Preparing for Devil's Throat

[Dave Dillehay]

For the Record:

I cannot imagine any rational dive there could bring Oxygen Toxicity into question. To think otherwise is just ridiculous, no matter what your formulas say. 117 OR 130 ft for 1 minute is not going to hurt any one.

I personally have seen others die while coming out of there with extreme DCS caused by low air and rapid ascent (not in one of my groups), but never in 20 years have I heard of any Oxygen Toxicity issues there. Indeed, come to think of it and checking with Dr. Pascual Piccolo I don't know of a single O2 Toxicity event in Cozumel...ever.

Could it happen, I guess so but not something most people should worry about.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[Ron Lee]

I personally have seen others die while coming out of there with extreme DCS caused by low air and rapid ascent (not in one of my groups),.......

I am surprised that there have been fatalities at Devil's Throat. How much time is required to go from the shallow opening to the ocean side around 130 feet?

One minute...max?

So to be very low on air at 130 feet means that a diver was well past the point of needing to ascend before even entering the throat.

 

[cpichette]

I dove Devil's Throat last year. It was my 77th dive.

When I walked into Aldora, I told them my interest in diving the Devil's Throat at last day of my vacation. But I also told them if dive master doesn't think I am qualified or ready for it, please tell me straight at my face. I definitely won't feel insulted and I will thank him for his honest opinion.

It is true there is not much to see in the dive. However, passing through the throat is still a thrilling experience. Good buoyancy is a must, and be prepared for computer to kick into deco mode and know how to handle it.

This year I was asking Aldora to take me back to Devil's Throat again, but I was taken to Barracuda instead. It is a much, much more challenging dive than Devil's Throat and I felt like a total newbie in comparison to other 5 divers.

Barracuda is much, much tougher than the Throat. Barracuda taught me that I'm not nearly as good a diver as I think I am. But I can't wait to do it again...

 

[Ron Lee]

I will go to Barracuda over Devil's Throat any day that the conditions up north are suitable.

 

[John Larsen]

SHHHH...don't say Barracuda..thats a secret spot.

 

[cvchief]

For the Record:

I cannot imagine any rational dive there could bring Oxygen Toxicity into question. To think otherwise is just ridiculous, no matter what your formulas say. 117 OR 130 ft for 1 minute is not going to hurt any one.

I personally have seen others die while coming out of there with extreme DCS caused by low air and rapid ascent (not in one of my groups), but never in 20 years have I heard of any Oxygen Toxicity issues there. Indeed, come to think of it and checking with Dr. Pascual Piccolo I don't know of a single O2 Toxicity event in Cozumel...ever.

Could it happen, I guess so but not something most people should worry about.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

That's what I was saying. Two different levels of risk. It strikes me odd to say I would much rather accept a greater risk of getting bent because heck it aint that bad than accept a very, very small risk of an O2 toxicity incident. That seems to be poor risk management.

 

[TSandM]

Personally, I would rather avoid both.

When we dove Coz, we dove 32% and set a hard deck at 100 feet. We saw beautiful reef, lots of canyons and short swim-throughs . . . At no time in the trip did I say to myself, "This would have been a great trip if we had just been able to go a little deeper."

 

[Divegoose]

I have dove the "Throat" three times now. Twice when I was there in 2009, and once when I was there in 2013. All dives were on an AL80 (I normally dive with a AL63). Prior to diving the Throat the divemaster made sure we were all competent enough to make the dive, by watching and observing our skills for several dives prior. I'm sure had the divemaster not had confidence in our abilities, he would not have taken us there.

On my second dive there, we were accompanied by three gentlemen from the Midwest. Hitting the exit point on the wall, we were greeted by a big turtle which we spent a couple of minutes watching. As we turned and started up the wall to the top of the reef, I observed the three gentlemen from the midwest actually descending :goingdown:. One was quite deep, but the other two were much deeper.

Once we were all safely back on the boat, I asked the one diver about his computer and how it worked (surreptitiously trying to determine his depth). His computer showed his depth to be 183 feet, and his two buddies were below 200 feet . When asked why his buddies would go that deep, on air, he replied that they normally do lake diving, but like to do a "deep dive" when they visit Cozumel. In my opinion, they were asking for trouble.

I think each and every dive we do has some element of risk to it. A year ago we lost a diver locally in about 10 feet of water. Official cause of death was drowning, and the coroner's report did not list any mitigating factors. It is up to each of as, as responsible divers, to know our limits, our equipment, and the people we are diving with. If we are with a group, and we don't feel comfortable doing the dive, then we must speak up and say so. Our safety is OUR responsibility.


Divegoose

 

[ggunn]

I have dove the "Throat" three times now. Twice when I was there in 2009, and once when I was there in 2013. All dives were on an AL80 (I normally dive with a AL63). Prior to diving the Throat the divemaster made sure we were all competent enough to make the dive, by watching and observing our skills for several dives prior. I'm sure had the divemaster not had confidence in our abilities, he would not have taken us there.

On my second dive there, we were accompanied by three gentlemen from the Midwest. Hitting the exit point on the wall, we were greeted by a big turtle which we spent a couple of minutes watching. As we turned and started up the wall to the top of the reef, I observed the three gentlemen from the midwest actually descending :goingdown:. One was quite deep, but the other two were much deeper.

Once we were all safely back on the boat, I asked the one diver about his computer and how it worked (surreptitiously trying to determine his depth). His computer showed his depth to be 183 feet, and his two buddies were below 200 feet . When asked why his buddies would go that deep, on air, he replied that they normally do lake diving, but like to do a "deep dive" when they visit Cozumel. In my opinion, they were asking for trouble.

I think each and every dive we do has some element of risk to it. A year ago we lost a diver locally in about 10 feet of water. Official cause of death was drowning, and the coroner's report did not list any mitigating factors. It is up to each of as, as responsible divers, to know our limits, our equipment, and the people we are diving with. If we are with a group, and we don't feel comfortable doing the dive, then we must speak up and say so. Our safety is OUR responsibility.


Divegoose

I agree, but on virtually every trip to Cozumel I see someone taking risks that I am not willing to take. A couple of times it was so blatantly due to ignorance I said something (as discreetly and non-challengingly as possible) but most of the time I keep my thoughts to myself. Risk tolerance is an individual thing; I can always abort, deploy my SMB, and head for the surface if things get too risky for me.

 

[scubafanatic]

Personally, I would rather avoid both.

When we dove Coz, we dove 32% and set a hard deck at 100 feet. We saw beautiful reef, lots of canyons and short swim-throughs . . . At no time in the trip did I say to myself, "This would have been a great trip if we had just been able to go a little deeper."

likewise, at no time during my Cozumel dives did I feel the urge to go into a cave...just sayin'