Shallow diving

[mobeachlovers]

I see a few ppl posting about preferring shallow dives, which is also my preference. Are there any dive shops that have scheduled dives to certain locations to ensure you aren't on a boat that gets voted to do a wall dive or doesn't want to go to Columbia because of distance with few divers? I realize we can hire a private DM and stay shallow but that's not really what we are looking for. Private chartering also not an option as generally just two of us. Thanks

 

[rek_diver]

In many cases you can stay on top of the walls and stay fairly shallow, I've found there's much more to see in the shallows, especially in recent years.

 

[mobeachlovers]

Yes, I realize this, but we are fairly new divers and don't want to be away from the group/dive master. Hiring a private DM for every dive is not an option.

 

[rek_diver]

In many or most cases you could stay above the wall, and the rest of the group is just over the wall, not too far away from you. In fact, after doing 50+ dives in Cozumel over the past 10 years I cannot recall a single dive that wasn't the case.

 

[mobeachlovers]

In the Cozumel current wouldn't we probably be pulled far ahead of the deeper divers if we stayed on top of the wall?

 

[northernone]

In the Cozumel current wouldn't we probably be pulled far ahead of the deeper divers if we stayed on top of the wall?

It is rare there's a significant difference of prevailing current. I agree the majority of dive groups can allow for some divers staying on the top of the wall in the shallows while others can go down the wall a little... Just check with the dive shop / DM and see if they're ok with it. Unless you're paying a premium you go where the boat goes, but with a little communication with any shop they should be able to match you with the right boat for your skill level. Deeper diving isn't particularly popular on most dive ops, the exception being perhaps the devil's throat. The pretty stuff most people want to see is shallower. Inexperienced divers are the bread and butter to many dive ops in cozumel.

Cheers,
Cameron

 

[rek_diver]

In the Cozumel current wouldn't we probably be pulled far ahead of the deeper divers if we stayed on top of the wall?

I wouldn't want to tell you no, and then you find yourself all alone at the equator or something but it's highly unlikely.

 

[northernone]

I wouldn't want to tell you no, and then you find yourself all alone at the equator or something but it's highly unlikely.

...an excellent point... I have a buddy I almost will swear creates his own currents and can drift any direction at a moments notice!

...separation from the group is best avoided, I didn't mean to encourage new divers wandering off on their own. Thanks for reminding me.

Cheers,
Cameron

 

[rek_diver]

In all seriousness, when I dived in Cozumel it was with a local group from our dive shop, there were about 20 of us diving together all week. We were a big group but we still dived in buddy pairs within the group- but the plan was to always stay together and ascend with the flag carrying DM at the end of the dive. During one dive, my buddy and I got interested in something for a minute or two and by the time we were done looking at whatever, the group was not in sight. We swam with the current but that 2 minutes was enough to put us in a totally different direction. When we surfaced we were quite far from the group and the boat had to pick us up seperately. We were mildly admonished by the DM to stay with the group, but hey that's what marker buoys are for.

This scenario wouldn't necessarily apply to you because you'd be monitoring the location of the group and make adjustments "on the fly".

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Some of the hotels, such as Scuba Club Cozumel have a house reef. I enjoyed my dives on the shallow reef there more than the deeper reefs from the boats.