morning departure time question...

[johne68]

given a choice of departure time, 8am or 10am.... which would you take.

seems when we've taken the 8am time the reefs are usually swamped with groups;
i've never had the option of leaving at 10am but do this time & was thinking that leaving later might be a way to let some of the chaos get out of the way...

know that we'd still probably hit on divers doing their 2nd morning dive, but was hoping we might miss some of the crowds.

anyone tried this?
any luck... did you run into less groups u/w? were all the creatures chased away & nowhere to be found, or had they settled back into their routine after being harrassed by divers?

thanks.
je

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Some dive shops leave at 7:30 am and usually do not find other boats out there. When the dive group comes up from their first dive they are amazed at all the other boats out. After a long surface interval on the beach they go back out for the second dive at 11 am, and just won't drop at a dive site that may be crowded. Of course some people don't like to get up early on vacation but we prefer uncrowded reefs and the chance to scare the sharks away first!


Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[flyboy08]

I'm an afternoon diver.....less folks and I like to enjoy my mornings and a nice slow breakfast....I would assume 10:00 am would be just as nice.

 

[WarrenZ]

After the Aldora party and some of Daves killer margaritas courtesy of @Dave Dillehay I would have appreciated a 10 am departure.

 

[Bubblesong]

Fish might get scared away, but Harbor Seals just get friendlier. We had unreal experience with nosy, investigative seals in afternoon dives that had been shy and distant with the morning divers.

 

[Pelagicsal]

After the Aldora party and some of Daves killer margaritas courtesy of @Dave Dillehay I would have appreciated a 10 am departure.

I felt your pain, though the dolphins did help.

Fish might get scared away, but Harbor Seals just get friendlier. We had unreal experience with nosy, investigative seals in afternoon dives that had been shy and distant with the morning divers.

Where were you? No harbor seals in Cozumel... Or the entire Caribbean.

 

[Bubblesong]

Gloucester MA, sorry, I caught that this was a thread on choosing dive times, but not that it was in a Cozumel thread.

 

[diverokc]

I would pick 8 am since u didn't offer 7am . I dove with dwm in Sept and enjoyed leaving at 7. I always wake up early whether on vacation or not.

 

[gopbroek]

The wildlife on the reefs vary with the time of day. Personnely I like early morning prior to other divers disturbing the critters and late evening just prior to sundown. Several years ago when it rained for months on end during the fall and it was extremely overcast it was fun to see the evening critters come out in the midday.

 

[uncfnp]

Are you doing multiple days? Pick a few of both if that is an option. Take every other day to sleep in or enjoy a leisurely breakfast. If planning a night dive definitely pick 10am for the next day's dive.