depth @ coz?

[jon m]

does anyone who has been to playa/coz know of any diveops that are "receptive" to requests for "shallow(60-70') dives?
we are new(er) divers, who don't want 80-100' dives/swimthroughs
also,
in general, do we need to book in advance(weeks) for our coz/playa dives? or can we book when we get there(days in advance)
thanks!

 

[ggunn]

does anyone who has been to playa/coz know of any diveops that are "receptive" to requests for "shallow(60-70') dives?
we are new(er) divers, who don't want 80-100' dives/swimthroughs
also,
in general, do we need to book in advance(weeks) for our coz/playa dives? or can we book when we get there(days in advance)
thanks!

I'm pretty sure that any diving you do from Playa will be shallower with no swimthroughs. I have occasionally asked for a two shallow dive trip (rather than the normal one deep and one shallow) from Coz ops and have usually been accomodated, but that's really a question for the ops themselves. Most, however, are used to dealing with novice divers and can address your concerns.

 

[loudives]

Blue angel in Coz will.

 

[Christi]

As Gordon said, the dives in Playa del Carmen are all shallow, so no worries there.

In Cozumel, it really depends on the other divers as well. Some options would be to schedule afternoon dives as they tend to be shallower because the divers are typically either novice divers or people who have already been diving in the morning and have already done their deeper dives.

You could also think about hiring a private divemaster so that you can stay at the depth you are comfortable diving regardless of what the rest of the group is doing. You have your own divemaster to help you with any issues you may have and to show you cool stuff. I highly recommend this if you are novice divers and have never done any drift diving.

 

[jlyle]

Take a class! If you sign up for AOW, or some specialty class, you will not only get private instruction for group rates, but will have your own DM (instructor) to dive with on the boats!

There are very few dives in Cozumel that can't be done shallow, even when the group goes deep; just stay above the DM and the rest of the divers.

 

[jon m]

as i understand it, most coz dves are wall dives? (drift along the wall?) if that's the case, we can just drop down to 55-65' and drift there, yes?
-thanks!
in general, do we need to book in advance(weeks) for our coz/playa dives? or can we book when we get there(days in advance)

 

[jlyle]

Jon,

Yes, on most dives, you can drop down to a level that is comfortable for you if you don't want to go deep. My only caution is currents are sometimes faster nearer the surface, so you will want to stay behind the dive guide, even while above the rest of the group. Make sure you tell the DM what you are going to do so that he/she won't worry about you.

You can book when you get there, but some of the operators fill up early, so making reservations is a good idea.

 

[Christi]

as i understand it, most coz dves are wall dives? (drift along the wall?) if that's the case, we can just drop down to 55-65' and drift there, yes?
-thanks!
in general, do we need to book in advance(weeks) for our coz/playa dives? or can we book when we get there(days in advance)

Not necessarily. As jlyle mentioned, currents can vary at different depths. Often, this can make it impossible for you to simply stay above the group depending on the dive site and currents, so it's not a good plan or one that any responsible divemaster will/can agree to without being in the water as currents change from site to site day to day. Additionally, the terrain is not always a straight down wall. There are pinnacles, and huge coral formations and the divemaster will often lead divers through swim throughs. If you are above the group at 55 to 60 feet, and the group is swimming through the coral formations, you will most likely lose them.

This happened to one of my divers, who actually holds a divemaster card. The group was doing swim throughs, he decided not to go through the last one and went above the group. As the group is swimming through the formations (protected from currents) he is above the coral heads with a much faster moving current. Naturally he was separated from the group and caused the other divers and my divemaster stress. The dive was aborted due to this as he had also failed to communicate that he wasn't going to make the last swim through to anyone in the group. I would expect a diver at the divemaster level at least to communicate with the diveleader with any changes to the dive plan, but also to be able to realize the variance in the currents.

I realize you are not a divemaster, but my point is that as a new diver...this situation could prove even more challenging to you. I stand by my recommendation for afternoon boats or a private divemaster if you do not want to dive deeper than 60 feet.

Per Marine park regulations, all divers must be accompanied by a local divemaster/instructor at all times within the marine park (which you will be in).

Dive safe!

 

[rje634]

...
This happened to one of my divers, who actually holds a divemaster card. The group was doing swim throughs, he decided not to go through the last one and went above the group. As the group is swimming through the formations (protected from currents) he is above the coral heads with a much faster moving current. Naturally he was separated from the group and caused the other divers and my divemaster stress. The dive was aborted due to this as he had also failed to communicate that he wasn't going to make the last swim through to anyone in the group. I would expect a diver at the divemaster level at least to communicate with the diveleader with any changes to the dive plan, but also to be able to realize the variance in the currents.
...

I can attest to this seeing I was in the group doing the swim through. We were only in the swimthrough a couple of minutes and by the time we were out the diver was nowhere to be seen, and vis was over a 100 that dive.
The rest of the dive was very uncomfortable not knowing what happen to the other diver in our group (there was just 3 of us). Not to mention the fact that the DM was frantic trying to locate this diver. We could see the worry on the DM's face so my wife and I decided to thumb the dive a few minutes early.

 

[Christi]

I can attest to this seeing I was in the group doing the swim through. We were only in the swimthrough a couple of minutes and by the time we were out the diver was nowhere to be seen, and vis was over a 100 that dive.
The rest of the dive was very uncomfortable not knowing what happen to the other diver in our group (there was just 3 of us). Not to mention the fact that the DM was frantic trying to locate this diver. We could see the worry on the DM's face so my wife and I decided to thumb the dive a few minutes early.

I was wondering if you would see this

BTW: Slightly off topic, but this is the very reason we evaluate divers before taking them to more advanced dive sites. It doesn't matter what certification card you hold, if you can't follow a dive plan, stay with a group as the plan states and communicate with your fellow divers, we are not taking you to Maracaibo, Devils Throat, Barracuda, etc.