Which reefs?

[old gaffer]

Good Mornings Scuba Boarders!

First some background. I was certified NAUI back in the late 1970's and mostly dove local Minnesota lakes with poor vis, quickly got bored with that (though not as fast as my dive buddies did) and due to lack of funds to go somewhere with better diving coupled with my friends dropping out of diving I to gave up the sport. Fast forward to 2006: After going on a couple of cruises the urge to get back under the waves hit me hard! so I did a refresher course with PADI and then went on to the advance open water certification as well as nitrox certified (though I have not dove nitrox yet) I have logged about 40 dives since being recertified a lot of them as a volunteer aquarium diver doing feed and cleans at the Duluth Great Lakes Aquarium. I have also done some wreck diving on Lake Superior which I suppose would be considered intermediate to advanced dives due to the 80 to 100 foot depths as well as the 39 degree water temps. I finally got the chance to dive in Cozumel this past November on a cruise stop. I did Santa Rosa Wall as the first deep dive and then Paradise as the shallow dive.

I will be going back to Cozumel this coming April with a group and my question is which reefs would and should I dive? We are staying at the Occidental Grand and my dive master has planned the trip and intends to use Dive Palancar. I really enjoyed diving with "Diving with Alison" this past November but I will probably stick with the group. I would like to try a variety of reefs and I am still working on my air consumption trying to get better at that. Any recommendations on what we do and what we should avoid?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Gaffer

 

[zzzScuba]

I usually ask the Dive Master what he/she recommends, as they are best suited for "present" site conditions.

Having said that, on our trip this past December, we really liked:

Columbia Wall
Palancer Caves
Cedral Pass
Palancar Bricks
Palancar Gardens

We also like Devil's Throat, but it's really just a deep dive/thrillseeker for more advanced divers and not really a site to continually revisit. There are plenty of better dive sites that consume less air.

We didn't like San Clemente, as it was still "sandy". Our group named it "Sand" Clemente.

Jeff.
DIVERSIFIED DIVERS SCUBA - Home Page

 

[ggunn]

I would like to try a variety of reefs and I am still working on my air consumption trying to get better at that. Any recommendations on what we do and what we should avoid?

This question comes up every so often, and my answer is "it's ALL good". The operator you are going with may have a set schedule; in that case where you go will depend on what day of the week it is. If it's an op that makes the decision based on consensus, then you'll have a vote but the majority rules (although most divers will be flexible, like if it's your last day or if you went yesterday to where they pick). And like someone else said, the DM's will have recent knowledge of currents and viz, so they may recommend some sites over others. But it's all good.

 

[Garrobo]

Any of them are good.

 

[driftin' by]

ditto. Not to sound like a broken record... it's not a question of good vs. bad but more a question of what kind of dive. Deep, swim-thru, lots of current, no current, wreck, caverns, big fish, little fish, lots-o-fish, lots-o-coral, wall, shallow, macro, etc., etc., etc. Best of all, Coz has just about it all and it's all good. My advice is to just go with the flow (no pun intended). After a few trips, you'll figure out what you like.

 

[old gaffer]

ditto. Not to sound like a broken record... it's not a question of good vs. bad but more a question of what kind of dive. Deep, swim-thru, lots of current, no current, wreck, caverns, big fish, little fish, lots-o-fish, lots-o-coral, wall, shallow, macro, etc., etc., etc. Best of all, Coz has just about it all and it's all good. My advice is to just go with the flow (no pun intended). After a few trips, you'll figure out what you like.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

Thats the problem as I probably will not be able to go to Cozumel more than about once every other year or so. I would like to get a good variety and also know based on my described skill level whether or not the advanced sites would be appropriate for me. I really enjoyed the swim throughs on Santa Rosa and also really liked the more plentiful critters I saw on Paradise last time.

Keep the info coming! Thanks!

Gaffer

 

[ggunn]

Thanks for all the replies so far!

Thats the problem as I probably will not be able to go to Cozumel more than about once every other year or so. I would like to get a good variety and also know based on my described skill level whether or not the advanced sites would be appropriate for me. I really enjoyed the swim throughs on Santa Rosa and also really liked the more plentiful critters I saw on Paradise last time.

Keep the info coming! Thanks!

Gaffer

My advice would be to sit down with a good DM when you are there (preferably after you've had a dive or two with him) and discuss your experience and skills, and ask what he thinks about going to the advanced sites. I remember on one of my first trips to Cozumel asking the DM I was diving with about diving Maracaibo (I didn't know anything about it other than the name), and he just laughed good naturedly and said something in Spanish that translated roughly to "Not yet, newbie". ;^)

 

[old gaffer]

If everyone has had their fill of DSI (dive scene investigation) from Teknitrox's Aqua Safari thread how about talking cozumel reefs!

Which are your favorites and why? Wax poetic if you like!, air out those sparkling metaphors! Which have been your favorite night dives?, favorite swim throughs, best places for critter encounters etc... Bring it on!

Gaffer

 

[ggunn]

If everyone has had their fill of DSI (dive scene investigation) from Teknitrox's Aqua Safari thread how about talking cozumel reefs!

Which are your favorites and why? Wax poetic if you like!, air out those sparkling metaphors! Which have been your favorite night dives?, favorite swim throughs, best places for critter encounters etc... Bring it on!

Gaffer

The worst dive I ever had at Cozumel was great.

I remember one dive where there was a very unusual algae bloom where we went and the viz was down to about 30'. Everyone got out of the water grousing about the"lousy viz", but then we had to laugh about how spoiled we have become. On much of our home turf, a 30' viz day would be remembered for years as the best day ever!

 

[old gaffer]

I hear ya Gordon! The best dive I have had in Minnesota was on the Madiera wreck near Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior and we had about 30' of vis.

It was so cool diving in coz last November and looking up from the bottom and seeing the bottoms of the boats way up there!

Gaffer