January Coz Report & Video – Blue Angel Resort & Dive Shop

[MN Lakeman]

6^th time back to Coz – 1^st time in January… ‘think I found the ideal time to be there. 80 to 82 every day of the nine I stayed & dove there, w/ the typical intermittent clouds rolling in & out, with surprisingly mild winds. This was particularly nice considering its 4 below zero here in Minneapolis today! ‘Didn’t seem as busy as even the times I’ve gone in the fall low season – but it certainly isn’t a low season for cruise ships! Almost every day – 5 floating monsters rolled in & out. My wife & 20 yr old son joined me the 1^st half of the week, & a dive buddy (1st time to Coz) came down to join me the 2^nd half. We all were comfortable in 5 ml full wetsuits, with water temps in the upper 70’s. Current was RIPPING the 1^st half of the week (my son loved it, wife…not so much). Night dive @ Paradise was spectacular – lost count of how many octopus encounters, but got a wonderful close-up shot of a tiny juvenile one. Norman, (good find by the way) Blue Angel DM did a great job veering us away from other dive parties coming upon us. Saw usual fare all week – MANY hawksbills from young to some of the biggest, visibly oldest I’ve ever seen. Several free swimming nurse sharks & fat green morays – including the big old toothless moray who hangs out @ the cave on Tormentos. The size of the crabs (lobsters too!) just blows me away –many just hangin’ outside of their caves/holes in the middle of the day. Viability was generally very good the whole week.

This is now my 3^rd time staying & diving with Blue Angel. Their excellent reputation precedes them many times over. Simple,clean, super convenient lodging right on the water – with the dive shop & recently remodeled & upgraded restaurant a few steps away. I know & completely trust the veteran dive staff – even with a couple new divers @ my side this time around. 6-pack boats are fast & reliable. We ate breakfast (included w/dive package) & lunch @ the upstairs restaurant, & all but a couple nights walked to town for dinner (I’ve never been an “all inclusive” traveler). We always made a point of getting back to BA to have a nightcap & listen to excellent music performed by 2 different vocalist/guitarists. We hit 3 new (for me) restaurants this time – all excellent: Kinta, O’Hana’s (owned by Blue Angel DM Matt), & Le Chef.

Fellow Scubaboard member, BettyinToronto arranged a nice happy hour gathering @ the BA restaurant, with almost a dozen other SB'ers joining. Owner Eva, generously added fantastic appetizers – more like gourmet Tapa’s – to the social hour. Thank youBetty & Eva!

Like I’m sure many dedicated BA enthusiasts feel, it’s like a second home for short get-aways or week (+) long vacations in diver’s paradise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KP8VlahWFw&list=UUsBMq9-LCO4yUCj1bHqq9pA&index=1

 

[blue steal]

Thanks for the nice report. Love the restaurant and night time entertainment.
First time I dove with Norman we went to Paradise just the two of us for a 80 minute dive. It was great to just poke around with no current.
Not used to such big lobsters out during the day and not afraid of you.
Eva is such a wonderful host, our first day there on the last trip we had a party out by the pool with lots of drinks. Nice.
Edit: Really enjoyed your video & music, very nice.

 

[prosdog]

Ive only been to Cozumel twice, the last trip I stayed at and dove with Blue Angel. I don't think I'll ever stay anywhere else. Eva, Matt, and everyone else run a top notch operation. Hotel was great, dive shop was great, restaurant was great.

 

[philba]

excellent video! how many dives did it take to compile all the footage for it?

 

[Oldbear]

Enjoyed the video...cn not wait for my next trip to Coz...

 

[MN Lakeman]

excellent video! how many dives did it take to compile all the footage for it?

Thank you! Pretty much the easiest video I've editted/produced - all scenes were in chronological order over the course of 7 days of diving/22 dives. Night scenes were just 1 night dive - Paradise never dissappoints. I was bummed however that I only saw the 2 eagle rays, & the GIANT one @ the end was the 2nd afternoon dive w/ viz on the down side along with the waning light, so footage came out grainy.

 

[melissabeads]

Beautiful video! Thank you for sharing... Heading back to Cozumel at the end of March and this was just what I needed to hold me off. "For at least another few days!"

 

[Drewpy]

Nice video! Love the octos..got my juices flowing, heading to BA in just 13 days..not that I am counting or anything!
Did you find the nitrox fills to be sufficient...or is that something I should check prior to the dive?

 

[MN Lakeman]

Nice video! Love the octos..got my juices flowing, heading to BA in just 13 days..not that I am counting or anything!
Did you find the nitrox fills to be sufficient...or is that something I should check prior to the dive?

Yes, Nitrox tanks were always 3000 lbs or more. Air - different story, as they were many times as low as 2700 (we always used 36% for our second dive). Both my buddy & I are pretty conservative on air usage, so the short fills weren't a big deal - other divers in our boat always hit 500lbs before we did. I raised an eyebrow a few times though, when I changed out my tank to the 2nd, to see I had 400 lbs on the gauge as a result of some of the light tanks we got.

It certainly wouldn't take but a half a minute to check your pressure after checking the O2 - just a thought.

Have a great time!! Wave to the octos for me -

 

[boomer68]

MN Lakeman,

Great report and video! (WOW!!!) Wife and I going to Blue Angel for the 1st time in March. Thanks for sharing. Are the small boats easy to get back in?