Back from diving GC & Cozumel

[budaman]

Good morning all! Returned this weekend from our cruise on the Rhapsody and wanted to let you know how things went. First, I wanted to thank everyone who gave us input prior to our cruise, it was invaluable.

 

We dove GC on Thurs the 28th. Since we were worried about the time constraints of our Port time, we decided to use the ships excursion for our diving there. RCCL's dive operator on GC is Red Sail Sports. We were met on the pier by one of their reps, Teresa, who used to be with Tortuga that we used from our condo before Ivan. After checking in, we took a short walk over to a beach where the dive boat picked us up. We headed out from the beach as soon as gear was stowed because the Tenders have priority in the harbor and they wanted to clear before the Mariner & Carnival Conquest started sending in tenders. Once out, they gave us a briefing of what to expect on the dives and then we headed for the first dive site. First sight was Little Tunnels and we maxed @ 80ft along the wall. We had wanted to do a wreck on the second dive, but by the time we got to the sight there were far too many dive boats on sight so we headed to La Mesa. Max on this dive was 60ft. There was an abundance of aquatic life on both dives. Saw rays, eels, baracuda and the largest lobster I've ever seen out in the open during the daytime. Had to be at least 30" long not including the tentacles! One thing we did not see were turtles. There was obvious coral damage from Ivan, but still provided an excellent dive.

There were if I remember correctly, 16 divers in our group and we split into 2 groups of 8. First dive was a led dive and the second was a buddy dive. I was pleased with Red Sail, but they do seem more geared towards group, casual diving. This , however, is based on this one particular excursion and they might have an awsome private charter service for more adventurous and less structured diving. I am not a real confident diver and their hands on and slow approach to everything was appreciated.

 

Well, this section went on a little longer than planned and I've actually need to do some work, so I'll do Cozumel as soon as I get a break.

[bruce-r]

Really appreciate the report. Thanks

[budaman]

Ok, on to Cozumel

 

It's been 14 years since I last dove in Cozumel and all I can say is that it is still simply awesome! Through input from the forum, we set up a private charter with Dive w/Martin. It took a little longer to get clearance from the Port authorities before they let us deboard so we got off about 45 minutes late. Martins shop is right at the base of the Intl. Pier and even though we were late, they did not rush us and trated us extremely well. I was the only one of our group of 5 that needed a BC & reg, so they took care of that first. This was the first time I have used a BC with integrated weight pockets and it was so much better than a traditional weight belt. We were soon on the boat, a fast 27' v-hull. It was great zipping past all the lumbering lg boats and we were at our first sight within 15 minutes. First sight was Santa Rosa. 80' for 40 minutes or 750lbs. Being a huffer on my first dive, I had to come up a few minutes earlier. The visability was fantastic! Much better than GC. The bottom of the boats in the area looked like you could reach out & touch them. We were in & out of tunnels, crevices and valleys along the wall. The contrasts with the water that clear when it gets that dark dark blue to black as the trench gets deeper is awesome.

For our surface break, they motored over to a little beach and they broke out some water and cantelope to get the salty,dry taste out of our mouths. While wandering around the beach, came across the souveneir shop and realized we were at Nachi Cocum. Several folks from our M&M were going ther so I went in search for them. Found them having a great time and we were able to chat for awhile. We also picked up a few Modelo's for after the second dive!

The second dive was at Tormentos and it was just as good if not better than Santa Rosa. More aquatic life the shallower we got and even came across a sea turtle. Of course, we followed the look but don't touch philosophy, which I can't say for some of the other dive groups we came across during the dives. This time I conserved my air a bit better and was able to stay down the entire 55 minutes. Boy, those Modelo's sure did taste good afterwards!

I can't say enough about Miguel, our dive master, and Jose, our boat capt. They were great. We had brought a picture we had taken when we were here last to see if they recognized our dive master and they immediately recognized Divin Ivan! They even recommended a fantastic spot for lunch, El Capi. Navigante. It was @ 10 Del Sur. The 5 of us ate and drank for for less than $70 US.

This dive made me realize that the only proper way to do Cozumel is a land vacation. One day of diving is nice, don't get me wrong, but there are just too many fantastic dive sights there to do in 1 day!:) :)

[bruce-r]

This dive made me realize that the only proper way to do Cozumel is a land vacation. One day of diving is nice, don't get me wrong, but there are just too many fantastic dive sights there to do in 1 day!:) :)

This last paragraph says it all.....

[Jerry_G]

I'm heading to GC and Coz in Dec along with Belize and Costa Maya. I've been to Coz several times over the last 3 years and your writing brings back a lot of good memories. If you ever get to Coz for an extended period try going over to Playa Del Carmen and diving an area called the Tortugas. An unbelievable drift dive with turtles everywhere. In the summer the tarpon are in and you can drift through schools of 3-4 foot tarpon. I'd also recommend a trip to the cenotes(fresh water cavern diving). If you can dive the caverns on your last day your equipment gets a thorough fresh water rinse.

 

Jerry

[budaman]

We used to go to Cozumel just about every year in the 80's and early 90's, then picking up the condo in Grand Cayman and diving there and exchanging and going to Hawaii for the last 4 years, we hadn't made it back. One of our biggest hangups about cruising, was how much it had changed Cozumel and the building of the Pier over Paradise Reef. I was very glad to see that the progress and Americanization of Cozumel has not severly changed the way the citizens of Cozumel look at life. Their Mayan heritage must be very strong. Now, if they'd just left Carlos & Charlies alone;)

 

About the fresh water rinse, reminded me of why we were very glad to get a balcony. When the rest of our group brought up their dive gear after just a few hours after diving GC, it was exremely ripe! Gave them a good soak in the tub and hung them out on the balcony and they were fine the next morning when we got to Cozumel.

[budaman]

Was finally able to get some of our dive pictures from Cozumel on a link. Cayman roll had a malfunction though. Try this link:

www.homepage.mac.com/ceasealove/

[Tarkus]

i can't give enough kudos to dive with martin either; as a matter of fact, due to a weird scheduling conflict the last time i was down there martin HIMSELF played dm on my boat. thing i remember most about him was that he sucked no air - dunno how a guy can go along with the rest of us on first dive and only use just a few hundred pounds of air!

 

glad you had a great time, budaman. but, as you and others say, i'd love to go back land-based next time (cc scuba trip excluded ;) of course) so i can get to see more of the place than you can on a cruise...

[w&k]

Budaman-

 

Thanks for the review!

 

Met two gentlemen in the Schooner that went with Red Sail on the shorex, and their description matches yours. However, they just sent to a little dock on the side, not the beach to get on the dive boat.

 

I think we were the only ship in at that time, if not all day, and that might have made a difference in the pickup spot.

 

Glad your dives were great!

 

Wendy

[Treeppl]

Budaman,

How long were you in port in Cozumel?

[budaman]

Treeppl......We arrived at the dock just prior to 9AM, but due to some kind of Customs snafu, we weren't able to disembark until about 9:30. We left Cozumel at 6PM...had to be back on board by 5:30. Since Dw/M is located at the same dock, we were headed to the dive sites ASAP. Got back from 2 tanker and had time to catch cab into town, have lunch do some shopping and have a few drinks at C & C's before heading back to the ship.

 

Mike

 

www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/