> I wish I had been able to do the underwater video that I have always done
> but had to forgo it this time. It felt very strange not to have a camera
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> bottom. I didn't see them but a friend took photos of them. Any more
> questions? I would try to answer.
That's OK. I'll see for myself in a week. I'm not bringing a camera
either - we're only there for three nights so it doesn't make sense to drag
it along. "Long weekend" trips are only survivable when you pack light.
A previous report had mentioned the sand covering the reefs. Hopefully we
can talk our DM into spending more time on the walls. Maybe we'll skip
doing a night dive in the shallows if they've been swept clean and the
lobsters are walking around in the day time. It should be interesting to
see the hurricane damage. I'm getting excited.
I'm not too big on downcurrents, but you take what you can get. The only
time I was ever hit bad by one was off Santa Rosa wall (I think). It was a
CF dive from the beginning as I had started the dive by forgetting my
weights back on the boat. When we hit 30' I was feeling very light and
realized after a quick pat of my weight pockets that I had forgotten to
stick the weights in at the last minute, which I had had to do since my tank
was located in a spot on the boat where I couldn't access the weight pockets
beforehand. So my buddy and I went back to the boat, I quickly weighted up,
and they re-dropped us near our group which had just dropped over the wall
and into a swimthrough. We swam against the current as hard as we could to
catch up, leaving us both panting to catch our breaths inside the
swimthrough at 90'. I'm a big guy that can normally make an AL80 last an
hour if I dive very meditatively, but when I'm breathing hard, I can suck
that little cylinder down real quick. I found out later that my buddy, who
normally has excellent air consumption, wasn't able to fully catch her
breath - her regulator was a POS, IMO. Finally outside the swimthrough, we
hit the downcurrent from hell, with everyone's bubbles going straight down.
I'm kicking hard and watching my depth continue to drop 85,86,87; my AI
computer also displayed the air remaining: 580 psi. Uh oh.
Somehow we survived. I wish I remember how since it could likely help me in
the future, but all the drinks I had that night in order to help me forget
helped me forget. I do remember that it freaked my buddy out enough to sit
out the next dive, which was too bad since it was the wreck dive (Felipe X)
with very little current outside and none whatsoever inside. Very calming
after the previous breathless roller-coaster ride.
Which does remind me of one question: did the hurricane impact the wreck?
Jer - 16 Feb 2006 02:01 GMT
>>I wish I had been able to do the underwater video that I have always done
>>but had to forgo it this time. It felt very strange not to have a camera
[quoted text clipped - 39 lines]
> I'm kicking hard and watching my depth continue to drop 85,86,87; my AI
> computer also displayed the air remaining: 580 psi. Uh oh.
Just kick latterally toward the reef, you'll be out of it in a moment or
two.
> Somehow we survived. I wish I remember how since it could likely help me in
> the future, but all the drinks I had that night in order to help me forget
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Which does remind me of one question: did the hurricane impact the wreck?

Signature
jer
email reply - I am not a 'ten'
Dan Bracuk - 16 Feb 2006 03:05 GMT
"Greg Mossman" <mossman@qnet.com> pounded away at his keyboard
resulting in:
: I'm not bringing a camera either
Bound to be fish-a-plenty then.
Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.
Reef Fish - 16 Feb 2006 03:42 GMT
> "Greg Mossman" <mossman@qnet.com> pounded away at his keyboard
> resulting in:
> : I'm not bringing a camera either
>
> Bound to be fish-a-plenty then.
He and Janna are GUARANTEED to see at least two sharks on every
one of the two-tank dives on the 24th and 25th, and I'll have my POS
the MX-10, and Sue'll have her digital POS :-) like yours to catch any
other fish that might be around.
da Feeesh.
bjeanneb - 16 Feb 2006 03:51 GMT
> I'm not too big on downcurrents, but you take what you can get. The only
> time I was ever hit bad by one was off Santa Rosa wall (I think). It was
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> drop 85,86,87; my AI computer also displayed the air remaining: 580 psi.
> Uh oh.
The only horror story I could tell about my diving experiences doesn't top
yours so I'll skip it! No downcurrents, just no viz, lost luggage, no
compass, abandoned by my buddy. That sort of thing. As Gilda Radner said,
it's always something.
> Somehow we survived. I wish I remember how since it could likely help me
> in the future, but all the drinks I had that night in order to help me
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Which does remind me of one question: did the hurricane impact the wreck?
You only ask one question and I can't answer it. We didn't go there. In
fact, I've never been there. The only wreck I've seen in Cozumel is the
airplane behind La Ceiba/Le Cid. I didn't even see that one this time
because we didn't do any shore diving. I hated to miss that, but access or
I should say "exit" was a problem with all the docks destroyed and the
makeup of our group was such that it was better to skip it. That's OK.
I'll be going again!
Be sure to report on your experiences.
Jeanne