Which ops DO NOT go to a lot of special/southern/northern/remote sites?

[etexdiver]

The other biggie is diver separation and/or the boat captain losing track of diver bubbles. It is a very large area to look for lost divers because you will most likely being the only boat out there doing so. Well, at least until you notify the harbour master.

Two years ago, this happened to a group of 6 of us, including the DM, on Barracuda. It was pretty disconcerting, to say the least. 6 sausages in the air, land passing slowly, but quickly at the same time; knowing you can't swim to shore. 20 minutes waiting on the boat, but it finally found us. I don't know all of what the DM said to the boat captain, but when we surfaced San Juan on the second dive, the boat was right on top of us. I haven't been to Barracuda since, but will probably go again. There are prettier dives in Coz...Barricuda is, well, Barricuda.

 

[vlkr]

five divers + dm surfaced. seas which were fairly calm when we went down were now 5 ft. no boat in sight. winds flatening all sausages except mine which is bc integrated. half hour out there land disappearing. one diver (who i did not know) with beat up old bc kept having waves wash over him. i had to swim back to him and drag him to the group. dm ignored it.
at beginning of same dive, the guy who had a lousy bc did not level off when he got near the bottom. probably over weighted. hit me and knocked off my tank. as i struggled with that no one saw what happened. the group headed off while i got put back together in fast current.

on another trip there my long time buddy who is dm cert got vertigo mid dive. it had never happened to him before. we handled it smoothly. would everyone who goes to barrracuda be able to do that?


on san juan i got tangled in monofilament line. another diver who has exceptional skills saw it and cut me loose. btw, it was rebelrph on this board.

my point is things happen.

 

[Mike]

my point is things happen.

Yes they do.

I find nothing unique about any of the issue discussed so far, unless the only thing you do is dive only Cozumel and always avoid the far north and far south sites.

If a diver isn't competent to handle all the 'issues' listed so far, then they still have a long way to go. To be a safe diver, able to handle yourself without turning things into emergencies, nothing listed should be an issue to handle. I consider Devil's throat with it's depth and over-head environment a far more advanced dive.

Currents, rough seas, single boat dive sites... welcome to the world of real scuba diving. The ocean is a dangerous place, diving isn't a Disney Land ride being a plastic simulated life experience.

 

[mstevens]

diving isn't a Disney Land ride being a plastic simulated life experience.

Sometimes, it literally is.

Well, Disney World, but the plastic simulated part is right.

 

[manta_man]

I did Barracuda yesterday with Tres Pelicanos Dive Center. Conditions were good ( rough water on the surface will change our dive plan to another site) and the boat had experienced divers. Dive Master Servando popped his safety sausage and kept it on the surface for the majority of the dive. Even though the current was ripping, he kept his buoy on the surface so the boat was able to stay close. The group also stayed within sight of each other and air consumption was about the same for all. Even though the current was fast, the changing colors of the bottom were terrific. GPS indicated a drift of approximately 3 miles.
I agree that it is an advanced dive. Divers are checked out on southern sites before being able to hit the more advanced sites such as Barracuda. Servando is very good and above all very safety conscientious. I agree with Mike that this type of dive is different from the diving at the southern sites. but not any different than say the Pelielu Express or other open water diving. One has to understand the conditions of drift diving, down welling currents and safety stops in blue water in order to do these dives. Practice at Tunich will train divers in faster drift currents. Also one has to understand that the same type of currents can happen at the southern sites too. Santa Rosa Wall can have down welling currents on occasion.
Barracuda is an advanced dive to be sure, but not one that cannot be completed if you have good planing and a secondary plan if conditions do not allow the plan. When you go---Enter and descend quickly as a group. Stay close to the wall or on top of the reef and keep in site of you buddy. Servando will stop and hold position to wait for anyone who falls behind. There are some areas where the current slackens so divers can get some respite from the drift. Watch your dive master and surface as a group. Always have a safety sausage and practice on how to use it. That is the one thing I have observed divers NOT doing. It takes some practice to send up the flag and you need to practice it.
Enjoy the wonders of Cozumel