Cozumel Newbie questions

[nyprrthd]

I won't go into safety equipment, because I'm a safety freak and own just about every gizmo that I can carry. "Better safe than sorry." I had to use my Dive Alert once in Cozumel, and the captain heard it from about 200 feet away in 5 foot (+/-) surf. My wife may never hear again, but we won't go there.....

Casa Mexicana is incredibly clean, has good air conditioning, is well located, and has a great complimentary hot/cold breakfast buffet. They even have a juicer, so you can make your own concoctions (carrots, beets, fresh fruit). If you add the cost of breakfast (and the hassle of going to a restaurant) to a room rate elsewhere, you will have a better comparison. I was on the 4th floor, and could not get a wireless conection. I sat in the lobby when I needed the internet, where I got good reception.

Search this forum for opinions on the multitude of dive ops (about 100) in Cozumel. We like Blue XT~Sea, but it's a personal choice. Mago does magic tricks for the air hogs who surface early (and during the surface intervals), but always has one eye on the bubbles. He and Aiden are great captains.

 

[nyprrthd]

I also believe that most ops can have 100's for you, if you request them in advance. Ask before you book your reservations.

 

[DandyDon]

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.

The one good thing I can think of that came out of that stupid movie I never saw is that we have a wide variety of surface markers now available. The cheapest ones are a little flimsy for my taste, the somewhat better ones like the one I've carried for 300 dives starts at around $15 - designed to be orally inflated on the surface, probly the kind your Lds carries (irritating that they don't keep a surplus of safety sausages on hand, but I'm easily irritated :blush: ), and there are much nicer ones and packages available.

>> Divers Alert Network (you are a member, yes?) has a nice package that includes a superior sausage: "New and improved! Includes 6’ orange safety sausage (with lpi attachment, dump valve and reflective strip), Wind Storm whistle, signal mirror and chemical lightstick. Accessories are incorporated into sausage’s base; clips to BC. Dimensions: 7.5” wide x 3.0” high (rolled); 7.5” wide x 72.0” high (unrolled)." I'm pretty sure it can be orally inflated, too, in case your tank is empty: See DAN Surface Signal Kit on this link

>> Good ol' LP has a couple of packages or pieces: see this list

>> Scubatoys.com has a couple of very nice ones, probly more if you call: look here

Most divers do not carry a Dive Alert. I do, but most don't.

I won't go into safety equipment, because I'm a safety freak and own just about every gizmo that I can carry. "Better safe than sorry." I had to use my Dive Alert once in Cozumel, and the captain heard it from about 200 feet away in 5 foot (+/-) surf. My wife may never hear again, but we won't go there.....

Yeah, I used mine once without ducking my head in the water. You never forget after that, do ya'...?? :shakehead

I also believe that most ops can have 100's for you, if you request them in advance. Ask before you book your reservations.

I have had some difficulties finding 100s there, maybe it's just the shops I tried. It seems that most shops don't have compressors and have to send their tanks to the central facility that fills for many shops.

And I think that one shop has 100s with DIN only. They adapt your reg to fit, but I have been cautioned on that. I do not have the details - only bring this up for discussion.

 

[Fordan]

I was on the 4th floor, and could not get a wireless conection. I sat in the lobby when I needed the internet, where I got good reception.

Hmmm. The Casa Mexicana website claims "a High Speed (512 KB) data port available in each room." I usually bring a tiny wireless access point (Apple Airport Express) with me so I can use my laptop anywhere in the room, assuming there's Ethernet there.

I like Internet access when I travel. Yes, it's a vacation, but I like to be able to chat with friends (Skype & IM), upload pictures and the like, especially since I'm traveling alone.

 

[nyprrthd]

Yeah, I used mine once without ducking my head in the water. You never forget after that, do ya'...?? :shakehead

What'd you say??

I have had some difficulties finding 100s there, maybe it's just the shops I tried. It seems that most shops don't have compressors and have to send their tanks to the central facility that fills for many shops.

And I think that one shop has 100s with DIN only. They adapt your reg to fit, but I have been cautioned on that. I do not have the details - only bring this up for discussion.

Blue XT~Sea was able to supply us with 100's, and they weren't DIN, or adapted DIN.

Hmmm. The Casa Mexicana website claims "a High Speed (512 KB) data port available in each room." I usually bring a tiny wireless access point (Apple Airport Express) with me so I can use my laptop anywhere in the room, assuming there's Ethernet there.

I believe there is a data port in each room, but I was not equipped to hook up to a data port. I was talking about WiFi capabilities, which, by all reports, is spotty, depending on which room you get. I wouldn't have given up my nice ocean view room for a better connection. Besides, it was fun to watch the people go by while I was sitting in the lobby. My connection speeds were pretty good, but certain remote email functions were extremely slow, or failed several times.

 

[Christi]

I also believe that most ops can have 100's for you, if you request them in advance. Ask before you book your reservations.

Actually, there are only a few ops who have larger tanks aside from the steel tank operators.

 

[Christi]

I have had some difficulties finding 100s there, maybe it's just the shops I tried. It seems that most shops don't have compressors and have to send their tanks to the central facility that fills for many shops.

Yes, 98% of the shops on the island send their tanks to a central fill station. This has nothing to do with availability of 100's. The shop either owns the tanks or they don't.

It doesn't really make sense on this island for a shop to have their own compressor unless they are filling hundreds of tanks a day and have a big facility.

 

[Christi]

Hmmm. The Casa Mexicana website claims "a High Speed (512 KB) data port available in each room." I usually bring a tiny wireless access point (Apple Airport Express) with me so I can use my laptop anywhere in the room, assuming there's Ethernet there.

I like Internet access when I travel. Yes, it's a vacation, but I like to be able to chat with friends (Skype & IM), upload pictures and the like, especially since I'm traveling alone.

Casa Mexicana does in fact have high speed internet (ethernet) access in every room. They also have a small internet room in the lobby if you don't want to bring your own computer. They also have WiFi I believe.

 

[Fordan]

The one good thing I can think of that came out of that stupid movie I never saw is that we have a wide variety of surface markers now available.

Ah, yes. The "Oh wow, you Scuba Dive? You ever see that movie, you know, the one where they get left behind..." movie.

inflated on the surface, probly the kind your Lds carries (irritating that they don't keep a surplus of safety sausages on hand, but I'm easily irritated :blush: )

The owner said they'd had a run on them during the holidays, and given that I was seeing decent amount of traffic in the store, I tend to believe her.

>> Divers Alert Network (you are a member, yes?) has a nice package that includes a superior sausage

Glad you didn't use their acronym up there, or the sentence could have a whole different meaning.

Juvenile humor aside, yes, I've been a full member since before I finished my pool work. I've looked at that safety sausage several times in the past, but it didn't seem to be particularly suited for deployment at depth. Given I don't have the training/skills to do so, that probably shouldn't make me shy away from it.

I have to head back to the shop for other gear anyways in a week or two; I'll probably wait to see what she gets in, and if I don't like it or they don't arrive by then, just order the one from DAN.

 

[boulderjohn]

I realize it's been a couple of years since I have been to Cozumel, and perhaps the dive op I used was unusual, but...

On my first dives, I asked for one tank of EAN 32. My plan was to use it for the first, deeper dive, and then switch to air for the shallower dive. The first day I tried it, the DM refused to allow it. Even though the plan was to stay well above the MOD for EAN 32, he said there was a chance I could get caught in a downdraft and go below the MOD without meaning to. He said I could only use it on the shallow dive.

The second day, it didn't matter. The O-ring on the Nitrox tank was broken, I had forgotten my repair kit, and he didn't have another 0-ring himself.

I gave up after that.

Next time, I am not using that op, for a variety of reasons.