COZUMEL ... Five Weeks Nov/Dec 2024 AND Two Weeks Jan/Feb 2025

A   TWOFER     !

 Trip ONE Departure - November 15th, 2024

and

 Trip TWO Departure - January 22nd, 2025

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GETTING THERE                                                                                                                                       

🚗to Belleville,🚂 to Toronto,🛏️ in Toronto, ✈️ to Cozumel ...

November 14, 2024: The weather is just now, beginning to turn wintery; strong and gusty winds, drizzly rain, grey and overcast skies, daytime temperature highs around 8 - 11C, nighttime -3C. 

I just checked the weather on Cozumel ... 31C, precipitation possibility 10%, humidity at 85%, winds 16 km/h. The port is open for small craft; dive boats are heading out.

We'll meet with divers Cheryl & Kirk and non-divers Sue & Art from BC and later with my longtime dive buddy Mark from NV.

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January 22, 2025: Still not much snow coverage; I'm looking out our back door ATM, to a mostly brownish grassy yard, some light flurries are in the air, temperature is hovering around -10C at 2:35 pm on Jan 20th.

Cozumel weather now ... 27°C, precipitation: 5%, humidity: 80%, wind: 16 km/h.

We'll be staying at the same locations; just shorter stays at each this time.

Stock Photo

Just  L00K  at that reef ... it's time to get underwater!

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IBEROSTAR WAVES COZUMEL

Stock Photo

Website: Iberostar Waves Cozumel

Room 8713 - top right, a very convenient location for us. Quiet, away from noise at the main pool and other entertainment areas.  Also convenient to a nearby pathway leading to the Prestige Club and the beach pickup location for diving.

and

Room 8611 - just next door to room 8713.

  

  

DON'T ASK!

At the Prestige Club & the Beach

 

The Grounds

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SCUBA TONY 

Website: SCUBA Tony

Dive Masters: Carmelo, Miguel, Israel

Miguel

Israel

Captains: Papo, Conejo, Alex

Miguel & Conejo

Alex   Israel

Boats: Chiquilla Bonita, Shamu

     

Note: Because this blog documents Trips 166 and 167 to Cozumel, I am combining all the diving statistics; gathered from dives with Scuba Tony and Dive Paradise.

Information & Statistics:

Dives: (scheduled/El Norte (port closed) &/0r re-scheduled/completed): 18+12/02+02/16+10 = 26

The Norte is a strong cold wind which blows from the northeast in Mexico along the Gulf of Mexico. It primarily affects the states along the Coast, including: Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, and Yucatán. Unlike El Nino, it's a localized wind and not part of a broader climate pattern.

Buddies (Trip 166): Cheryl, Kirk

 

Cheryl & Kirk

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Reef Sites: Palancar Caves #1 (91'/60m), Dalila #1 (62'/58m), Cedral Montagne (70'/62m), Whitehouse (Casa Blanca) #1/#2 (59'/62m & 58'/65m), Columbia Deep #1/Palancar Bricks (84'/60m), La Francesa #1 (69'/61m), Palancar Gardens #1 (68'/64m), Palancar Horseshoe (91'/56m), Dalila #2 (59'/65m), Columbia Deep #2 (82'/63m), La Francesa #2 (46'/68m), Columbia Pinnacles (83'/61m), * Caracolillo (73'/62m), Santa Rosa Wall #1 (83'/61m), * Tonys Dive (69'/65m)

Reef Sites: Palancar Gardens #3 (93'/64m), Whitehouse (Casa Blanca) #3 (58'/62m), Columbia Deep #3 (83'/59m), Dalila #3 (61'/62m), Palancar Caves #2 (67'/61m), Cedral Pass #3 (58'/60m), Santa Rosa Wall #4 (76'/64m), La Francesa #3 (61'/66m), Columbia Deep #4 (90'/63m), Whitehouse (Casa Blanca) #4 (60'/65m)

New Reef Sites This Trip: *

New Dive Route Descriptions:

Caracolillo: Begins at the start of Palancar Gardens and ends at the beginning of La Francesa. 

Tonys Dive: Begins at the start of Casa Blanca, continues through Cedral Montagne and ends at Cedral Pass.

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Average Maximum Depth: (91+62+70+59+84+69+68+58+91+59+82+46+83+73+83+69)/16 = 71.7 feet

Average Maximum Depth: (93+58+83+61+67+58+76+61+90+60)/10 = 70.7 feet

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Total Underwater Time = (60+58+62+62+60+61+64+65+56+65+63+68+61+62+61+65)/60 = 16.5 hours

Total Underwater Time = (64+58+59+62+61+60+64+66+63+65)/60 = 10.4 hours

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Average Time: (60+58+62+62+60+61+64+65+56+65+63+68+61+62+61+65)/16 = 62.1 minutes

Average Time: (64+58+59+62+61+60+64+66+63+65)/10 = 62.2 minutes

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Personal Best: Weights -  8 pounds. (2x3 in BCD pouches, 2x1 in tank strap pouches) 

Note: Both maximum depth and maximum bottom times were made with Dive Paradise this trip.         

Note: Attempted 6 pounds (2x2 in BCD pouches, 2x1 in tank strap pouches). Result: Decended fine, completed the dive ok, had some difficulty staying stable during safety stop at 15'; up and down and eventually broke through and surfaced.

Encounters & Episodes:                                                                                                                                 

1. Noggin pummelled by a couple of Bermuda Chub on final ascent at the 10' level. Some long hairs and bubbles (posing as fish bait), escaped from my Scuba Do Rag. It was exhilarating!

Stock photo

2. Witnessed a large group of divers (40-50 from Dressel Divers), many of which were tormenting a frantic, medium sized Nurse Shark ... chasing, coralling, bright torch lights aimed at the animal, long selfie sticks on gopros. 

Though nurse sharks are considered quite passive, they are still resposible for about 25% of all shark attacks; primarily due to unpleasant encounters with divers.

3. Biggest Bearded Fire Worm I've seen; 10 inches +/-

4. Bad O-ring on 1st stage of fresh nitrox tank, on boat and prior to descent for first dive. Blew Miguels skull cap 50' in the air and disharged 500 psi immediately. Tank was too short then, at 2500 psi for the planned deep dive so I was set-up with compressed air. Exciting!, we found Miguel's cap.

5. Another group of divers chasing; this time an Eagle Ray and this time the chase was led by a known divemaster from an island operator; more poor diver ettiquette and unfortunately from a professional.

Moved north on December 4, 2024 to ... 

and

Moved north on  February 7, 2025 to ... 

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WYNDHAM COZUMEL HOTEL & RESORT

Website: WYNDHAM COZUMEL HOTEL & RESORT

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DIVE PARADISE

Website: DIVE PARADISE

Dive Masters: Caroline, Lobo, Jose, Sergio, Giovanni

Captains: Alex, Vladmir, Smiley

Sailor: Alex, Otto

Boats: Cascabel, Coquetta

 Smiley on Coquetta

Information & Statistics:

Dives: (scheduled/El Norte (port closed) &/0r re-scheduled/completed): 14+06/02+ 00/12 + 06 = 18

The Norte is a strong cold wind which blows from the northeast in Mexico along the Gulf of Mexico. It primarily affects the states along the Coast, including: Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, and Yucatán. Unlike El Nino, it's a localized wind and not part of a broader climate pattern.

Buddies: Mark, Jeff

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Reef Sites: Tormentos (59'/58m), Paradise Reef (44'/54m), Palancar Gardens #2 (82'/56m), Cedral Pass #1 (58'/61m), Santa Rosa Wall #2 (81'/56m), Yucab Wall (66'/42m), Santa Rosa Wall #3 (83'/47m), Cedral Pass #2 (54'/56m), Columbia Deep #2 (97'/37m), San Clemente #1 (47'/61m), Palancar Little Horseshoe (81'/56m), Dalila #3 (56'/63m)

Reef Sites: San Francisco (72'/55m), Las Palmas (47'/69m), Cedral Pass #4 (72'/58m), San Clemente #2 (34'/58m), Santa Rosa #5 (89'/68m), Punta Tunich (64'/71m)

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Average Maximum Depth: (59+44+82+58+81+66+83+54+97+47+81+56)/12 = 67.3 feet

Average Maximum Depth: (72+47+72+34+89+64)/6 = 63.0 feet

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Total Underwater Time: (58+54+56+61+56+42+47+56+37+61+56+63)/60 = 10.8 hours

Total Underwater Time: (55+69+58+58+68+71)/60 = 6.3 hours 

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Average Time: (58+54+56+61+56+42+47+56+37+61+56+63)/12 = 53.9 minutes

Average Time: (55+69+58+58+68+71)/6 = 63.2 minutes

   

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UNDERWATER  PHOTOGRAPHY    

The following photography is a random selection, taken at all the reef sites that were dived during this trip. They represent what I consider to be 'best' examples of a given species or subject. For a complete list of all (above & below the water) 'colour corrected' photography click on the gallery link(s) supplied, at the end of this post.

Camera: GoPro 11 Black

Wikipedia: For a detailed species descriptions of fishes, shellfishes, corals and a variety of other marine subjects, click on the photo link when provided.

WARNING! There are a lot of photos.

Viewing: If you are not interested in reading the captioned text or investigating the supplied information links; a double click on any photo will launch a gallery at the bottom of your screen that can quickly be scrolled through, using the <> arrows. 

                                                                                                             

The southern stingray (Hypanus americanus) is a whiptail stingray found in tropical and subtropical waters of the Western Atlantic Ocean 

The queen angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris), also known as the blue angelfish, golden angelfish, or yellow angelfish, is a species of marine angelfish found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

The French angelfish, is a slow growing coral reef fish from the Caribbean.

Sea cucumbers are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. They are found on the sea floor worldwide. This specimen was approximately 1 foot long.

The whitespotted filefish, American whitespotted filefish, or whitespotted limefish, is a marine fish found along the coast of Florida extending southward into the Caribbean.

The eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom.

The permit (Trachinotus falcatus) is a game fish of the western Atlantic Ocean belonging to the family Carangidae. Three individuals in this photo, follow an eagle ray hopeing to grab conch bites from any succesful hunting by the ray.

As inoffensive as nurse sharks may appear, they are ranked fourth in documented shark bites on humans, likely due to incautious behavior by divers on account of the nurse shark's calm, sedentary nature.

Hermodice carunculata, the bearded fireworm, is a type of marine bristleworm belonging to the Amphinomidae family, native to the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. This individual was approximately 10" long.

Chromis cyanea (blue chromis) is a damselfish in the subfamily Pomacentrinae, found in Bermuda, southern Florida and the Caribbean Sea. Unfortunately, collected for the aquarium trade. There was a small gap here in between coral formations and a large school passed over and around me for 30 seconds or so; quite wonderful.

The horse-eye jack (Caranx latus), also known as the big-eye jack, is a game fish and minor commercial fish in the family Carangidae. 

Haemulon flavolineatum, the French grunt, banana grunt, gold laced grunt, open-mouthed grunt, redmouth grunt, or yellow grunt, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the western Atlantic Ocean.

The peacock flounder (Bothus mancus), also known as the flowery flounder, is a species of fish in the family Bothidae (lefteye flounders). The species is found widely in relatively shallow waters in the Indo-Pacific, also ranging into warmer parts of the East Pacific.

Lobsters are malacostracans of the family Nephropidae or its synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, which are usually much larger than the others. 

Maguimithrax spinosissimus, also known as the Caribbean king crab, West Indian spider crab, channel clinging crab, reef or spiny spider crab, and coral crab, is a species of spider crab that occurs throughout South Florida and across the Caribbean Islands.

Lactophrys triqueter the smooth trunkfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. The smooth trunkfish is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.

The black triggerfish or black durgon (Melichthys niger), called Humuhumu'ele'ele in Hawaiian, is a blimp-shaped triggerfish with bright white lines running along its dorsal and anal fins. 

The honeycomb cowfish (Acanthostracion polygonius), is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ostraciidae, the boxfishes. This fish is found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.

The stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a parrotfish from the family Scaridae, inhabiting coral reefs in Florida, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda and as far south as Brazil. It mainly feeds on algae by scraping and excavating it with its teeth. Like most of its relatives, it is able to change sex.

The trumpetfishes are three species of highly specialized, tubularly-elongated marine fishes in the genus Aulostomus, of the monogeneric family Aulostomidae. 

Acanthurus coeruleus is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Acanthuridae, the surgeonfishes, unicornfishes and tangs, found in the Atlantic Ocean. It can grow up to 39 centimetres (15 in) long. Common names include Atlantic blue tang, blue barber, blue doctor, blue doctorfish, blue tang, blue tang surgeonfish, yellow barber, and yellow doctorfish.

The spotted drum or spotted ribbonfish (Eques punctatus), is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. This species is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Oreaster reticulatus, commonly known as the red cushion sea star or the West Indian sea star, is a species of marine invertebrate, a starfish in the family Oreasteridae. It is found in shallow water in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. This individual is a juvenile I believe.

The foureye butterflyfish (Chaetodon capistratus) is a butterflyfish (family Chaetodontidae). It is alternatively called the four-eyed butterflyfish. This species is found in the Western Atlantic from Massachusetts, USA and Bermuda to the West Indies and northern South America.

The splendid toadfish (Sanopus splendidus) also called the coral toadfish and the Cozumel splendid toadfish is a species of toadfish once believed to be entirely endemic to the island of Cozumel but have been found on the reefs of Honduras all the way up to Cancun. Commonly found under coral outcroppings. Dens can be spotted by the sloping sand patch. They are very difficult to coax out in the open.

Sphyraena barracuda, commonly known as the great barracuda, is a species of barracuda: large, apex predator ray-finned fish found in subtropical oceans around the world. The Syphyraena family contains 27 species while the great barracuda is one of this genus.

The green moray (Gymnothorax funebris) is a moray eel of the family Muraenidae, found in the western Atlantic Ocean from Long Island, New York, Bermuda, and the northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil, at depths down to 40 metres (130 ft). Its length is up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft). It is the largest moray species of the tropical Atlantic and one of the largest species of moray eel known. 

The flamingo tongue snail (Cyphoma gibbosum) is a species of small but brightly colored sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Ovulidae, the ovulids, cowry allies or false cowries.

Porcupinefish are medium-to-large fish belonging to the family Diodontidae from the order Tetraodontiformes which are also commonly called blowfish and, sometimes, balloonfish and globefish.

Burr fish

Brain Coral

Brain coral

Sundial

Sailor's Eyeball are one of the largest known single-celled organisms.

Anemone

Barrel sponge

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Where To Next ? ... 

... we're booked for a 5 night layover in Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS, followed by some touring in SOUTH AFRICA / ZIMBABWE, split up by a couple of safaris in BOTSWANA; all together, about a month away.

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Photo Credit: Cheryl

We're LOAFin Around 

  

Refer to Trip166&167 for all photography (not all colour corrected)  for this trip 

and 

to This blogs photos that includes, 'underwater colour corrected' photography.

Our Cameras

#1 -  GoPro Hero 11 with TELESIN underwater housing

#2 -  iPhone 11

Unless credited, all photo content is by LOAFin Around. 

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