Booked first trip to Coz... what to expect?

[ChrisM]

Ive had some great shore dives at Blue Angel and it's where we stay, I like to dive on arrival. But if I was at Casa Mex, stayed there a few times as well, a 3 PM arrival i'd just get situated and get a cerveza or margarita in the square and enjoy the evening It is a short haul to BA from Casa Mex, just shy of about 1.5 miles.

 

[Queen Triggerfish]

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I don't think Edgar is with TP any longer, but you will be VERY good hands with Jorge. He's one of my favorite DM's to dive with and a great guy, I don't know the new DM, but if Steve hired him, he must be good
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Edgar was still with Tres Pelicanos as of last week, so unless something just happened abruptly, I can assure you he is there. He'll be great for a photographer - very good at spotting the little things. He found us three seahorse and seems to love finding good stuff to show people. Jorge is great as well, and eventually stopped showing us Splendid Toadfish after about the 10th one he found on one dive.

 

[gopbroek]

I don't think Edgar is with TP any longer, but you will be VERY good hands with Jorge. He's one of my favorite DM's to dive with and a great guy, I don't know the new DM, but if Steve hired him, he must be good.

To the best of my knowlage, per Steves blog 2 days ago and talking with Pony yesterday, Edgar and Jorge are both still with 3P. When they run both boats, like for most of the last month, Edgar is the primary DM on the Loan Shark and Jorge is the primary DM on the Skinny Shark, both DM's (and Captains) are great to dive with.

 

[deepsea21]

We just got back from a Coz/Tulum trip over the holidays. This was our first cenote diving and we're hooked. Definitely not for new divers, though. We dove with Lucas, at Easy Chango and had a great experience. Check out the YouTube videos we uploaded to give you a sense of a couple of our cenote dives:

https://youtu.be/OnRT4n62ZRY
https://youtu.be/r4sNYx2UdjQ

Cool video but you couldn't pay me enough to dive that 1st cave you took video in (guide or no guide). I won't enter anything that I can't see an exit and fast path to the surface but that's just me. Perhaps I'm just getting too old for such things and think too much about what could go wrong. You couldn't pay me enough to jump out of a perfectly functional airplane either. That is definately not a place for newer divers. When looking at video such as that one, everyone needs to remember that DM's are "guides" and that is it. There is a reason you sign a Dive form/contract that contains a General Release before any operation will take you diving. Now, the signing of a General Release in the U.S. under such circumstances is pretty much worthless for the company asking you to sign it as they wont' hold up in court but in Mexico with a different legal system signing that means everything. Most people would not know that Mexico and Mexican banks generally do not require businesses to carry liability insurance of any kind. I was shocked when a 30+year owner of a dive op told me he never carried any insurance of any kind. If something happens there will be no deep pocket insurance company to take care of you or your family. DAN insurance will pay to treat you and fly you back (if you make it to the surface).

---------- Post added January 5th, 2016 at 05:45 PM ----------

Edgar was still with Tres Pelicanos as of last week, so unless something just happened abruptly, I can assure you he is there. He'll be great for a photographer - very good at spotting the little things. He found us three seahorse and seems to love finding good stuff to show people. Jorge is great as well, and eventually stopped showing us Splendid Toadfish after about the 10th one he found on one dive.

Both Edgar and Jorge are great at finding things but my wife and I enjoy the freedom Tres Pelicanos allows so we search for our own finds. As such, we are usually a ways away from Edgar or Jorge and usually are not willing to fin our way over to see a find (unless it is a Seahorse which my wife would burn an entire tank finning her way up-current to take so many pics of the poor animal would get a sunburn from the repeated camera flashes). As I've said in a prior post, 3P's boats are usually filled with 1/3 new/newer divers, 1/3 experienced divers, and 1/3 highly advanced divers. If you are new or newer divers on a boat of 10 with 3P's, you'll basically have Edgar or Jorge to yourself as a private DM as the other 6 or 7 divers are going to spread out and dive their own dives while staying in safe proximity to the group.

 

[jball]

Cool video but you couldn't pay me enough to dive that 1st cave you took video in (guide or no guide). I won't enter anything that I can't see an exit and fast path to the surface but that's just me. Perhaps I'm just getting too old for such things and think too much about what could go wrong. You couldn't pay me enough to jump out of a perfectly functional airplane either. That is definately not a place for newer divers. When looking at video such as that one, everyone needs to remember that DM's are "guides" and that is it. There is a reason you sign a Dive form/contract that contains a General Release before any operation will take you diving. Now, the signing of a General Release in the U.S. under such circumstances is pretty much worthless for the company asking you to sign it as they wont' hold up in court but in Mexico with a different legal system signing that means everything. Most people would not know that Mexico and Mexican banks generally do not require businesses to carry liability insurance of any kind. I was shocked when a 30+year owner of a dive op told me he never carried any insurance of any kind. If something happens there will be no deep pocket insurance company to take care of you or your family. DAN insurance will pay to treat you and fly you back (if you make it to the surface).


---------- Post added January 5th, 2016 at 05:45 PM ----------



Both Edgar and Jorge are great at finding things but my wife and I enjoy the freedom Tres Pelicanos allows so we search for our own finds. As such, we are usually a ways away from Edgar or Jorge and usually are not willing to fin our way over to see a find (unless it is a Seahorse which my wife would burn an entire tank finning her way up-current to take so many pics of the poor animal would get a sunburn from the repeated camera flashes). As I've said in a prior post, 3P's boats are usually filled with 1/3 new/newer divers, 1/3 experienced divers, and 1/3 highly advanced divers. If you are new or newer divers on a boat of 10 with 3P's, you'll basically have Edgar or Jorge to yourself as a private DM as the other 6 or 7 divers are going to spread out and dive their own dives while staying in safe proximity to the group.

Re: the cenote dives - You're points are well taken. We had already completed two Dos Ojos dives with our DM/guide, so he had a sense of our skill level. You wouldn't know it from the video, but we actually were never far from a fast exit. We haven't dived Devil's Throat (we wanted to this trip, but the weather didn't cooperate), but from video I've seen and divers I've spoken with, Calavera is on a par, confinement-wise, but not as deep.

---------- Post added January 5th, 2016 at 07:38 PM ----------

I realized I didn't answer the OP's question about cenote recommendations. Dos Ojos is undoubtedly the most popular cenote and you can dive it with minimal overhead restrictions. Make sure you get there early, however, as there were a lot of snorkelers and divers kicking up bottom sediment as we left. Per the earlier thread comments, Calavera is spectacular with its haloclines, but definitely not for newer divers.

 

[unregistered19]

Wow! Thank you everyone for your advice so far!

It seems like the Blue Angel area would be ideal for shore diving, if we feel up for it. But the multiple hints towards kicking off the shoes and enjoying a ice cold cerveza also makes perfect sense after a whole day of travelling. I suppose it will come down to that afternoon and how the 2 girls feel! Prior to the trip, I will definitely be taking them both to do some pool diving though. Already have an idea as to what needs to be done (unfortunately they were taught like most OW divers were - all skills whilst kneeling!)

It's rather nice these days that compact cameras are of a high enough quality for this SLR lover to swallow. The option to switch wet lenses during a dive and go from macro to WA as needed is really rather neat and something I couldn't have imagined (much like an SLR taking videos). Thank you everyone for your tips on what type of photography to expect. I am definitely looking forward to the guidance of Edgar and Jorge as far as pointing things out!

Also really like the idea of a private DM for at least the first day. It really would make things easier on everyone... will be considering that.

I know I personally really would love to do the cenotes, and both the girls are very excited at the idea of them. At this point, I think I might leave the option open, but base it upon the comfort level and buoyancy control I observe in the 5 days of diving Cozumel. Definitely do appreciate all the tips on which cenotes to visit though! I think the biggest draw for all of us would be the rock formations and penetrating light rays (and things like haloclines potentially worrisome for the new divers!)

I've never been down in April, but I hear the current can be a little unruly at times.

Has anyone been there early April and have any experience with what the conditions are like?

 

[ggunn]

Has anyone been there early April and have any experience with what the conditions are like?

Conditions vis a vis the current vary all the time. Some folks will say that the current rips in March or doesn't in September or whatever, but I go in late April or early May every year and I have seen both extremes during my trips. The current through the channel generates eddy currents near the shore where the dive sites are, so conditions can be very different just a couple of miles up or down the coastline.

 

[DjDiverDan]

Has anyone been there early April and have any experience with what the conditions are like?

For many years, I had a timeshare at Plaza Las Glorias (now the Cozumel Palace), and went down the last week of March every year. Most of the time the currents were relatively gentle and predictable. Every once in a while, and at certain dive sites, the currents could get a little goofy - sometimes running pretty fast, some times reversing direction, sometimes making a U-turn. And, just occassionally, it seemed that the current would just disappear altogether on some shallower dives. It all depends on how the channel current interacts with the wind and shore and underwater topography. But it was never anything that was too tough to handle, and the diving was always great. Usually when the currents start acting a little strange, the DM will know and get in the water first to check things out. I had one occasion when the DM got in the water on our scheduled first dive site, got back out, said the current was running very fast, and told the Captain to go to a different dive site where the current was completely normal. We went back to the same first site two days later, and everything was back to normal. It can change day to day, and site to site. Just trust your DM and you'll be fine.

 

[scorpiofish]

1. What are my options for shore diving from around where I'll be staying? We get to Coz at about 3pm, so it would be nice to get a dive in there as a check-out dive and to help my buddies out with trim.

Difficult. It will take time to clear customs, get a ride to town and get somewhere and fill out paper work. Closest is Dive Paradise at Hotel Barracuda.

2. What should I expect for diving / photography? I grew up diving Sipidan, Mabul, Layang Layang (oh the good old days of Layang...), Bali, and many weekend trips to Puerto Galera. Most of my previous photography was macro-focused (and film too, using a Nikon F100, thus not having many photos still accessible these days). I'll now be diving with a new Sony RX100 setup. How would the diving of Coz compare to what I know? Cancun was really rather dreary and rather boring.

I have good news and bad news. Good: Coz is much better than Cancun. Bad: It ain't Sipadan. I've got 300-400 dives in Indonesia. Nothing beats it. Cozumel will be lacking in the prolific macro critters you've seen in Mabul or Bali. Enjoy the unparalleled hard coral formations and numerous species of beautiful mid-size fish, e.g. angels, parrots, grunts, and snappers, plus some rather robust turtles and rays. You won't see schools of Chevron barracuda, but you will some much larger individuals.

It's like Asia diving, but we still enjoy Coz a great deal and I think you will, too. There are much hangouts in Coz than Mabul. Actually, our two favorite places to go are Bali and Coz and Coz is a whole lot closer.

3. Any recommendations for safe cenotes dive ops / recommendations for particular cenotes?

I'll pass on this one. You will get better answers from others. My cave diver friend now prefers going further south to Tulum, which probably isn't what you want to do since you coming over from Coz.

 

[deepsea21]

unregistered19... When I think back to our first 10-12 dives that were in the FL Keys where my wife and I did our 4 check-out dives 14 or 15 years ago we remember being absolutely blown away by what we saw in 25'-35' of water. You've racked up quite a few dives now in all kinds of places so you may be a bit jaded but with regard to the 2 newbies you'll be diving with... Think back to how fantastic your first few dives were. I personally see no reason to dive the cenotes as your newer divers (who you will be working with on boyancy in a pool) are going to be blown away by what they see in Coz. The cenotes may seem very cool to you but aside from structure and such would they really impress newer divers who are looking forward to fish, lobsters, rays, turtles, eels, sharks, etc? Your new divers are going to be viewing diving like you may have viewed Christmas a little kid. A dive of Palancar Caves and others or will give them all the swim-throughs they could imagine and will build their confidence. Between swim-throughs they will see lots and lots of the stuff that may be old hat to you but they've never seen before. Before I would think about cenote dives with them, I'd start with some of the more calm, easier dives in Coz and then work up from there. Others may disagree with me but Palancar Horseshoe is the best dive to be had in COZ and 3P's does it right. That is a dive you can do day-after-day as it is so great and offers everything. If you decide to dive with 3P's, let them know that you have 2 new divers and want to show them a great, safe time. They'll pick the best sites every day based on conditions with your newbie divers experience level taken into consideration. You can have a fantastic, clear and calm dive at 50' max or a lousy current ridden and low-vis dive to 80'+. It is all about the current conditions... Let the DM's and captain dictate what sites you dive with your 2 newbies. Worst thing that could happen is to get someone spooked and start saying "This isn't for me" before the wrong location was chosen that day for the skill level of your fellow divers.