Cozumel Newbie questions

[DandyDon]

Christi, I know that you Instruct some in addition to running a local Op. Would this be a skill you'd expect of a diver with less than 24 logged...?

However, the most efective use of a sausage is to shoot it from the safety stop, which requires you to have line and a reel AND to know how to safely deploy it. All divemasters are required to have one and they will deploy it when they ascend with the group or when they send a diver(s) up.

Or were you saying that the DMs would...?

I've deployed mine fro 70 ft and cranked the reel on free ascent, but I have seen multi-card divers have problems with the reel. I have always carried a sausage on ocean dives, wouldn't go in without one ever, and I have deployed it on the surface to aid in being located, but never from below at Coz.

Perhaps I should if away from the DM, but I have never asked the DMs there about this. If I were close to the DM on ascent, tho - would mine not be redundant?

I know we can always count on you for good info on local protocols. thanks...!

Oh Fordan, the Storm Whistle brand seems to be the loudest. I carry one in addition to an inline air whistel, but I am a toy junkie.

 

[steeliejim]

all good answers, but would like to reinforce the advisability of wearing at least a polypro skin, if not for a bit of warmth, for the accidental brush with fire coral. I do try to keep from brushing against stuff, but got bumped against fire coral once while taking pix in a heavy current. Not fun, and since then always wear the polypro with a thin vest. Plenty warm enough for me.

 

[DocVikingo]

None "mandatory" but all divers should have all safety gear at all scuba venues at all times. On this Dec 3 a chap diving off Cancun got blown for 10 hours all the way to Isla Mujeres on what started out as a routine dive.

I'd strongly recommend that you read this:

Staying Alive Until the Boat Finds You--What to do when adrift at sea
http://www.undercurrent.org/UCnow/articles/StayingAlive200607.shtml

Have fun and Happy New Year.

DocVikingo

 

[DocVikingo]

Difficult to answer as it's largely idiosyncratic.

To put it in perspective, below is a piece, in part, from my "Ask RSD" column in Rodale's Scuba Diving:

"Have you ever been out on the street in the spring or fall and noticed people wearing everything from shorts and T-shirts to full coats with hats and scarves, all apparently in comfort? Well, things are no different underwater. This comfort is highly variable among individuals depending on such factors as percentage of body fat, age and tolerance to thermal discomfort. Other determinants, like how many dives a day over how many days you are planning, are also important. When you ask "What wetsuit should I wear?, you'll get answers ranging all the way from "just a bathing suit" through "7mm full."

The question is better asked: "What water temps can I anticipate at my destination?" You'll receive a pretty accurate answer to this, and then can decide what's best for you based on your personal thermal comfort needs."

That having been said, expect Coz scuba temps in late Jan/early Feb of 80 plus/minus a degree. Very unlikely you'll get a reading below 78. Based on your reported thermal tolerance, I believe your inquiry is answered.

As has been mentioned, at least wear a full body dive skin to help protect against unintended brushes with stinging hydriods of various sorts.

Have fun and Happy New Year.

DocVikingo

 

[Christi]

Christi, I know that you Instruct some in addition to running a local Op. Would this be a skill you'd expect of a diver with less than 24 logged...?

Or were you saying that the DMs would...?

Would I expect this skill of a diver with less than 24 logged dives?

I would expect a diver of any level who dives in conditions requiring the use of safety sausage deployment to be able to manage this skill. However, I know it is not a reality in most cases and that all divers coming to Cozumel do not have this skill. By the way...I DO NOT recommend trying this skill for the first time in Cozumel without the assistance/supervision of a DM or Instructor.

This IS something that the DM's here are proficient in and are expected to do for every dive. The only time a visiting diver here would really have the occasion to deploy their buoy is if they are separated from the group and/or DM and not within proximity of the safety sausage.

At the very minimum, every diver should at least have a signal marker of some sort to deploy once on the surface if separated.

I've deployed mine fro 70 ft and cranked the reel on free ascent, but I have seen multi-card divers have problems with the reel. I have always carried a sausage on ocean dives, wouldn't go in without one ever, and I have deployed it on the surface to aid in being located, but never from below at Coz.

As I said, I would not try this for the first time by yourself in Coz. If you want to practice with it talk to the DM and see if he will help you/teach you how to deploy it. Then if you have trouble, he's there to help.

A reel is like any other piece of gear. It can malfunction and can be prone to user error or circumstances. Deploying a reel and sausage looks easier than it is and it does take practice to do it safely. I've had to let my reel go on several occasions for various reasons. The reel jams up, the line gets stuck, or the currents can literally rip it out of your hands if not holding on tight. I had to take my watch off once and let the whole thing go because the line got stuck on my watch and I couldn't get it loose fast enough. My reel slipped out of my hands in a strong current one time...so yes, sometimes multi-card carriers, DM's, instructors can have issues when deploying their reel/sausage...it's not all that uncommon. The key is not to let it pull you up...let it go if you have to.

Oh Fordan, the Storm Whistle brand seems to be the loudest. I carry one in addition to an inline air whistel, but I am a toy junkie.

Keep in mind that whistles and dive alerts, etc. cannot really be heard or detected on the ocean surface. Bright flags, reflector tape, mirrors, strobe lights, flashlights, etc. are much more effective as signaling devices if lost at sea.

 

[loudives]

I agree with Christi. Deploying the line at depth can cause entanglements and a large amount of line others may tangle up in with the Coz currents. It takes knowhow to hold that reel away from your body and not be pulled up by that extra air bubble you are holding on to.
The dive master has experience in this area and can do it. I find that half way through the safety stop at 15-20 is a good time to deploy. Good boat Captains are following your bubbles and are not far anyway. I've only had to use mine 1 time in Coz as I always surface within a few yards of the divemaster. You should not have to use yours unless you lose sight of the divemaster or some other emergency occurs.

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks for the clarification there. My home dive bud had to do it during his Aow course (I didn't, practiced later), and some time later we were diving the Santa Rosa NM Blue Hole when I deployed mine from 70 ft. He decided to deploy his, too - then lost control of his expanding BC followed by losing control of his line, and by the time he corrected the lift, he had line wrapped around him. With my line all the way up, I had to go unwrap him, and then unwrap his line from mine. :shakehead

Our new rule from that day: Only one of us deploys a sausage at depth.

Keep in mind that whistles and dive alerts, etc. cannot really be heard or detected on the ocean surface. Bright flags, reflector tape, mirrors, strobe lights, flashlights, etc. are much more effective as signaling devices if lost at sea.

Good add, ty. I have used my Dive Alert at Coz when I was the first to surface and the captain was away talking to another boats' captain - he had a new magic trick he was showing everyone that day, but they are good about following usually - if two groups don't mingle. Then the bubbles all look the same, I'm sure.

I do carry dive lights on every dive, mostly for peeking in holes, but one could be handy for signaling - depending on the surface light. I also carry a signal mirror.

​

 

[Christi]

Thanks for the clarification there. My home dive bud had to do it during his Aow course (I didn't, practiced later), and some time later we were diving the Santa Rosa NM Blue Hole when I deployed mine from 70 ft. He decided to deploy his, too - then lost control of his expanding BC followed by losing control of his line, and by the time he corrected the lift, he had line wrapped around him. With my line all the way up, I had to go unwrap him, and then unwrap his line from mine. :shakehead

Our new rule from that day: Only one of us deploys a sausage at depth.


Good add, ty. I have used my Dive Alert at Coz when I was the first to surface and the captain was away talking to another boats' captain - he had a new magic trick he was showing everyone that day, but they are good about following usually - if two groups don't mingle. Then the bubbles all look the same, I'm sure.

I do carry dive lights on every dive, mostly for peeking in holes, but one could be handy for signaling - depending on the surface light. I also carry a signal mirror.

​

Yeh, your dive alert is pretty worthless on the surface.

The captains do pull up next to each other while keeping an eye out and chat...it's not a bad thing and doesn't mean they aren't paying attention. They all work together and remember they do this every day...watching and following the bubbles, predicting approximately when/where their divers will come up based on currents and their divers average bottom times and the dive plan that the DM gives them is all second nature to them and they've got it down to an art. If you were the first to surface, alone and and without a buoy....it's not reasonable to expect the boat to be right above your head. I'm sure he wasn't far away and didn't leave you there long.

 

[DandyDon]

Nah, he picked me up as soon as I blew my Dive Alert. Friendly young fellow, did his job well...

 

[Fordan]

You missed my post on that... " If you don't own a Nitrox analyzer, the shop should have one."

Actually, I didn't miss it; I had you saying the shop should have one, and jjw saying that I should bring mine. I chose to question the answer that would involve me having to go out and get new gear.

I would not change Ops during the stay. They usually like to evaluate you a bit the first day you dive with them, and you can often get better packages staying with one Op.

This makes sense, but I'm still considering it anyways. Mostly because there are a couple of ops that dive really large tanks. I've been looking at larger tanks for my own diving, and this would be a chance to try them. On the other hand, everyone on the boat will likely have the large tanks, so I'll end up being among the first up again. If I did it, it'd likely be a 5 day with op1 / 2 day with op2 split.

I will start by saying that ALL of these questions would best be answered by specific dive operators that you are considering, as everyone has their own procedures and policies. While very well intended by everyone who has answered, no one here can speak to the specific procedures and policies of individual dive operators.

Definately. I'm posting here mostly to try to become an educated consumer; so that I know what questions I should be asking.

As far as whether or not you should dive nitrox...well, it's never a bad thing unless th profile is too deep of course. You state that you are an air hog, which would indicate to me that your bottom times are less than 45 minutes or so. If this is the case, nitrox really wouldn't benefit you much other than to give you less N2 loading, which as I stated is a good thing, but diving nitrox will not increase your bottom time in your case.

That's about what I figured. I would be diving Nitrox mostly to add to the N2 safety margin, although if it got to the point where it helped me stay down longer than I could on air, so much the better. Only real downsides to Nitrox are cost and MOD, that later of which may come into play on dive 1 it sounds like.

I would expect a diver of any level who dives in conditions requiring the use of safety sausage deployment to be able to manage this skill. However, I know it is not a reality in most cases and that all divers coming to Cozumel do not have this skill. By the way...I DO NOT recommend trying this skill for the first time in Cozumel without the assistance/supervision of a DM or Instructor.

A safety sausage/SMB is on my list of things to get before my trip. Just have to decide if I want the type sold by the dive shop I typically get gear from which is surface inflated, apparently orally (they were out of stock so couldn't show me), or get something deployable from depth from elsewhere.

I'm hesitent to pick up a Dive Alert since my BC is an Airtrim model, so it wouldn't fit particularly well, I suspect.