Coz dive report, May11-17

[Moodiejeff]

You can't compare dive ops in Cozumel if you haven't gone diving with them - you have to know all the facts. Loyalty is nice, though.

Point taken... If you can get on their 6 packs - great! I still wouldn't want to be on their cattle boats. My first trip in Coz I went out w/ Scuba Du, not a cattle boat op but Big nonetheless. Very professional dive op but you wouldn't catch me diving with them again (unless i was guaranteed a fast boat).

If I can find the pic I will show you what a herd of cattle really looks like. We were doing Paradise when an unnamed dive op (name starts with Dive, ends with House) dumped 27-28 divers on our heads. They were all over the place and we couldn't escape (except upwards). Killed an otherwise productive dive.

Anyway, we're getting a bit off topic. Reefs look good to me... good enough for me to go back in July.

 

[Christi]

OK...here's the latest news...one of my groups today saw a MANTA RAY! They dropped right in on it! I thought Pedro was kidding me, but my divers confirmed it! Unbelievable...I haven't heard of a Manta sighting her ein over five years! Of course they wouldn't have seen it if I was on the boat

 

[Moodiejeff]

OK...here's the latest news...one of my groups today saw a MANTA RAY! They dropped right in on it! I thought Pedro was kidding me, but my divers confirmed it! Unbelievable...I haven't heard of a Manta sighting her ein over five years! Of course they wouldn't have seen it if I was on the boat

Please tell me someone had a camera!

Good thing we left when we did, they wouldn't have seen it if we were there either :jpshakehe

 

[cowboyneal]

Point taken... If you can get on their 6 packs - great! I still wouldn't want to be on their cattle boats. My first trip in Coz I went out w/ Scuba Du, not a cattle boat op but Big nonetheless. Very professional dive op but you wouldn't catch me diving with them again (unless i was guaranteed a fast boat).

If I can find the pic I will show you what a herd of cattle really looks like. We were doing Paradise when an unnamed dive op (name starts with Dive, ends with House) dumped 27-28 divers on our heads. They were all over the place and we couldn't escape (except upwards). Killed an otherwise productive dive.

Anyway, we're getting a bit off topic. Reefs look good to me... good enough for me to go back in July.

Agreed. I cannot fathom (pun intended) what is on some people's minds. However, the big slow party boat is what made diving what it is today, and it is good for the beginners in more ways than one (learn how to respect others' space and all that jazz). Yes, this thread's getting a little swayed away...manta rays! WOW! I haven't heard of an acutal manta sighting in coz in quite some time. Although I've seen plenty in Belize, I never saw one as far North as Coz (but I haven't seen a lot of things)...I'm down end of the month and I have some friends going over for "Wilma Anniversary Week" figuring it can't happen 2 years in a row...hmmmm...

CN

 

[chickmama]

Dont listen to the bad reports. The bad ones are better than the good ones at other places. If you have never been to cozumel you wont notice the difference. We go several times a year and yes there is a difference in the reefs since the hurricans but the diving is still better there than most places .

 

[The Professor]

Questions for Christi: Please be so kind as to identify which dive sites those photographs were taken at and on what dates. The professor.

 

[mccabejc]

Nothing special, it's an Olympus 5050 with a single DS-125 Strobe, shooting in manual mode. The last two pictures were taken with no flash at all, only ambient light. Thank you

Yeah, those photos are breathtaking. I love CFWA stuff like that. Just gorgeous.

And I just got a DS-125 for my 5050. Maybe in a few years I'll be able to take photos like that.

Never been to Cozumel, but it's coming to the top of my list of places to go.

By the way, can someone explain how a hurricane can affect a reef that is 30 or more feet deep? I'd think that big waves up top would give you some decreasing circular and back-and-forth surge as you go deeper, but unless you had 20ft high waves I can't understand how you'd see much affect at depth.

I suppose that the high winds might cause some extremely heavy surface currents, but at depth I'm not too sure if it would be much of an issue. Maybe stirring stuff up and causing sand to fall all over the reef, and beating up the coral in the shallow areas, but I'm not seeing the mechanics of significant damage at depth. Anyone?

 

[ggunn]

Yeah, those photos are breathtaking. I love CFWA stuff like that. Just gorgeous.

And I just got a DS-125 for my 5050. Maybe in a few years I'll be able to take photos like that.

Never been to Cozumel, but it's coming to the top of my list of places to go.

By the way, can someone explain how a hurricane can affect a reef that is 30 or more feet deep? I'd think that big waves up top would give you some decreasing circular and back-and-forth surge as you go deeper, but unless you had 20ft high waves I can't understand how you'd see much affect at depth.

I suppose that the high winds might cause some extremely heavy surface currents, but at depth I'm not too sure if it would be much of an issue. Maybe stirring stuff up and causing sand to fall all over the reef, and beating up the coral in the shallow areas, but I'm not seeing the mechanics of significant damage at depth. Anyone?

Cozumel did get 20 foot high waves during Wilma, and I would expect that surge was a powerful force considerably deeper counterflow to the huge volume of seawater that was being thrown up onto the island. Right off Caribe Blu there used to be some fairly large concrete slabs on the bottom in about 15 feet of water; they are gone now.

 

[Carolina Diver]

OK...here's the latest news...one of my groups today saw a MANTA RAY! They dropped right in on it! I thought Pedro was kidding me, but my divers confirmed it! Unbelievable...I haven't heard of a Manta sighting her ein over five years! Of course they wouldn't have seen it if I was on the boat

The only time I have ever seen one was while snorkeling at Isla Mujeres about 5 years ago. Unbelievable. It is actually what sealed the deal on learning to dive. Just glided in from the deep. I still tell the story of my wife screaming through her snorkel!

 

[CozumelAntonio]

I've been certified and diving since 1992, have many, many dives in Cozumel, the mainland, Belize, Cuba, Holbox, etc.....

We had a guest at El Coz just finish his O/W a couple of days ago, and he went on his first certified 2 tank trip today. As I usually do, I asked him how it went when he got back, could not believe his response, besides the usual "awesome, amazing, incredible" expressions, he told me that as the group was coming up, they saw a huge Marlin zip by about 30 feet away.....I could only wish to see something like that....


"the reef is lost" ?????? yeah right.....:mooner:

:lol: ----NOT!!!