Hello, it's cold in Illinois, but.....

[Turk9]

Will be in Cozumel 11/4. Staying at Scubaclub Cozumel. Most of my dives have been made in cold lake or quarry water and I will be relatively new to drift diving, with the exception of a few slow moving dives taken with large groups during cruise stopovers. Any equipment suggestions or hazards to watch out for?

 

[snepdiver]

Welcome to SB. My first diving to to Cozumel is in Jan. Have fun.

 

[shark_tamer]

Any equipment suggestions or hazards to watch out for?

Hi Turk9

I know what you mean about cold dives .... pretty cold up here too !!!!

First time in the Caribbean .... Don't forget to breathe .... Scenery is so beautifull down in the Caribbean, on you first dive you might forget to breathe !!!!

Leave your 7mm suit at home ... but personally I dive with a 3mm for protection.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Hey Turk Welcome to Scubaboard from Centeral Ill....

 

[bfisher]

If I were you I'd stay home. I went to the Caribbean once in 2004. Now I make a half dozen trips a year.

Been to Coz 4 times in the last 1 1/2 years. Jan, May, June and July. As mentioned, leave your dry suit at home. Ater temps should be right at about 80 degrees when you go. Viz may not be as good as it can be. Might only be in the 80-100' range on a bad reef.

I hope you get what I'm saying.

There aren't many hazards that I can think of other than listening to the DM. Drift diving is pretty easy. The only hard part might be trying to stop if you are a photographer. Some of the coral on the deeper reefs can be a little awe inspiring if you're not used to seeing coral pinnacles so just pay some attention to your depth guage.

The dive ops there are pretty safety consious. You'll get a good briefing before every dive. When you hit the water there will be a DM acting as guide and safety officer. Often, depending on the size of the group there will be a second DM bringing up the rear. Always safety first.

I've stayed at the ScubaClub Coz. It's not the greatest, but the rooms are clean and the food was good. The diving is always good. While you're there take a walk across the street and look over the Hotel Cozumel and Resort. Compare the size of the pool between the two places.

 

[DandyDon]

Howdy and welcome to SB!

It does help with discussions if you complete your Profile. And it's even more fun when you load an Avatar (personal pic for each post) and a Profile pic. See UserCP to access these if you'd like to...?

If you haven't yet, click Forums above and start going thru the list - looking for those of interest to you, especially your local dive club. Click the link in my Sig below to PM me if I can help you around here..

don

 

[jlyle]

Take a lock for the gear lockers at SCC.

Take a mesh bag to carry your gear on the dive boats.

Bring smaller denomination bills (not torn or marked) for tips, extras.

Have a great time and say, "hello" to all the staff at SCC.

 

[Christi]

There aren't many hazards that I can think of other than listening to the DM.

Brian, is this really what you menat to say? haha!

 

[Blue Moon]

Will be in Cozumel 11/4. Staying at Scubaclub Cozumel. Most of my dives have been made in cold lake or quarry water and I will be relatively new to drift diving, with the exception of a few slow moving dives taken with large groups during cruise stopovers. Any equipment suggestions or hazards to watch out for?

Enjoy Cozumel! Lots of great suggestions so far.

Regarding special gear, I always make sure that I have a Safety Sausage and whistle. I actually use a Dive Alert air horn that works much better than a whistle...

Drift diving is fantastic and the safety sausage and horn will help the boat captain find you if you get separated from your group.

Maybe we will drift past you on a reef. We will be there next weekend as well.

Enjoy,

Blue Moon

 

[Turk9]

Lots of good info and suggestions. Thanks to all.