Wreck C-53

[sharky60]

I dove it last Spring with Blue Angel.

 

[Sometimes]

I really like the wreck. Bring a light and the colors are amazing. The current can be a pain, but I think it's actually a really good dive for a new diver. Since the bottom is almost entirely flat, its easy to judge how you are doing with your bouyancy.

Cozumel Marine World will definitely take you there. They're great guys and will definitely make sure you stay safe/just on the outside if you're new.

 

[robint]

We have done the wreck several times and never had too much current. It did pick up once while we were on the dive, so we just stayed on the wreck side until it was time to swim to the rope to go up. Other dives have been calm.
SCC does this dive every afternoon if they have 4 divers signed up at the dive shop. If you are staying there....

 

[kerrycorcoran]

I didn't even know there was a wreck dive in Cozumel. Will have to do this to check it off the list.

 

[mstevens]

I've been to the Felipe Xicotencatl far fewer times than Maracaibo, so maybe I'm just not bored with it yet. It's probably one of the things that got my son hooked on diving. It can be kind of a hoot, and I don't find it either very challenging or very boring. It's a tame wreck, but I don't have much interested in wrecks that haven't been cut wide open anyway.

This is may be a good example of my firmly-held belief that there is joy to be found in any Cozumel dive if you approach it with an open mind. There are some interesting critters (flame scallop, very large patrolling barracuda, all sorts of interesting stuff).

I say, if it sounds interesting, go for it! It's a common dive, doesn't take long to get to, and one of the few places the boat can moor, so it's not trouble for the crew. With the shops people here like, if they think you have the skills, they'll take you there.

 

[cvchief]

I didn't even know there was a wreck dive in Cozumel. Will have to do this to check it off the list.

Well, there are actually a couple more smaller ones north of the ferry pier! I still haven't visited them, but I got a line on a guy with scooter for a shore dive!

 

[mstevens]

Well, there are actually a couple more smaller ones north of the ferry pier! I still haven't visited them, but I got a line on a guy with scooter for a shore dive!

Diving on a wrecked scooter as a shore dive doesn't sound all that entrancing. At least do a Harley from a boat!

 

[Zman96]

Another funny bit. As I said we did it early in our diving the first time. The missus was at the back of the boat, laid her prescription mask on the edge of the boat. And then knocked it in. She is really blind without it. Alison grabbed her tank and dove in. Like 30 minutes later she shows back up with the mask. We were still new, so she put on her sweet look and said, "maybe you should order a spare prescription mask?" She grabbed a new tank and we did the dive. Another reason we love Scuba with Alison.

One of the first times I was on the wreck a snorkel boat was overhead. I was near the bow when I saw a guide dive in (no tank) and shoot all the way down to the bottom and grab somebodies mask. I was unbelievably impressed needless to say.

Well, there are actually a couple more smaller ones north of the ferry pier! I still haven't visited them, but I got a line on a guy with scooter for a shore dive!

The two boats up north use to be a good place to kill Lionfish. Not very impressive to look at, but as part of a lionfish hunt it is pretty cool.

Back to the Op, the wreck isn't bad. I went to it on somewhere around my 10th open water dive. We got lucky as their was a large bait ball hanging out on it and swimming though it a bunch of times was a lot of fun.

 

[Steelyeyes]

The C 53 was not my first wreck but I liked it. The water clarity was good. The current was mild. We took time to check out the garden eels in the sand at the stern before we cruised where the hull met the sand for the length of the ship. We eventually looked through the whole thing and I thought it was scenic enough and held enough wildlife that a repeat visit would be fun. We did it as a one tank dive with Scuba Club in the afternoon.

A couple of years later we dove it's sister ship, I think the C 55, in the Sea of Cortez near Loreto. Visibility wasn't as good and this one wasn't prepped for penetration so we just looked around the edges. Plenty of fish and other types of life had taken up homes there too.

 

[DjDiverDan]

I think most dive ops will take you there, if that is the desire of a majority on your boat. As others have said, it's really kind of boring. There are a LOT of far more interesting dives on Cozumel.