Scuba Club Cozumel - Diving from Hotel - Pictures

[herbdb]

We arrived from the Airport and checked into our room followed by lunch. I am going to concentrate on the diving in front of the hotel in this post. We jumped in after a short rest to check it out and make sure all of the equipment worked.

There is no reef, but a fair amount of rubble has been distributed to attract marine life. These pictures will give you an idea of what it was like.

This water was roughly 20 feet deep in front of the hotel. This is the view of the pier from underwater. As you can see the visibility was very good.

There were quite a few critters if you took the time to look. Here are just a few.

I also got a few decent pictures on a night dive in front of the hotel. The first is a hermit crab either moving in or attacking a conch. Couldn't tell which.

This night picture of a spiny urchin may be my favorite from the whole trip. the colors turned out really nice.

This guy, a spotted moray eel, moves and looks like a snake. When it is hunting it looks like one too. I watched him for quite a while.

After I get a chance to look over and classify my pics from the boat dives, I will do another post.

This was a wonderful diving trip. We can't wait to go again.

 

[robint]

hi herbdb,

Glad you had such a great trip. SCC is where we are heading in 5 days. Woo hoo.

Btw, that last eel is a spotted moray eel, not a sharptail.

robin

 

[herbdb]

Thanks, I fixed it.

 

[tight rope walker]

Thank you very much for taking the time to show your pictures. My wife and I are going to scuba club Cozumel in May, and I was wondering what it looked like in front of the hotel.

Many thanks

 

[redacted]

hi herbdb,

Glad you had such a great trip. SCC is where we are heading in 5 days. Woo hoo.

Btw, that last eel is a spotted moray eel, not a sharptail.

robin

If you get tired of their back yard, set up your gear and grab a $5 taxi down to the light house and drift back to SCC. Do first confirm the current is running south to north as it usually does. No coral but plenty of stuff to while away the time if the hammocks are full.

 

[johnsona1503]

Thanks for this post! I'm going to Coz in June and want in the water right away to check weights. Booking the trip tomorrow. Been waffling on the hotel due to wanting the option of an occassional afternoon shore dive.

 

[robint]

there are actually several larger piles of rubble out in front of SCC, one on the south end, towards Hotel Cozumel, one directly out from the shore dive entry point, and the other is straight farther out from there (we didn't even find all this pile of coolness until our last day!). That one is the biggest and has pillars and concrete slabs from the old pier. It has tons of fish and critters. That is where we found the Sgt Major's nesting with eggs all over one area of concrete. We found goldentail, spotted, and sharptail eels at all three rubble pile areas. I think about half the guests, or more, do a shore dive every afternoon or evening. Those who didn't do the shore dive were always asking us about it...

On the night dive there all the eels were out hunting, and we found a couple of octopus out, too. Be sure to do a shre night dive at least one night!!! We got in the water just as it was getting dark, so the first 30 minutes were just swimming around getting our bearings, then the next 30 minutes were action packed nightdive fun!!!

forgot to mention.. there is a rubble pile under the pier, too. We saw quite a few interesting critters right there! Plus it seems like there is always a school of fish hanging out there.
robin

 

[redacted]

there are actually several larger piles of rubble out in front of SCC, one on the south end, towards Hotel Cozumel, one directly out from the shore dive entry point, and the other is straight farther out from there (we didn't even find all this pile of coolness until our last day!). That one is the biggest and has pillars and concrete slabs from the old pier. It has tons of fish and critters. That is where we found the Sgt Major's nesting with eggs all over one area of concrete. We found goldentail, spotted, and sharptail eels at all three rubble pile areas. I think about half the guests, or more, do a shore dive every afternoon or evening. Those who didn't do the shore dive were always asking us about it...

On the night dive there all the eels were out hunting, and we found a couple of octopus out, too. Be sure to do a shre night dive at least one night!!! We got in the water just as it was getting dark, so the first 30 minutes were just swimming around getting our bearings, then the next 30 minutes were action packed nightdive fun!!!

forgot to mention.. there is a rubble pile under the pier, too. We saw quite a few interesting critters right there! Plus it seems like there is always a school of fish hanging out there.
robin

I have gotten up at 1am and done that dive. It was quite a different look. Then I did a 5am dive to see that changeover. Both were great dives. It was interesting to realize I was probably the only diver in the water on Cozumel for those 2 dive. My wife/buddy would have no part of such adventure.

 

[jlyle]

Start your shore dive into the current (normally the current is running towards the north, so head south.) Do NOT swim fast or hard against the flow - you will only waste your air and not see much. Kick slowly up current, looking for small stuff; check any holes or cracks for interesting critters. Stop periodically and make little bubbles; to see if any creatures are hiding - they will come out if you're patient. There are many, many critters that live in sand, so don't overlook them. When you've used two-thirds of your air, turn around and drift slowly back to the exit point. Dives lasting two-hour or more are easy in twenty-feet of water, if you go slow.

As Robin has pointed out, under the pier is a great area to explore. Directly out from the entrance well, is a large artificial reef - the remains of the old pier. Lots of rock piles in front of the hotel and south of the pier. If you go further south, you will see a couple more piers and the pyramid in front of Hotel Cozumel.

Check with any photographers who are doing shore dives; ask them about interesting finds.

Night dives are very interesting "out front."

Remember, go slowly and look carefully. Many critters rely on camouflage to stay safe.

Have a great time. If you are taking a camera, take lots of shots to share when you get home.

 

[robint]

yup..........

under the pier

there were hundreds of these little shells, you just have to watch and see which ones start
moving!

right at the shore dive entry tunnel...
these you will see at night only

there are quite a few anemone.... check them out, lots of crabs, shrimp, and fish live in them!!

robin