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This trip was different from most of our others, in terms of how people viewed our gear. In Tulum, the steel backplate, HOG rig, and long hose was not strange at all, unlike most other warm-water dive locations. We got plenty of curious interest in our funny-looking fins, but they were not completely unknown to everyone. In fact, Jules, the Australian woman who manages the XTC dive center in Xcalak uses Force Fins. Unfortunately, we never got to dive with her. We saw quite a few Jet-fin-type fins on the cave divers in the cenotes. I couldn't help but notice a bit of... attitude (was this just in my mind?) or at least disapproving looks from some of the cavers as we were exiting and they were entering one of the cenotes. I'm glad I had my Force Fins there, with their short length and efficiency. I'd think trying to get through those tight places with split fins would be terrible! The dive ops all rented paddle fins.
This problem of people running into stuff is a hard one. We are not terrible divers, but still we didn't get all the way through without at least some minor contact. I can only imagine what it's like with most of the divers there, who seem to have an average of less than 100 dives experience. The lines we followed were (I suppose) for the general diving public, but there were some tight spots that were almost impossible to get through without touching something. And the snorkelers! Forget about it. They seemed to have no idea at all that it's not good to kick up silt, or bang into the rocks.
Just like most natural places, we want to go there, but we don't want everybody messing it up. Sometimes it's not fun to realize that we may be part of the problem ourselves. We tried real hard to make no impact, and in the larger sense, when you consider how much of a "trace" we may have left, compared to the positive input provided by our fees, etc. I hope the net result was positive.
This trip was different from most of our others, in terms of how people viewed our gear. In Tulum, the steel backplate, HOG rig, and long hose was not strange at all, unlike most other warm-water dive locations.
Some people were curious about our Deep Sea Supply detachable wing.
Originally Posted by sambolino44
We saw quite a few Jet-fin-type fins on the cave divers in the cenotes. I couldn't help but notice a bit of... attitude (was this just in my mind?) or at least disapproving looks from some of the cavers as we were exiting and they were entering one of the cenotes.
I noticed their looks too but I think they wanted to get in the water and we were in their way, so relax and don't be too FF paranoid!
What that I remember most of all, though, is the lady who owns the hostel Casa del Sol. She approached us as we were getting ready to go diving and asked us bout our fins while she touched Sam's. She then complained about the fins that she rents to her guests which after a while crumble and break into pieces...
Oh, I love the reflection shot! That's beautiful. Those little fish are so funny -- did they nibble on your fingertips?
Yes they did. I wish I could go back there and take more shots! The black cat fish was not very friendly, I had to chase it around the cenote while it kept swimming with its head away from me. I saw another kind of fish in the weeds but as soon as I got too close it disappeared at the speed of light.
My experience of boat diving is rather limited. At home I do almost all of my dives from shore so I dive from a boat when I go on vacation in tropical locations. Before my recent trip to Mexico I did some boat diving in Roatan and Puerto Rico where sea conditions were rather calm. In Mexico it was a different story. My buddy and I may have picked the wrong time of the year to go to Xcalak (a small fishing village in the southern tip of a peninsula closed to the border with Belize) because a rather strong wind kept blowing relentlessly throughout our stay.
It was a miracle that we were able to do a couple of dives at Banco Chinchorro, an atoll 21 miles off the coast in the middle of absolutely nowhere that is well known for its large number of wrecks. The one hour and thirty minutes boat ride to this remote diving spot was pretty bumpy and on the way back we got really soaked. Once we reached our destination the sea was mellower but still getting back on the boat was quite difficult because we had to take our weight belts and BCs off and hand them to the boat crew and then climb the boat ladder while the vessel was rocking considerably. Getting on a boat in this way was not something new to me, though. In Puerto Rico I had to do it in the same way but the difference was that the waves were smaller and I clipped the BC onto a rope.
I love the sea, since I was a kid I have been an avid snorkeler. However large sea waves can make me feel uneasy still. So after my second dive, while floating in the waves waiting for my turn to take my gear off, I got anxious, then a bit nervous and cranky. I could not wait to go back onto the boat as quickly as possible. I am glad that I did not let those unpleasant feelings take over me. With some effort I eventually managed to keep them under control, get rid of my weight belt and BC, swim to the ladder safely. I have to say that I was very happy to have my force fins in that turmoil.
The following days I did other dives at the local reef that turned out to be in worst sea conditions than at Banco Chinchorro. One day I also had to deal with sea sickness for the first time. Some waves reached a height of 6 ft. My stomach hung on until I rolled back into the water with the other divers and I was able to descend without throwing up.
Diving La Poza was another challenging experience because, believe it or not, it is a dive site that gets better the rougher the sea conditions are. With strong wave action pelagic fish swim into a trench that lies between the reef and a second reef crest that was created by an earthquake. On the surface the waves were crashing against the reef so according to the conditions the boat captain had to deal with the boat differently. The first time that we dove there he moored the boat to a buoy and we entered the water from the part of the reef that was more protected so the bottom was shallower and then we had to swim through a channel to reach the trench. The second time the sea was rougher so the boat captain did not moor the boat to the buoy but dropped
us off after the reef above the trench.
Other hazards that make this site difficult are current and low visibility. During both dives we kept our depth at 60 ft, but the trench keeps sloping down well below 100ft. The visibility was similar to what we usually get at home in a good day (around 30/40 ft). At La Poza I saw
some kind of fish that I have never seen before: tarpons, horse-eye jacks and large dog snappers There were also different species of groupers, a large porcupine fish and a nurse shark whose tail was the only visible part of its body. The horse-eye jacks made a real impression on me because they baldly swam right into my face without showing any signs of concern.
At Xcalak there is one dive operation only called XTC. The boat captains who work for the XTC Dive Center are all former fishermen so they know these waters really well and are very attentive to where they drop the divers off. I always felt safe in their hands despite my difficulties in handling the rough sea and our DAN 6+ ft long surface marker buoy came in handy.
jeez this thread is so long that it took me 30 minutes to find this post! An index would be handy...
So I have just resurrected from the 'dead'. Still, I refrain myself from diving until the end of this week. Anyway, the reason for resurrecting is to let you know that the Canadian marine naturalist, diver and author Andy Lamb has identified this cute rockfish! Follow this link for more details:
One of the Force Fins pictures that I took when I was in Roatan got a Honorable Mention at the Northwest Dive & Travel Expo Photo & Video Competition 2011 :
Last edited by Soakedlontra; April 29th, 2012 at 09:16 PM.
The shorter version of my video Water Tale, titled Enchanting Cold Water, got a Honorable Mention at the Northwest Dive & Travel Expo Photo and Video Contest 2012 :
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Originally Posted by TSandM
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