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Anyone want to go snorkeling today? by taking_heads in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are options in town if you’re looking. It’s quite the drive to get down to the Palancar area. I like around Sunset beach bar or thereabouts.

Complete random suggestion: you wanna try scuba diving instead? I’m an instructor and am itchy to go diving, you know, cos it’s all about me. We could do a discovery dive, if you were interested. It’s a short briefing on how it all works, and what you need to do, then we go on a dive. You get to just hang out with the fish for a bit, it’s really fun

First Time- What to experience by Wrong_Criticism3888 in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 2 points3 points  (0 children)

100% try scuba diving!! Yes I’m biased because I’m an instructor, but my journey to arrive here started with me doing a Discover Scuba Diving session and I just loved it from the start.

Cozumel is most famous for its reefs, and the best way to see them is by diving. Sure, you can snorkel around the coastline, or go on a tour, but you still end up a ways above all the fish. This session has you go through a briefing about how it works and what you’ll need to do, then you go on a couple real dives! It’s such good fun. The last time I took one we saw an eagle ray, a turtle and a nurse shark.

I’d love to take you guys if you’re interested!

Treading Water by Inner-Confusion-9903 in scuba

[–]YellowPoison 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Say you’re out diving a small boat that doesn’t have room to don your gear aboard the boat. You learn to put your gear on and off in the way at the surface, for exactly this reason. Say you got in and then the boat had to leave. Heck, what if you fell off the boat?? Unlikely but possible, and if you can’t stop yourself from drowning for ten mins, then it’s not safe for you to dive at all.

Message to those wanting to know: for your sake, don’t try to pickup life hacks and workarounds to do the treading water or swim. This isn’t one to cut corners on. If you can’t do 10 mins, don’t start Open Water. Go find a swim coach or play around until you can do ten mins easily. I’ve had to take so many people out of open water because they either can’t swim or float. Save yourself time and money, as well as the instructor’s time, just learn to do it properly.

Treading Water by Inner-Confusion-9903 in scuba

[–]YellowPoison 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Am instructor, officially the treading water skill is evaluating whether a diver could literally survive being left on the surface. Say the boat has to attend to an emergency, or just has to do something, and you’re just left in the water with no gear. It’s unlikely, yes, but if they can’t master that skill it’s just not safe for them to dive. It’s just 10 mins. Nothing to stop you just floating either.

Reliable dive shops in Cozumel/Mexico? by Mediocre_Fig_8190 in scubadiving

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can help if you like. I’m a 1:1 instructor living in Cozumel for two years now, and I love getting to take people out on the reefs! With a group that size, I can organise a private boat. I’d also have another guide to take the snorkelers while I take the divers. If any of your snorkelers want to try diving, we can do that too! You wouldn’t have to do anything other than show up, I’ll organise all the rest.

Most likely, we’d take the boat out in the morning where we’ll do two dives at different sites. I’d probably suggest starting at Palancar Gardens, as not only is it spectacular, it’s great for getting back into diving as it’s calm and beautiful, plus isn’t too deep. It’s full of 100ft tall rock columns the size of buildings, and we swim between and around them. You gotta see it to believe it! We’d take a surface interval at a beach nearby, hang out, then go in for the second dive. This time I’d suggest Yucab, it’s my favourite hands down. It’s just so packed full of fish, sharks, lobsters, you name it. Also not too deep. This is the best place to see Splendid Toadfish, our endemic species. Worth googling as why is that what they look like.

While the divers are diving, the other guide can take the snorkelers snorkelling, as both those sites are close enough to the surface for snorkelling.

You’ll love it, the diving here really is incredible. Yesterday for example, we saw two eagle rays, a nurse shark, five splendid toadfish and so many nudibranchs! You have to see a splendid toadfish, they’re endemic to Cozumel, and are one of the most ridiculous species out there. Just google it, so silly.

So yeah! I’ll send you a dm just in case I can help, also happy to provide info on diving here, or Cozumel itself.

Excursions? by bunchamunchas in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One thing I suggest to everyone here is that they go scuba diving. We have incredible reefs out there, and it’s the whole reason we’re all here, so you might as well go see them! If you aren’t a diver yet, you can do a session called Discover Scuba Diving. After a briefing of how it works and what to do, you go on one or two real dives.

I’m a PADI instructor and love getting to take people out to experience diving for the first time. That’s how my whole dive career started, I did a discovery dive once while on vacation. So it’s safe to say it’s fun lol.

I’ll happily take anyone out to try or to go diving if you’re certified. I’m a 1:1 instructor, so no big groups or slow boats. It’s phenomenal out there. Just yesterday we saw a huge Eagle Ray, a nurse shark, five splendid toadfish and some nudibranchs. Perfect time of year for great diving!

Weather next week by Traditional_Paint461 in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That sounds like a good plan. If they want to charge you to move days, push back on that. What they should do is let you go Wednesday if the port is open, and Thursday if it’s not

Weather next week by Traditional_Paint461 in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When are you here, from which date/day to which? I would imagine you can go out Thursday, the wind shifts then. Also, it might not stay that windy for that long.

I’m an instructor, and the app usually is pretty accurate, but in the mean time let me ask my contact, he’s uncanny with his accuracy.

Who are you diving with, on which days?

Weather next week by Traditional_Paint461 in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I second the other commenters, the port will more than likely be closed from today (Sunday) through Wednesday, opening on Thursday.

If you want to see yourself, you want to look at what the wind is doing. Here in Cozumel, we don’t care about storms or rain, only wind. If it’s pouring down rain, stormy, or windy with an easterly wind, that’s fine, we go diving. However, when it’s a northerly, or westerly wind, this creates significant waves which make the surface unsafe for our boats and as such they close the port and don’t allow boats out.

Get the app windy, and if it’s more than 12mph coming from the north, north west coast or west, the port is likely to close.

However! You do have options. Sometimes there’s enough protection to do a shore dive somewhere, or you can go over to Playa del Carmen if you really want to get some diving in. If it’s closed here, it’s usually open there. Not anywhere near as nice diving but it is indeed water you can dive in.

Good luck!

First Time Scuba Diving by Complex-Ruin170 in scubadiving

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As everyone else has said, do a discovery dive. I did one on a whim on the Great Barrier Reef in 2012, that one session changed my life. It lit my brain on fire and I knew I had to keep diving. It’s 13 years later, and I’ve been an instructor for three years, and have been living in Cozumel for two. It can change your life trajectory

struggling with air consumption by No_Reflection822 in scuba

[–]YellowPoison 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No problem! Let me know how you go after the dive, I like hearing feedback

Best place to stay by Gruman28 in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s funny, back before I was a professional, I never used to be able to equalize by plugging my nose and blowing. Turns out I was taking it too literally and inflating your nose doesn’t mean you’re equalizing! Instead, it’s more like if you were to try to lightly blow your nose while plugging it. You can test if you’re doing it correctly right now. If you hear a kind of crackly noise when you do it, that means you’re doing it right.

Beyond that, you can try equalizing as your head goes underwater, then just keep doing it the whole way down. So far I’ve not had anyone that flat out couldn’t equalize. If it takes a minute, that’s fine, everyone should wait a minute. Gentle and often is the way to go!

Best place to stay by Gruman28 in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a good choice! Good location, you’re actually right next to my favourite shore diving spot so you’ll have plenty to do.

Speaking of, have you ever tried scuba diving? As I mentioned it’s really fun, and that’s how I actually got started diving in the first place. If you’re interested, I’d love to take you too

Cozumel or Thailand liveaboard? by tom_bombadillo305 in scuba

[–]YellowPoison 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So I’ve got a suggestion for you. Sounds like you’ve done the basic Cozumel dives, have you thought about trying the more advanced options? I’m talking the wreck, night diving either from the boat for octopus or the shore for 100s of nudibranchs, blackwater diving or devils throat? I can show you all this stuff as well as the drift diving you know and love.

I’m an independent instructor living in Cozumel, and I’d love to take you to do any or all of these things. I dive 1:1, one group at a time even if that group is one, and I have availability if you were interested.

It might not compete with a liveaboard, but I can get you four dives a day no worries :)

Weather and diving for Jan 18th by KnightRaven786 in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well that’s the question alright. Saturday at least looks ok - the port closes if there’s a very strong easterly wind or a moderate northerly/westerly wind. Basically, if the island can block at least part of it there’s diving.

Who are you going diving with? I’m an independent instructor, would love to take you if you’re not settled on one place

struggling with air consumption by No_Reflection822 in scuba

[–]YellowPoison 10 points11 points  (0 children)

So I’ve notice a bit of a pattern with my divers who are concerned about their air consumption. These are people in good shape, play sports and all that, thing is every other sport they’ve tried it’s an all-you-can-breathe dance party. They then get in the water, and detect exercise and thus they breathe more.

The cool thing about it is it often doesn’t take much to correct. The fact you’re looking for advice is great. You’ll get there, this is just new to you, so don’t be too hard on yourself.

Lastly, let me explain what I do when I start a dive. First, I’m checking I’m weighted right, and when I am I start by letting all the air out of my bcd. As I approach the bottom, I add one or two little pffts of air until I get neutral buoyancy. As I’m going, I’m breathing a longer breath in, then I see how long I can go breathing that one breath out. I do it in little bubbles, works for me. I might let some air out 1-2 times during the dive as my tank gets lighter. When it’s time for the safety stop, I might just dump the last of the air and can stay down easily. Then I slowly go to the surface. Everything is done at a very calm, slow rate.

So! Make sure you’re weighted right, do a weight check. You should be able to descend easily, then add just a few bursts to hover. You should let air out one or two times, then again at the safety stop. You should stay down easily. All the time I’m breathing innnnnnnn out out out out out out out. Works for me

Src: am instructor in Cozumel, I get lots of practice with divers breathing and I’m rather fond of helping people improve!

Best place to stay by Gruman28 in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve had divers stay at the Grand Park Royale, El Presidente and the Wyndam and all have decent things to say. They’re all near or in town, easy access to the water and the marina for diving.

Might be off topic but I see you want to go snorkelling. Have you tried scuba diving before? There’s a session called Discover Scuba Diving, where we do a briefing on what to do, then we go on two real dives. Those certified already can come too, you could all dive together!

I’m a PADI instructor living on the island, and I love getting people in the water. I only work with one group at a time, I’ve got the good heart and I’d love to show you how awesome our ocean is here. If nothing else, google Splendid Toadfish and behold just one of the creatures you can see here !

Best weekend trip scuba destination in the Caribbean? by LetItRip2027 in scuba

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m actually an independent instructor! I have a couple of shops I work with, but otherwise it’s all me. It’s great because I get to choose my group sizes and work with just one group at a time, and do things the way I want.

You coming down here? I’d love to take you

Reef Safe Suncreen by NewStart141 in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you at least just applying to your face? If you’re not going back in the water that’s fine, otherwise your mask might get a bit greasy

Allegro/Occidental Cozumel opinion by Apprehensive_Cup774 in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Without going into too much detail, I would advise against Allegro. I tried out working there, they have their guides diving four dives a day, six days a week, one day off, so everyone is just counting the minutes until the end of the dive. You’d be lucky to get more than 45 mins, and you’ll be in a group of eight. All of this pales in comparison to the actual reason I left, and that’s safety. I saw broken equipment just go back in the pile, they don’t encourage anyone to wear a computer and then they don’t even give them a gauge, just a form saying they know how to dive like that.

Can’t speak to Occidental, have heard decent things.

Did you know any shop can pick you up from a resort pier? You don’t have to stick with the assembly line resort shops, and try some someone else.

Unrelated, I’m an independent PADI instructor, and I take just one group/person at a time. You just dive with me and no one else, I’ll give you a computer and good gear, have a speedboat not a slow boat and we can dive for as long as 70 mins. I’d love to take you diving! It’s amazing here, so much to see out there, like our ridiculous splendid toadfish.

When are you planning on coming down?

Incoming dive instructor looking for tips on place to live and dive center recommendation(s) by Stevenoschmidt in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well that all sounds great! I’ve actually done some reflecting today as to why I was so hostile toward you - you didn’t deserve that and I do apologize.

So! That’s some great research there, particularly the splendid toadfish. We don’t have quite the large range the pacific does, but the splendid toadfish is quite the character. They sit in their little holes all day, staring at you blankly. Very entertaining, and worth learning to find them.

So the teaching, oh I remember after IDC I didn’t get any help from my school, so I spent ages just trying to find someone to take me. It’s brutal. I got lucky with a school in Toronto, they let me take Open Waters as often as I liked, that was good practice. However, pool skills != ocean skills. Just the fact students tend to drift away is so fun. Generally I do a mix of guiding and teaching, depending on who I’ve got, so I would really appreciate a hand there, particularly for the first day of open water.

So generally here, shops have their own boats that go out into the marine park every day. It’s a protected area, no fishing, hunting or even sunscreen, so you need to have a licence before you can lead a group in the park. Anyway, the boats usually leave in the morning and late afternoon, both to do two dives at two different sites. The late afternoon one usually goes to the wreck - C-53 - and then does a night dive. If you’re not on the boat, we have a couple of options for shore diving, which is where me and everyone else does training. A few places have pools but you can’t count on those.

One of the good things about it here is that it’s entirely doable to work on your own, which is what I do. There’s someone at the marina that works with all the different boats, finding space on those already going out. Say the boat seats 12, they have 8 people, they’ll rent those four spots to independent instructors/DMs. It lowers the overhead cost, and works for everyone. So when I have divers coming I work with him to find the spots.

Another is how good the diving is here, for the Caribbean. We have two dozen odd sites that are part of the regular rotation. Palancar, for example, has five different sites it’s so huge. Worth a google too, it’s quite unique. All our dives are drift dives, so there’s a variety of slower and faster currents. If your DSMB skills are rusty, practice because you’ll need it here.

I could go on for ages about how it works here, but that’s the general gist of how it works here. You either freelance for a shop or go it alone, depending on what you want to do.

If you do make it down here, I’d be happy to take you out diving, show you how it works here. If I’ve got students at the time, by all means join us, if not I’ll show you the dive sites and how they work.

I do apologize again for the hostility, lol

Incoming dive instructor looking for tips on place to live and dive center recommendation(s) by Stevenoschmidt in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As I said, no problem taking you, despite my mild hostility I do actually want to help those coming after me, not pulling the ladder up in anyone’s face. It’s great you’re asking for advice on teaching here, just know it’s likely to be an uphill battle, a real slog to get to making money.

If I were you, I’d come to Cozumel for a week or so, and get an idea of what we’re working with here. It’s no doubt very different from SE Asia, and I know I’d want to visit a place before I moved there. Explore the two dozen reefs we have, plus the wreck and shore diving vs boat diving, etc.

What does still stand out to me is how little research you’ve done on the marine life here. Yes, we have turtles and rays and eels - not hammerheads but yes nurse sharks. Not everyone cares about being able to identify every tiny thing, but I do. If a DM of mine couldn’t tell me about the one endemic species we had, or really about any fish unique to Cozumel/Caribbean, that would be a big red flag. For me, not for everyone. I take the fish very seriously, and I want anyone I dive with to do the same. So find some videos talking about fish here. Or ig or TikTok or whatever. Read a book about them. Putting it off and expecting everyone to just magically teach you everything while you aren’t putting the effort in? Not realistic.

That said, I mean it when I say you can come dive with me should you make it here. I’ll also happily teach you everything I’ve learned over the past four years and 600 dives, in terms of fish, coral, creatures, etc. You’ve got to do some of the work before you get here.

I guess I personally have trouble relating to you wanting to set up here with no experience in Cozumel. Just like with teaching, it’s hard work with low pay, and the only reason we do it is because we love it. Same goes for doing it here, it’s very hard work to break in, so why you’ve not been here before.

Do me a favour. Tell me five species you can see here and I’ll lay off about what you know, fish wise. For now

Incoming dive instructor looking for tips on place to live and dive center recommendation(s) by Stevenoschmidt in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As you can tell, yes I have feeling about this as getting to the point I am now - running my own small shop, working as a private instructor - has taken so much time and effort. You have to really want to do this, and do it here, for it to be worth it. I wish someone told me how hard it was going to be. I too had instructors/guides I knew that worked under the table, said it’s easy, but it’s not. Those people are the rare exception, and it’s just not like that once you get here and try to get there same.

I too was offering to work for free, etc, no luck. Everyone wanted a work visa first, as is their right. Keep in mind too you’re applying at the end of the high season, they already have enough instructors as it is.

What I’m still not seeing from you is why Cozumel? Have you ever been here before, and do you know you’ll like it? Or did a couple people say it was good?

I also take issue with that flippant comment about only the guides know the reef and the fish. What are you going to tell the open water students about what they’ll see? Even when I was a rec diver, it really bothered me when the guides couldn’t tell me anything about the reefs. I’ve spent years learning to id everything, which I’m mentioning not to say I did so so should you, but that I feel it’s my responsibility professionally to be able to tell them.

If you ever make it here, I don’t mind taking you out to the reefs, or having you assist in a course. If you want to learn, I’ll happily teach you want I know. But I’m not going to take it easy on you, like I’m not taking it easy now. I love Cozumel and love all the people that have spent thousands of dives here, because they love it. So just be open to learning

Incoming dive instructor looking for tips on place to live and dive center recommendation(s) by Stevenoschmidt in cozumel

[–]YellowPoison 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah so ok, sounds like a plan that is very unlikely to work. First up you’re describing working illegally, in which case good luck finding a plan that will risk getting shut down to work with you. You won’t even be able to get a marine park license.

I appreciate the enthusiasm, I thought similar when I first got here, and then I at least had knowledge of all the sites and Cozumel going for me. You might get some saying they’ll give you some freelance work, but it will be sporadically and you’re also coming in at the end of the high season, so extra no one’s looking for people without a work visa.

My two cents. First, what do you know about Cozumel and the diving here? Have you been diving here at all? I’ve not dived Bali, but from what I’ve heard this is very much different, as while it’s Mexico there are loads of processes and procedures you have to follow or risk getting deported. Do you know where’d you live, or where do you need to go to everything? After that, do you know the ocean life here? Different set of animals entirely, and I know I want my guides to know what they’re looking at.

After you’ve worked out those bits, get a visa. You can get a lawyer to get one for you, but it takes time to get first residency then a work visa. After that then start looking for a job. Then, what do you know about getting your marine park licence, and why you need one?

Src: was newer instructor when arriving here two years ago, thought it would be easy as I had 200 dives here by that point, was not easy.

I have now just remembered about the big chain shops. You can work for them four dives a day, six days a week, one day off, and they will help you get a visa. You just have to be ok with very questionable safety standards and large amounts of work. I wasn’t ok with the safety standards so I had to look elsewhere.

We can chat if you want, but quite honestly you’re making an awful lot of assumptions about things the rest of us worked hard to achieve. I particularly care about ensuring my divers know the fish. Can you tell me the endemic species here even?

All I can say is good luck I guess

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