From: RFLNG@CLEMSON.CLEMSON.EDU (Reef Fish      , Large Nassau Grouper)
Newsgroups: rec.scuba
Subject: Any information about Cancun or Cozumel
Date: 19 Nov 1992 01:42:01 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

kkwwkk@mixcom.com (TA Shaw)  <1992Nov18.151430.14419@mixcom.com> says

> b) I was told that from time to time, the currents that run off the
>    wall can be dangerous.  That if the conditions are right, it actually
>    can be like flushing a toilet, ie the current is so strong running
>    over the and down the wall that it will drag divers down even if
>    their BC is inflated?  Anyone else heard of this?

IMO this "death grip down current" is one of the popular diving myths,
I've done hundreds of dives in Cozumel ... the current can be VERY swift,
at times, but I've NEVER experienced the slightest "current running over
and down the wall", in Cozumel, or in other swift-current sites.

In all reported cases I've heard or read about "strong down current", an
analysis could be made that the diver simply lost buoyancy control (usually
an inexperienced diver, forgetting to inflate the BC at depth to compensate
for wet/dry-suit/BC-compression) to cause the "down draft", and by the time
such diver realizes s/he is being "dragged down", no inflation of BC is
going to arrest the descent instantaneously -- and so the current gets
blamed for the down-dragging, and inexperience/panic distorted the rest of
the explanation.

Relax and enjoy the drift diving, slow or swift, in Cozumel.  Watch your
neutral buoyancy and you'll never need to worry about any down current.

>   (Question: I was told toadfish were kind of rare and sort of
>   poisinous.  Are either of these true?)

The toadfish is said to be found ONLY in Cozumel, nowhere else in the
world.  Paul Humann (popular author of fish books) said (when I dove with
him in Cayman a year or so ago) that toadfish was reported to have been
seen in Belize, but he had no confirmation of the report.  Thus, it is
rare, but quite common in Cozumel if you know where (particular coral heads
on certain reefs) and what (whiskers on a flat object inside crevices
near/at sand bottom) to look for.  They are not known to be poisonous.

wgreen@eckhart.scd.ucar.edu (Wayne Green)
<1992Nov18.203536.25039@ncar.ucar.edu> writes

>  Cozumel recently introduced a 90' limit to dives in their
>  area.  :...:

Not true.  There were recent reports that a law has been passed in Mexico
that limits diving to 80'.  When I was in Cozumel two weeks ago, I asked
quite a few dive operators about this new law/rule/guideline.  The bottom
line is that many operators never heard of that "law", and those who know
about the new "law"/guideline don't enforce it.  SOME operators (such as
Del Mar Aquatics) set 80' limits before the new "law" was reported because
they had so many diving accidents from poorly trained tourist-divers.
But ALL operators take you to recreational depths (130') on "special trips"
(which usually means a few extra $$) if they judge you to be sufficiently
experienced.   Some of the best deep dives in Cozumel (in Punta Sur) should
be dived in the 90'-120' range.

>    :...:                                         We have
> one case where the Mexican government has imposed a limit
> to prevent the accidents seen there by unresponsible
> participation of divers going beyond the range of thier
> abilities.

I totally concur with the idea of being a "responsible diver", not diving
beyond ones abilities/training.  Some of the most dangerous diving
practices (too rapid or uncontrolled ascent) occur at shallow (less than
60') and unfortunately some certified divers are unsafe to dive at ANY
depth.  Thus, setting a "new" depth limit for recreational diving is at
best a PR ploy ... it is neither necessary nor sufficient to promote safe
diving.

awright@gssec.bt.co.uk (Alan Wright)
Message-Id: <1992Nov18.152600.11804@gssec.bt.co.uk> proposes

> Recreational Diver:     No decompression and no deeper than 40m/130'.
>                         Relaxing and enjoying the view, when the viz
>                         is more then 6 inches :-).

What, no enjoyment of macro views less than 6 inches?  :-)

Safe Drift-Diving in Czm, amigos

-- Bob.
Newsgroups: rec.scuba