Cozumel an inherently dangerous place?

[marpacifica]

I've never been diving in Cozumel, but my impression is that there are quite a few diving accidents down there. Where do I get this impression?

One of my former coworkers was paralyzed from the waist down after getting bent in Cozumel. He never talked about the circumstances, but his former girlfriend told me it was from getting bent. I don't know details other than that, and it seemed in bad taste for me to ask more from either of them about the incident without them volunteering more info.

I also have a friend who went diving in Cozumel a few years ago with 3 of her girlfriends, who were all just recently certified OW divers. They all got caught in a down current spilling over the reef ledge. Two made it out, including my friend, but the other two were never seen again.

This won't prevent me from diving Cozumel, though. In fact, my friend was told that it would be good for her to go diving immediately after the accident, otherwise she'd probably never go diving again. She did, and still does, and has become a very proficient and safe diver in the process. The photos I've seen and stories read about Cozumel still intrigue me enough that it's on my must-dive list.

From what I understand, the currents at Cozumel may be a bit to handle for a novice diver and that's where problems may start. Add to the mix some late nights out with a few too many margaritas and Coronas, and you add even more risk to the equation.

Or, is it just the popularity of the place -- with so many visitors there, there just seems to be more dive accidents than usual but in proportion to other dive places in the world Cozumel ranks about average for dive safey? Does anyone have statistics on dive accidents and ratio to number of dives?

 

[archman]

Cozumel's host to more divers than most other places on the planet, ergo more reported accidents.

Now if Cozumel reports a higher percentage of dive accidents, well then your fears are better justified. You don't see this much though, as that would require areas to keep tabs on ALL their divers, not just the ones that have accidents.

 

[mustfajohnson]

A close friend got bent and we spent two days at the chamber before she was Evac'd to the States. The Doctors and DAN told us that Cozumel is number 2 for divers in the world. We did stop at "the" fill station that day, can't remember why, but the amount of tanks they fill daily is astounding. Considering the number of Divers in the water and the stories that we heard about divers doing just plain stupid things I don't veiw Cozumel any more dangerous than anyplace you strap air on your back and swim underwater.

 

[CincyBengalsFan]

You can get bent anywhere.

 

[TCDiver1]

Or, is it just the popularity of the place -- with so many visitors there, there just seems to be more dive accidents than usual but in proportion to other dive places in the world Cozumel ranks about average for dive safey? Does anyone have statistics on dive accidents and ratio to number of dives?

Those stats would be interesting to see. Coz really cranks out the dives, just look at all the boats, cattle type or otherwise.

My guess would be that, statistically speaking, it is not significantly more or less dangerous than most other tourist locales.

Personally, i feel cold, dark, low vis water presents more of a challenge to the diver than warm and clear water with some mild current. I would really like to see stats on places like Tobermory or the Straits etc.

 

[getwet2]

I dove Cozumel for the first time this year and was also sort of concerned about some of the things I had read, one of these being the currents. During the dive breifing on the first dive, the DM said the currents would be strong but after finishing a few dives my buddy and I were discussing this and he too was expecting stronger currents. I did 9 dives at different sites and the currents were never what I was expecting, this could be due to the sites we were diving or just the weather conditions at the time or that maybe it's a little bit exaggerated. It's difficult to say which of the above is true with only 9 dives but I'll be going back again to do some more research.
I came across stronger currents in Aruba on the Sonesta Reef and very strong surges in Punta Cana. During safety stops on some dives you could be going back and forth, with reference to a spot on the bottom, 30' to 40' each way, makes for fun stops!

 

[HammerNoMore]

I did 9 dives at different sites and the currents were never what I was expecting, this could be due to the sites we were diving or just the weather conditions at the time or that maybe it's a little bit exaggerated.

The currents can vary from day to day quite a bit. On the more popular spots they generally stay mild enough that you can swim against them if you need to. The real currents are on sites like Baracuda.

 

[Christi]

I also have a friend who went diving in Cozumel a few years ago with 3 of her girlfriends, who were all just recently certified OW divers. They all got caught in a down current spilling over the reef ledge. Two made it out, including my friend, but the other two were never seen again.

That is interesting. They ALL got caught in a downcurrent and TWO of them were never seen again? When was this exactly? I have been in Cozumel for three years full-time and never heard of this particular incident.

While there are certain times of the year (now for example) when the currents get stronger, for the most part the currents in Cozumel are mild with a handful of sites being the exception. Downcurrents on wall dives definitely occur, but rarely are they so bad that you cannot get out of them. Yes, you may get pulled down much deeper than planned, but I haven't heard of the particular story you speak of.

When caught in a downcurrent in Cozumel, the best thing to do is to swim towards the wall and chances are that once you get close to the wall, you will be out of it. If you absolutely must, grab onto something on the wall.

Don't let the diving in Cozumel scare you. We do have in the neighborhood of 1000 divers or more in the water on any given day (that number varies throughout the year), so naturally the number of accidents may seem high.

As someone mentioned above, a diver can get bent anywhere.

Dive safe!

 

[Canucklehead]

My son and I dove in Cozumel last year in March. It was his first warm water diving (he was 14 at the time) and he had only 2 logged dives (other than his OW cert dives) prior to that. Having said all this, I never felt he was in any danger from the currents or otherwise. Needless to say, I kept a VERY close eye on him, but the dives were relaxing and comfortable and of course very interesting. The DMs (from Dive Palancar) always knew that my son was a novice, and I know that they were watching him as well.

I did have one potentially scary dive, which was a night dive where my son did not participate. The current was very strong, much stronger than I had experienced previously in Cozumel (though not as bad as the St-Lawrence river). I managed with no problem, but there was a family diving with us, parents and a teenage girl (probably about 15-16 yo.) Mother and daughter managed okay, but dad lost sight of them at one point, and totally freaked out. The DM had to grab him and abort the dive. No one was hurt, but to me this was a case where slightly adverse conditions led to a bad reaction by an individual diver. A combination of factors - diving with family and its attendant heightened potential for anxiety and a night dive in current - led to a reaction that could have had bad results. In my opinion, it was the individual that was at fault, not the location or conditions - like someone said earlier, you can get bent anywhere, and this could have happened anywhere as well.

There is the potential for dangerous dives, and prudence is the best bet. Not all dives in Cozumel are the same, which should go without saying. A previous poster mentioned Barracuda. I considered doing a dive there, which was offered only to "advanced" divers (50+ logged dives). I chose not to, and it turned out that it was a very difficult dive. One guy, who said he had over 800 dives (compared to my 55) told me that HE had trouble with the current, and thought at one point that he was going to be pushed out into the strait. I missed not seeing the eagle rays, but I was glad I chose not to do a dive that might have been dangerous for me.

 

[marpacifica]

The downcurrent incident my friend was in may have been more than three years ago. I'll have to check exactly when it happened and give more details when I get them. I do know that the two survivors had a difficult time on the return trip with the air carrier, who wanted to charge them excess baggage for their friends' luggage because the original owners "weren't there" to accompany the bags.