wreck & cenote cozumel advice please

[DandyDon]

i see. thanks for the advice. i only have 5 dives under the proverbial belt.
-during the cenote dive are you under rock/soil as well as under water or is the water exposed to the sky?
-since the water is fresh there is no plant/animal life in the cenotes?

The water is fresh unless you hit a halocline and on my last two Cavern dives there we also enjoy chemoclines with hydrogen sulfide bacteria glowing in the sun rays. :shocked2: I also dropped my light; pretty dumb, but I really thot I'd checked my gear well - missed the break in the lanyard! Was lucky to get it back, and not need to be saved by the guide. :silly:

huh. very interesting.
so there is a roof overhead
-it doesnt get dark?
-where did you stay when you went cenote diving?
thanks

It gets quite dark, more of a cave dive in some parts. You can do a day trip from Cozumel okay, but - maybe next trip?

It's unlikely that someone with 5 dives would have the skills to effectively and safely dive in the cenotes. It is possible, but it would not be the norm. There are ALL KINDS of things that could go wrong. Consider the fact that you're in basically the same environment that cave divers spend thousands of dollars and many hours training rigorously to dive in.

The only wreck I know of in Coz is the C53 (I think) but it's the one they sunk a few years back and it's the popular one for rec divers. It's okay for a novice diver, but not ideal. You would not be wise to do any sort of penetration, although it's likely that the DM would just bring the whole group in. Currents can be pretty strong around there, that's another issue.

The thing is, I don't think it compares with the reef diving, so if this is your first trip down there, I'd just do the drift dives on the reefs. Believe me, you won't be disappointed and you'll get some experience.

Yep.

 

[driftin' by]

This thread is distrubing on so many aspects. First trip to Cozumel with 5 dives and your asking about wrecks and cenotes. With all due respect, slow down! Both cenotes and wreck dives require skills that would be very unlikely obtained in 5 dives. Also, do these 5 dives include your 4 OW check-dives? If so, then technically, you have 1 dive on your own. Not flaming or trying to be a jerk, but seriously, we talking about a potentially dangerous activity. I doubt you would feel that you missed anything after a week of nice drift diving. I look forward to hearing about your trip when you return.

Welcome to SB! Welcome to Cozumel! Welcome to Scuba! Welcome fellow Clevelander! Go Tribe, Browns, Cavs!

if you only have 5 dives total, don't do the cenotes. enjoy the many nice open water dives in cozumel, and come back for cenotes diving when you have more experience.

Ditto!

thanks.
what do you think about the wreck with the same only 5 dives?

Don't do it. It's an intermediate dive intended for divers with more experience. I doubt any op worth their salt would take you to it.

I'd say do a few dives in Cozumel and see how your air consumption and buoyancy is. Ask your dive guide if he/she thinks your skills are adequate to dive the Cenotes.

The problem with this is that the DM may be motivated by dollar signs to give the nod that the OP has sufficient skills. IMHO Live to dive another day in Cozumel.... the wreck and Cenotes will always be there.

The only wreck I know of in Coz is the C53 (I think) but it's the one they sunk a few years back and it's the popular one for rec divers. It's okay for a novice diver, but not ideal. You would not be wise to do any sort of penetration, although it's likely that the DM would just bring the whole group in. Currents can be pretty strong around there, that's another issue.

The thing is, I don't think it compares with the reef diving, so if this is your first trip down there, I'd just do the drift dives on the reefs. Believe me, you won't be disappointed and you'll get some experience.

Correct the wreck is of the C-53 Felipe Xicotencatl laid to rest in 2000 in 40 - 80 fsw. Every suggestion I've ever seen considers it an 'Intermediate' dive... not suited for someone with 5 dives in addition, at a depth that exceeds the OP's basic OW cert.

 

[DandyDon]

Yeah, I think you'd be better off asking your Operator about 100 cf tank upgrades and maybe how much a private DM would be the first day on the reefs.

 

[psychocabbage]

hmmm
Not to stir the pot here but really..
The C53 is not a "wreck" dive as I would classify it. Its a structure, that was a boat that now has many openings so the odds of you getting "stuck" or "lost" in it are very low.

It is not what I would call an "advanced" dive by any means.
The C-53 was dive #3 for me.. By your standards.. For me, the checkout dives, were in fact.. DIVES. and with NAUI, there are 5 of them. We went straight from getting my cert to Cozumel the following month. My first 2 dives in Cozumel were from the docks/shore when we arrived. No guides. Just grab some of our "unlimted air" after we signed up for the dives, and into the water we went.

Like I tell everyone whom I speak to about diving, if you get your card and are not confident enough to enter the water with just you and your buddy, you didnt get the proper training. When I finished my NAUI class, I didnt have any doubt of how to navigate and what to do if things got bad. (for the record, when my 10 yr old daughter lost sight of us on a dive she did what she was trained to do.. She surfaced and waited for us. Text book perfect. Gotta love diving with 4 ft vis!)

I went on to do 31 total dives that first year.. 26 if you dont count the cert dives. That was in 2007. I am sure I will hit 100 this year.

Now for the OP - C-53 was not my thing. I actually thought it boring. I have since returned to Cozumel about 2 times a year and have not returned to C-53. I find the drift dives more fun especially the deeper ones as I love the swim throughs.

here is a pic we grabbed from a rental camera there. We went out and bought our own camera right after since we were very disappointed with the rental cameras quality and abilities.

We have been kicking around the cenotes for quite some time now but the cold water is not high on my list of things to be in and for the price you pay, definately seems over priced. To each their own though.

 

[skeeoos]

Purcitron, I agree with most of the posters on this thread. Wait until you gain more experience before attempting the wreck penetration and cenotes. The drift diving in Coz is awesome and will be more than enough for your first trip.
I dove Dos Ojos and the Bat Cave for the first time in late May. I have about 80-85 dives under my belt and I felt fine and did great. But that was after a decent amount of dives and some wreck penetration in the Great Lakes where I live.
You don't know if you are going to become claustrophobic or freaked out by the overhead environment and the darkness. Maybe you won't, but maybe you will, and that's no place to get spooked.
Also, if you insist upon cenote diving anyway, it least do it at the end of the week so you have your weighting and buoyancy dialed in a little bit.
Good luck!

 

[driftin' by]

The C53 is not a "wreck" dive as I would classify it. Its a structure, that was a boat that now has many openings so the odds of you getting "stuck" or "lost" in it are very low.

You're right... it's on the easy end as far as wreck dives go. However, depth, currents and overhead environments are other issues to be considered with this simple wreck specifically.

It is not what I would call an "advanced" dive by any means.

Did I say it was "advanced" ? Did anyone else? IIRC, I said 'intermediate' and without mincing words, that falls somewhere between advance and beginner.

For me, the checkout dives, were in fact.. DIVES.

I don't know exactly what constitutes a dive (spending time at depth on SCUBA?) but I'm pretty sure my check out dives were 'DIVES' as well. I count mine but for all practical purposes, when you only have a handful of dives, they shouldn't be considered given the special attention you receive. Although skills are practiced and knowledge tested on checkout dives, divers are under direct supervision by an instructor not DM at a 1:4 ratio (IIRC), mine was 1:2. I'm sure you'll agree that the first unsupervised dive you did after your check out dives was a bit nerving. For my wife and I, we spend our first dives on our own on a platform continuing to practice our skills in our cold, dark, local quarry instead of testing our lack of skills on wrecks and in cenotes or for the matter, even drifting in Coz. I'll admit, we were a bit too much by the book, obtaining our Drift Diver Specialty before our first drive trip to Coz.

Now for the OP - C-53 was not my thing. I actually thought it boring.

I couldn't agree more.

 

[DandyDon]

Now for the OP - C-53 was not my thing. I actually thought it boring.

Yeah, well - I haven't been to it in years. Maybe it's better, could be some nice fish there.

Oh, another thing about Cenote diving: Log a few night dives before...!

 

[Tigerman]

The cenotes are AMAZING dives, that is available from AOWD level and upwards.
The cenotes have both cavern and cave sections and as some has already mentioned they require decent boyancy control to be done.
If you do have decent boyancy control and are a fairly comfortable and calm diver however the cenotes is something you should be put in prison for not doing if you have the chance.
The cavern parts of the cenotes can be fairly well illuminated and the water in the cenotes is crystal clear. Theres huge stalagtites and stalagmites all over the place and atlest some of them have a halocline thats a real weird experience.
If I had to pass up all dives but one in Mexico, the one I would be left doing is certainly the cenotes.

 

[purcitron]

thanks for the tips guys.
sounds like a need to forgo the cenote dive until i fill my logbook a bit.
ill probably dive the reef & the wreck.

-i understand that the reef diving is also done off the west coast of Coz?
-im wondering if staying in playa del carmen is just the same

 

[DandyDon]

-i understand that the reef diving is also done off the west coast of Coz?
-im wondering if staying in playa del carmen is just the same

Nope




Wait, tell us what you do know. That could save a lot of time.

Maybe you'd like to read some threads here on the Coz sub-forum about travel, hotel, dive ops, dining?

Go to Coz, with hotel & dive op booked, DAN dive & Other Trip insurance. Have a blast, following your training, learn about scuba...!