C53

[danalovesscuba]

Ahoy from Presidente, Someone please take me to C53 and I will dive with you Friday sat sun Monday plus generous tips. They won't go to C53 and I'm at Presidente. Did the Vandy in Key West this August and want to dive C53 in the next few days.

 

[NDL_Diver]

Contact Eco divers or Maple Leaf Scuba. I have no personal experience with them but see that they visited the site.

Ecodivers: Celebrating 20 years of ecological diving in Cozumel 1995-2015

Maple Leaf Scuba | Dive Shop in Cozumel | Dive Trips and Dive Instruction

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Aldora Divers will do that, virtually no problem unless you are a very, very new diver. We charge a few dollars more but deliver twice the dive time per tank while diving safely. Just for the record, I was certified by Presidente Scuba Du in 1992 and they would not take me many places I wanted, and would not take care of my gear.

So I bought a boat so as to find the Devil's Throat and dive like I wanted to dive, and ended up turning paradise into a job. That was by treating each diver as though a millionaire on private charter.

Our office phone is 987 872-3397 or visit our office at #37 Calle 5 Sur( south) just three blocks south of the town square. Open from 6-9 tonight and ready to take you tomorrow. We have to know the night before you want to dive.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

PS I can also be called directly on my US phone, even in Mexico at 830 460-0667

 

[deepsea21]

We charge a few dollars more but deliver twice the dive time per tank

C'mon now Dave, "twice the dive time per tank"? That simply is not true based on average bottom times Aldora divers have posted on this forum. Here's one for example:

"I dove four morning 2-tank trips with Aldora. The boats were quick and we went to some cool sites - Palancar Caves, Columbia Deep, Maracaibo. The 120cf steel tanks were a little bigger and heavier, but not crazy. I was eventually able to wear zero lead with a 3/2 full wetsuit. The 3/2 was a little cold for me and my beanie wasn't much help. If I did it again, I'd like to try a good 3mm plus regular hood if needed. The dive times were about 70 minutes. In the water there were four or five divers plus DM. The DMs were patient, knowledgeable and professional. After the dives, boat coats were available. The hour-long surface interval at the beach is nice just to socialize and relax. The massive coral formations were the highlight for me. There were a couple encounters with active nurse sharks. Overall, a great time diving."

I am well aware that Aldora built its reputation around steel 120's when virtually no other op offered them on the island but I generally get 60 minutes of bottom time out of an AL80 on most all of Cozumel's staged dive sites that start around 80' and offer a profile that gradually ascends throughout the dive. If I held at 80' I'd hit my NDL before I ran low air in my AL80. For those who may think I am some kind of air superman, that isn't the case... I'm closing in on 50 years of age, not a marathon runner, and smoked for 25 years (finally gave that crap up 4 years ago). I simply control my breathing and minimize physical exertion as we were all taught when we were certified to get the most out of every tank.

"A few dollars more"? At $95 for a 2-tank AM dive excluding tax and park fee that is not a few dollars more when compared to other dive ops in the "Top 10" that charge around $75 + tax and park fee for a 2-tank dive... that is $20 more per 2-tank trip.

No doubt Aldora is a great dive op and resides among the island's top 10 dive ops but your response to the OP sounds like a lot of marketing as your claims are simply not true.

 

[DandyDon]

Did the Vandy in Key West this August and want to dive C53 in the next few days.

Don't expect the experience to be similar. It is an survivor of WWII and interesting for its history, as well as somewhat enjoyable for its swim thrus and sea life, but only 184 feet long and certainly not the same class of diving. USS Scuffle (AM-298) - Wikipedia

 

[danalovesscuba]

Dear NDL, Thank you, I got hooked up. Dear David, I dove with your Aldora & had a bad experience with one of your DMs & they switched me. But he called me a "B" over the radio ( boo hoo) then I was afraid he'd hurt my gear or worse. I am a solo woman traveler who likes the adventurous dives and Aldora was very nice long dives and worth the extra cost. I tried to call your dive shop and there was no voice mail or answering machine. The big tanks were real big on my back as I'm short and it kept hitting my head.

 

[MMM]

Ahoy from Presidente, Someone please take me to C53 and I will dive with you Friday sat sun Monday plus generous tips. They won't go to C53 and I'm at Presidente. Did the Vandy in Key West this August and want to dive C53 in the next few days.

Funny. That is one of the "don't take me to that dive site" dives. I've done it a few times and that was more than enough. Suggest that you do it on nitrox. Hope you enjoy it!

 

[DandyDon]

Funny. That is one of the "don't take me to that dive site" dives. I've done it a few times and that was more than enough. Suggest that you do it on nitrox. Hope you enjoy it!

Yeah, that's more my feeling. And it is a square bottom wreck dive of significant depth so nitrox would be a good idea.

 

[Christi]

Dear NDL, Thank you, I got hooked up. Dear David, I dove with your Aldora & had a bad experience with one of your DMs & they switched me. But he called me a "B" over the radio ( boo hoo) then I was afraid he'd hurt my gear or worse. I am a solo woman traveler who likes the adventurous dives and Aldora was very nice long dives and worth the extra cost. I tried to call your dive shop and there was no voice mail or answering machine. The big tanks were real big on my back as I'm short and it kept hitting my head.

Glad you got hooked up. I didn't see your message earlier or I would have replied. I have space Saturday, Sunday and Monday, but I would not be able to guarantee you the wreck dive because dive sites are chosen as a group with the final decision by the DM's/Captains based on various factors. We rarely have requests for the wreck, and in fact, most people who have done it don't want to do it. The only way I can ever guarantee a dive site is if someone is chartering the boat privately and are qualified to do the dives they are requesting. Otherwise, we are not giving our other guests an option - so based on our "democracy" system, one person doesn't get to call the dive site - unless everyone agrees to that. Make sense?

 

[Dave Dillehay]

C'mon now Dave, "twice the dive time per tank"? That simply is not true based on average bottom times Aldora divers have posted on this forum. Here's one for example:

"I dove four morning 2-tank trips with Aldora. The boats were quick and we went to some cool sites - Palancar Caves, Columbia Deep, Maracaibo. The 120cf steel tanks were a little bigger and heavier, but not crazy. I was eventually able to wear zero lead with a 3/2 full wetsuit. The 3/2 was a little cold for me and my beanie wasn't much help. If I did it again, I'd like to try a good 3mm plus regular hood if needed. The dive times were about 70 minutes. In the water there were four or five divers plus DM. The DMs were patient, knowledgeable and professional. After the dives, boat coats were available. The hour-long surface interval at the beach is nice just to socialize and relax. The massive coral formations were the highlight for me. There were a couple encounters with active nurse sharks. Overall, a great time diving."

I am well aware that Aldora built its reputation around steel 120's when virtually no other op offered them on the island but I generally get 60 minutes of bottom time out of an AL80 on most all of Cozumel's staged dive sites that start around 80' and offer a profile that gradually ascends throughout the dive. If I held at 80' I'd hit my NDL before I ran low air in my AL80. For those who may think I am some kind of air superman, that isn't the case... I'm closing in on 50 years of age, not a marathon runner, and smoked for 25 years (finally gave that crap up 4 years ago). I simply control my breathing and minimize physical exertion as we were all taught when we were certified to get the most out of every tank.

"A few dollars more"? At $95 for a 2-tank AM dive excluding tax and park fee that is not a few dollars more when compared to other dive ops in the "Top 10" that charge around $75 + tax and park fee for a 2-tank dive... that is $20 more per 2-tank trip.

No doubt Aldora is a great dive op and resides among the island's top 10 dive ops but your response to the OP sounds like a lot of marketing as your claims are simply not true.

Dear Depsea21,

When I say double the dive time per tank, I am referring to the "average diver", of whom we get a lot. I have no doubt that you or some others can get hour + long dives on an aluminum 80, especially if your dive op starts at 80 ft or less and lets you swim away from the group—or maybe you are a super diver. But I know for a fact that all of our divers, new and experienced, average more than 1 hour 10 minutes per tank ( I check our DMs computers).

And yes, that is possible even though we keep our groups together until the end of the dive. In 1992 I felt that keeping the group together is manifestly safer than allowing divers to surface willy nilly. Oncoming boats, depending on unknown dive buddies…if you surface and have a problem would the average person want to have a professional at hand. I still feel that way and I don't ever want dead divers.

A recent trip report here by jfarmlaw described many dives on a trip with Aldora that averaged 1 hour 29 minutes per tank. That was all while keeping the groups together and included dives to Maricaibo, Punta Sur and other dives as normal for our first dives and of course shallower second dives. Of course our 2 hour surface interval on the beach helps to enjoy world class second dives

Many dive ops limit time diving, especially the cattle boat operators who provide maybe 45-50 minutes per tank overall. In that case, yes we do deliver twice the dive time per tank…that is a fact.

And finally, if you count the dive time per tank (for the average divers) our cost per hour of diving is much less than many others.

If this is self promotion, call it that way, but I have never lied here and don't intend to start now.

Dave Dillehay
'Aldora Divers