Update from Dive Cozumel/ Yellow Rose

[YellowRoseCozumel]

Dear Friends,
We have had so many inquiries regarding our status as an operator, and we sincerely thank you for your concerns. Since the scubaboard reaches many dive lovers of Cozumel and is a source of information, we thought we would send you the most recent update that we also sent to our customer base.

For those of you seeking information regarding the Yellow Rose, here is the first of two updates with photos (once we figure that out!):

From: Dive Cozumel Yellow Rose [mailto:dmanfish@divecozumel.net]
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2005 1:06 PM
Subject: Report from Hurricane Wilma Survival Center- Cozumel Post!

Dear Friends of Dive Cozumel Divers,

Thank you to everyone for the many concerns post-hurricane Wilma. Wilma was a monster and spent about 50 hours hovering over Cozumel. Winds were 150 mph with gusts of 190 mph. As you can imagine the damage is catastrophic. More than half the boats at both the caleta (to the south) and in Port Abrigo (to the north) were sunk, the waterfront downtown looks the worst, Puerta Maya (cruise ship pier) is destroyed, Punta Langosta has significant damage to both the pier and commercial center, electricity is out for an undetermined length of time (possibly a month for everyone) and various hotels sustained significant damage.

That said, the Yellow Rose by the grace of God weathered the storm and sustained no damage! We are so thankful, because so many others whose livelihood depends on boating, fishing, scuba were not so fortunate! Dive Cozumel facility is intact with a few new panes of glass. On a personal note, Roly, his son, myself and our crew are all safe and sound. Resources and supplies are scarce right now, yet the island is furiously beginning clean-up. We already feel a sense of balance and order after the initial shock.

We have limited communication due to limited power/electricity, however, we wanted to take an opportunity to update all those concerned. Most of the land-lines are in service sometimes intermittently. Cell phones are also intermittent.

We are anxious to be back in business, and as soon as we are able, the Yellow Rose will get a full spa treatment, inside and out. The ol’ girl deserves it after a rough night(s) out on the town! Those of you who are traveling here in the next couple of months and for the high season, we encourage you to come as soon as electricity is restored. We will do what we can from here should you need assistance with any change of hotel plans. We will certainly appreciate everyone’s visit and support of the local economy here, and we’re ready to take you diving!

Our best regards,
Your Friends at Dive Cozumel

 

[gratefuljames]

.

 

[YellowRoseCozumel]

Thank you for your patience. Again here is a recent update.

From: Dive Cozumel Yellow Rose [mailto:dmanfish@divecozumel.net]
Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2005 4:00 PM
Subject: Cozumel update

Dear Friends,

First, thank you so much for all your replies~ we’re working on personal replies to each of you. We’ve been told that there is little to no information regarding Cozumel in the news in the US, just Cancun, and so many of you are wondering and requesting updates. This email goes to close friends, business contacts, clients as well as many folks who’ve recently inquired. Some of you did not receive our first correspondence which can be read below with the photos. Please forgive us if we’ve copied you twice, and let us know if you wish to be removed from email.

We have power!!! Electricity was restored to our facility yesterday~ amazing when you look around at the devastation downtown, but the CFE (electrical company) is working like mad. We’re very excited. Our toll free Vonage line is working now as well. It was working all along, but now we can call you, and we can check messages. Electricity means that our compressor is working so that we can fill tanks onsite again. Although we are ready to dive, we still can not leave the port due to the sunken boats in the middle of the harbor. At least half to 60% of the boats here were sunk or have damage. Furthermore, the dry-dock here collapsed on the boat that was inside, which will delay repair of any of the larger boats that can not be removed from the water on a trailer.

We’re investigating the hotel situation in the area. The Casa Mexicana sustained damage to about 50% of their rooms. Sister hotels Suites Colonial and Bahia faired better, but until we have power restored in all of downtown, it is difficult to say when they will be open~ sooner than later. The Safari Inn has about 10 rooms available, we’ve heard. The Presidente is closed until Nov 2006, yet the Grand Occidental is open, and that old wooden pier is fine! The Flamingo Hotel will probably be open shortly after they resume power, which will be any day now. Brisas Condos north of town, where some of our favorite new clients were stuck for an extra week, weathered the storm great! More to come regarding hotels. Please feel free to ask, but give us another week, because again, answers will be vague before power is restored.

Chedraui, everyone’s favorite Mexican supermarket, opened yesterday as a new open air market. *Rumor* has it that it will close for three weeks to repair. Building supplies and materials are needed. Fuel is scarce, but a car ferry is beginning to cross with fuel (and other supplies), so we expect to have a more regular supply of fuel. We have water, but ice for refrigeration is an issue. I never knew an ice cold Coca-Cola could taste so good. Every small, local store is opening despite lack of electricity. The flurry of work is from dawn to dusk like the birds! We’re not sure how the reefs look yet, but we’ve heard some good, some bad. After Emily, there was lots of sand and some broken sponges and coral, so we expect about the same. Fortunately for the fastest jet stream in the world, the currents will gradually sweep the reefs clean over time just like they always do. As is apparent, Mother Nature will prevail!

Again, we encourage you to keep your upcoming reservations particularly if the reservations are for December and later. We anticipate many small, local and downtown hotels as well as privately owned villas will be soon available. So be rest assured, you will be able to come to Cozumel and in fact, we invite you to “feel” the old Caribbean dive atmosphere of the past.

Many thanks again!
Best regards and blessings,
Friends of Dive Cozumel