Drift diving in Cozumel

[lmorin]

I know you were, and I am fully in agreement that there's alot of unnecessary impact made on the reefs at Cozumel by poor and/or inexperienced divers, and by irresponsible divemasters (or dive ops!) that do not hold their clients to strict standards. But it's really hard to know exactly what happened in this case just by someone's post. We see the post, we think of all the times that we've seen divers banging into corals, and we assume that this must be something like that. But, since we weren't there, it's impossible to know...now if the guy said, "and then I pried an anemone off the rock with my knife so I'd have a good handhold" or something like that, that's a real strong indication there's something bad going on.

BTW Gordon, I didn't mean to be snide in the rock comment; it's just that usually I agree with your posts, this time I had to take issue.

Thank you for the defense. You hit the nail on the head.

 

[Christi]

Thank you for the defense. You hit the nail on the head.

I wasn't attacking you lmorin...and I'm not pretending tohave been there. I was simply addressing his earlier comments and clarifying my comments, which were based from exactly what you posted...which as I said, was all I had to go on.

 

[ggunn]

BTW Gordon, I didn't mean to be snide in the rock comment; it's just that usually I agree with your posts, this time I had to take issue.

I didn't take it that way. I know that there is dead coral there which is essentially rock, but I was also addressing the situation of a vertical wall and a swimthrough, and virtually every square centimeter of the wall is alive.

But as you say, I was not there to see it.

 

[Mawg]

Thank you for the defense. You hit the nail on the head.

I have made over 150 dives in Cozumel and experienced all kinds of currents. Once, on Santa Rosa Wall I got caught in an up current that took me to the surface after being down for at least 30 minutes. Nothing I tried kept me from going up. It was slow , thank God, but unrelenting. I'd be curious to know what reefs you were on when you ran into the strong currents. Thank You.

 

[lmorin]

I have made over 150 dives in Cozumel and experienced all kinds of currents. Once, on Santa Rosa Wall I got caught in an up current that took me to the surface after being down for at least 30 minutes. Nothing I tried kept me from going up. It was slow , thank God, but unrelenting. I'd be curious to know what reefs you were on when you ran into the strong currents. Thank You.

I believe both were on Colombia Pinnacles. Went there 3 times. The currents were rather rapid during two of them. Except for those 2, the other 11 dives were fun "drift" rather than "thruway" dives, as one of our group put it.

 

[Mawg]

I believe both were on Colombia Pinnacles. Went there 3 times. The currents were rather rapid during two of them. Except for those 2, the other 11 dives were fun "drift" rather than "thruway" dives, as one of our group put it.

Thanks for the response. Although I dont normally consider Columbia a reef where I would encounter swift current, it can happen. It is my favorite of all the reefs in Cozumel. The first swift current I encountered was on a reef called Punta Tunich. It was probably a solid 3 knots that day and we were flying. Over time, I have learned to manage the currents using techniques that have already been mentioned here. Believe me, I understand your apprehension. But, the swift current incident is not the norm. I love drift diving in Cozumel and though I have been diving elsewhere in the Caribbean, for the last 12 years, it has been Cozumel exclusively. A Cozumel Dive Master told me years ago that the currents were slowest usually in May and June. I have found that to be true.

 

[sealskin98]

Dive 7418 from San Juan reef to Cuba....You are cleared for take-off.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Me bad.

Some of those currents can be a (female dog word) to handle on the swim-throughs...been there done that.

I wonder if they make a t-shirt?

 

[scubawife]

Dive 7418 from San Juan reef to Cuba....You are cleared for take-off.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Me bad.

Some of those currents can be a (female dog word) to handle on the swim-throughs...been there done that.

I wonder if they make a t-shirt?

:lol:

That would make a great t-shirt! If you change "San Juan" to "Barracuda" it would broaden the creative potential for the graphics

 

[TheRedHead]

I got hit in the mask by an out of control doctorfish on San Juan. :laughing: