would have done nothing to keep him oriented, since he ignored much more basic evidence that he was with the wrong group. My belief is that all it takes is a bit of situational awareness to avoid losing your buddy, even at night.
The analogy mentioned above to a scene in "E.T." is apt - people tend to go nuts with the lights.
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