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El Nortes are possible during the winter months some years more than others. Normally they are predictable several days out. Best resource I know is to keep an eye on Windguru (Cozumel) a wind to the west of due North and greater than 10 Knots may shut down the port. I wouldn't trust it more than 2-3 days out though, as an example yesterday it showed a terrible forecasts for 8-9 February but this morning it shows a shift tongue east which shouldn't affect diving. Beware the doom and gloom actual El Nortes are not that common and usually do not last more than a day or two.
Hard to go wrong with Aldora.
If you always dive with the same 5mm, then you should know your weight that is needed with a Aluminum 80 already, they can calculate from there. Usually you will want a pound or two more then what you finished your last dives from your previous trip, as you will be trying to get back into your comfort zone.
Great advice from Mike. I will be there as well when you are there. Staying at the Bahia and breakfasts at the Mexicana. CZM is my second home so if you have any questions I would be pleased to help.You'll have a great time. Casa Mexicana is a great location with fantastic breakfast. Santa makes the best omelettes.
Random tips, a light rain jacket if you have one. Aldora provides waterproof fleece lined jackets for after diving if you're cold. I bring a long sleeve shirt or light sweatshirt at night but for most people it's not needed.
For Casa Mexicana breakfast, try to get down there early, say around 6:45-6:50am. It will give you a little extra time since Aldora leaves pier at 7:30am. Sometimes they don't always have everything ready to go at 7am but you can usually grab coffee, juice, cereal, etc. I like to make sure I leave by 7:15-7:20am. It's only a ~4-5 minute walk from the pier so you have plenty of time. They're not going to instantly leave you at 7:30am but you may be last one on boat. Not a huge deal -)
At Casa Mexicana, you're in walking distance from a lot of great restaurants and bars. Dont forget to check out Los Otates for tacos, Thirsty Cougar for margaritas/food. La Choza for food. Lots of other options equally good but these are pretty close to you.
With Aldora if you've never used steel tanks before you're going to need a lot less weight than you think. DMs are generally good at helping with this but you can expect to take ~6-8lbs off your belt compared to what you wear with an Aluminum 80. Very rough estimate but some can expect to dive with very little or no weight at all depending on exposure protection.
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