Knife in Cozumel?

[Fish_Whisperer]

Good god... We went out with waves around 4'. LOL

 

[Christi]

Good god... We went out with waves around 4'. LOL

Totally depends on who is in charge for the day, what kind of mood they're in, and what the forecast calls for later inthe day. Sometimes they close it because they know it is going to get worse before anyone could finish a two-tank dive.

It's not so much the chop, as it is the wind. As far as chop goes, they typically close the port if the swells are larger than 2' to 3' This is not that unusual. I've had Flower Gardens trips blown out for 3 to 5's and the boat is 110 feet!

It also gets closed to certain types of boats and activities based on how bad it is or will get. For xample, sometimes only boats over 30' can go out, sometimes only 40', other times dive boats can go out with precaution but fishing boats can't go out (because they go out much further)...there are many variables, and there is a method to the madness. Also, the Harbor Master and the MArine Park are completely different entities.

This is all for safety...it's not that the diving itslef is dangerous in those conditions, but navigating the boats, and getting onand off can be dangerous.

I hate when the port is closed because I lose money...but I also don't want anyone getting hurt, so most of the time, it does make sense.

I think Gregg was exaggerating just a little and we were acle to go out later that day when the port opened.

 

[TheRedHead]

Cozumel has more rules than fish. Fortunatley, most of them aren't enforced...which makes one question why they have them.

Number one bizarre Coz rule is the harbor master's tendency to close the harbor to all but aircraft carriers if the waves are taller than about 5 inches. It even goes so far as to say ALL water sports are prohibitted (so don't tell anyone I went snorkelling in the harrowing 6 inch wind chop) I can't imagine why the dive operators allow that, given the impact such ridiculous decisions must have on the economy. I've never been to a place where, even when conditions were clearly safe, and divers wanted to go out, they were prevented from doing so by the great and powerful harbor master.

But like I said...more rules than fish. Great diving, though

We were out one day week before last and encountered some 4 to 6 foot rollers. They got worse the further south we went. When we ascended from our dive, the DM and a couple of guys had to bail the stern of the boat with a bucket. We almost got swamped on our way back. The Harbor Master closed the port the next day when things didn't seem as bad. We went to the east side of the island and found calm seas.

 

[Web Monkey]

I don't even own a dive knife. I've got shears and a z-knife (hook-shaped line cutter) in 2 different pockets.

Never needed an actual knife for anything, since I learned to dive in the "don't touch anything" era and the only bad stuff I run into is monofilament, ss leader and now and then a piece of net.

Besides that, the airlines don't like it, some of the parks don't like it, and beleive it or not Canadian Customs wanted to know if I was carrying a knife when crossing the border in my car.

I still can't figure that one out.

Terry

OK, I normally dive in dark cold freshwater lakes and rivers, with lots of fishing line snags. So, I always carry two knives. One on my bc and another small folder stuffed into my bootie.
No, not that bootie! The one on my foot.
I only dove in Coz twice about fifteen years ago, and I don't remember if I took a knife or not. I do remember the fabulous visibility, so maybe not seeing a gob of fishing line isn't a problem? Do you Coz experienced divers take one?
Obviously can't have one in my carry on.

 

[ggunn]

We were out one day week before last and encountered some 4 to 6 foot rollers. They got worse the further south we went. When we ascended from our dive, the DM and a couple of guys had to bail the stern of the boat with a bucket. We almost got swamped on our way back. The Harbor Master closed the port the next day when things didn't seem as bad. We went to the east side of the island and found calm seas.

Was that Saturday 1/14 by any chance? That was our departure day, so we couldn't dive anyway, but that morning the wind came up from the north and there were whitecaps everywhere. I wondered if the HM was going to shut anything down, but the small boats from Blue Angel did go out. It looked kinda rough to me, though.

The Mon-Fri before that, though, the weather cooperated, and we had some great dives.

 

[Humuhumunukunukuapua'a]

Totally depends on who is in charge for the day, what kind of mood they're in, and what the forecast calls for later inthe day.

And how much tequila he had the night before?

At least that's what we guessed.

Christi is right, though. We lucked out. He had the place shut down (with seriously small waves, though there was wind), but he opened it at Noon and she had us on a boat by 1:30. Thanks again, Christi!

We didn't miss a day of our 7, but the night after our last dives a Norte blew in and I think it was closed the next day. So we lucked out big time!

It sounds like it's quite arbitrary based on some of the other descriptions. We never saw any real swell when we were there...just wind waves when the Nortes came in. 6 foot rollers in those little six packs would definitely be exciting!

Sorry to derail from the discussion of knives...carry on...

Gregg

 

[tjmills]

Man we got bounced around in the 4-5 footers in the Blue Angel boats (which are small) heading out to Planacar Caves. Never had the dives cancelled although a bigger boat would have been nice.... I just can't stand diving with 20-30 people at once. I would rather do a surface swim.

 

[TheRedHead]

Was that Saturday 1/14 by any chance? That was our departure day, so we couldn't dive anyway, but that morning the wind came up from the north and there were whitecaps everywhere. I wondered if the HM was going to shut anything down, but the small boats from Blue Angel did go out. It looked kinda rough to me, though.

The Mon-Fri before that, though, the weather cooperated, and we had some great dives.

No, they didn't close the port, but I noted I was cold. The 17th we dove Columbia and had to bail out the boat. They closed the harbor on the 18th and we had our adverture on the windward side - which was quiet initally, then the wind changed and we had a bouncy ride back to shore. Our crazy DM was standing on the bench seat of the fishing boat we had used to dive from pretending to be a surfer, while the captain laughed his azz off.

That may have been the day when they opened the port again in the afternoon, but by that time we decided on a impromptu party at Playa Chen Rio as that was our last day.

 

[SteFord]

What if you run into Bad Guys who need their air hoses cut? ;^)

Use your bolt cutter!

They never have rules about bolt cutters.

 

[Texas Diver]

OK, I normally dive in dark cold freshwater lakes and rivers, with lots of fishing line snags. So, I always carry two knives. One on my bc and another small folder stuffed into my bootie.
No, not that bootie! The one on my foot.
I only dove in Coz twice about fifteen years ago, and I don't remember if I took a knife or not. I do remember the fabulous visibility, so maybe not seeing a gob of fishing line isn't a problem? Do you Coz experienced divers take one?
Obviously can't have one in my carry on.

Hey Man:

You are not going to need a knife underwater in Cozumel. There are no fish lines to get tangled in. Further as someone already said, knives are prohibited in the marine park. So rest easy, you won't need a knife.

However, born and raised in Philly, I still keep my 27" aluminium baseball bat at the ready, it is the weapon of choice and can be used to cripple - if your opponent begs for his life - or kill. It has tremendous stopping power. But, just so you know, it is useless underwater against a rogue lobster or an angel fish all 'hopped up' from being feed too much cheese whiz, which incidently you are also not allowed to do in the marine park.

But, if you still feel you need protection, I recommend a 6 inch stainless steel switchblade or you can call Vinny "the crab" Vallichi (pm me for his website address) who hires out for underwater protection work.

Hope this helps. Have a great vacation!