Diving Into Blue

Just the other day, we found out about private dives. You’re on the boat with other divers but the Divemaster you select only watches out for you. There’s no worry about waiting for or trying to catch up with other divers. It’s all about you and what you want out of the dive.

Our first private dive was with Ismael, and it was awesome! These last few days, we have done private dives with Pingo, our friend and favorite Divemaster.

First, let me tell you how diving with other divers work. Then, you’ll understand how awesome an experience it is to have a private dive.

When you sign up for a dive, you can ask to be on the boat with a particular Divemaster. This is good but it’s still a crap shoot. Each Divemaster is in charge of six to eight divers. These divers, however, range dramatically in expertise. You may have someone who has just been certified diving alongside someone who has done 200+ dives. In addition, you may have some divers who have never done a drift dive before and don’t know what to expect. And then, you could get anyone in between.

So, this is how it looks. The Divemasters divvy up the divers once onboard the boat. Again, if you know the Divemasters (like we do), they’ll usually have you dive with them in their group. Other than that, it’s a gamble. You can listen to what the divers say, how they look on the boat, or how they set up their equipment. None of that compares to what they look like or how they take care of themselves underwater.

Now, you’re ready to dive. The Divemaster does a giant stride into the ocean, and all his charges stride into the ocean one after another until all six or eight signal they’re ok. Then, it’s down we go. This is where you’ll see the first signs of how the dive is going to go. You may have the guy who forgot his weights on the boat, or the couple who can’t seem to get past the first three feet because they’re breathing too much. Or, you may have the lady who has too much weight and sinks straight to the sandy bottom.

Ok, so we’re all on the bottom (some of them literally on the bottom instead of hovering a few feet off the bottom) and the Divemaster looks at each diver and gives the hand signal, “Are you ok?” When he gets a satisfactory answer from each diver, away we go! Now is when you see what all the divers are made of.

Let’s see…we’re drift diving, which means NO KICKING into the current! But, there are divers that still do. Others, can’t quite figure out their buoyancy so they’re up, then, they’re down. Those that have too much weight are dragging their fins in the sand and over the coral. The good divers are the ones that are almost motionless with their arms crossed, just waiting for the Divemaster to pick a direction. The good divers usually hang back, many, many feet away from the others.

Oh look! The Divemaster has spotted a splendid toadfish, a unique fish that’s only found in Cozumel. The toadfish lives under small ledges in the reef in very tiny, tight spaces. The Divemaster gets everyone’s attention and signals “toadfish,” and points to the very tiny space under the ledge. Next thing you know, it’s a mad dash to be the first one to get to the toadfish. Fins are flying; sand is being tossed because everyone is vying for the best spot to view the toadfish. Good luck if you’re the firs one there. Some divers don’t wait their turn; all of a sudden, you get bumped in the head by a fin or a tank. Ouch!

The good divers wait their turn and try their best NOT to stir up any sand or silt. It might obstruct the next person’s view or, good heaven; scare the toadfish deeper into his crevice. Oh yeah. Let’s add to this mix a guy with a video camera. He patiently waits his turn, too.

Hey! Lookey there! It’s a turtle! Good divers hang motionless in the water, watching from a distance as the turtle swims by. Other divers swim at top speed, arms flaying, bubbles spewing, as they scare the turtle half to death. The turtle motors so fast that no one has a chance of enjoying his beauty.

Our dive is done and we’ve done our safety stop. There’s boat courtesy that good divers follow—the one closest to the boat gets on first and so on. You hang back until it’s your turn, then, grab the ladder, and take your fins off as quickly as possible. Once on the boat, the captain’s mate helps you get seated and secures your tank. Other divers make a mad dash to the ladder—it’s whoever can get there first, wins! Then, they take their time, yanking off their fins and climbing the ladder.

Whew! That’s a dive with one Divemaster and six to eight divers.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…then, there’s the private dive.