Cozumel, the Philippines, the Caymans, Florida

As I write this article about resorts and liveaboards, the good and the not-so-good, Hurricane Beryl is devasting Caribbean islands, leaving great damage and sorrow behind.

As one of the earliest massive hurricanes ever recorded in the region, it's one more example of unbridled climate change. This is expected to be a major hurricane season, which doesn't bode well for divers planning Caribbean trips. While travel insurance is important, ordinary insurance usually doesn't cover a pretrip cancellation just because a hurricane is predicted; airlines continue to fly up to a day or so before hurricanes, and generally your trip must be interrupted or canceled. The more expensive "Cancel for Any Reason Policy" can protect you.

A Mini Hurricane

Obviously, you don't want to be at sea during a hurricane or any severe storm. However, one of our long-time correspondents, Ron Johnson (Katy, TX), got caught in what he calls a "mini-hurricane" in late June, returning to Grand Cayman from Little Cayman aboard the Cayman Aggressor.

"Ten-foot-plus seas! Never in my life have I seen such tumult in the ocean. Our 120-foot Cayman Aggressor was pitched and tossed all over. I observed my wife being 'launched' into the space between bunks. She actually caught air! Gear came loose and flew across the dive deck! The Aggressor's adept crew knew how to navigate this gale and keep us all safe. Mili, one of the proficient Cayman Aggressor's divemasters, caught me flying across the salon. Amazing how a fit, thin 120-pound Argentinian woman kept this 200-lb-plus man from losing his balance and breaking a hip! Due to being cabin sequestered, there was nothing to do but read or watch a movie. I watched 'Catch Me If You Can' four times during the more than eight hour crossing."

Otherwise, Ron says it was an excellent trip, great diving and a great boat and crew. "I believe we dove the best the Caribbean has to offer. Clear water with 100-foot-plus visibility. The wrecks of the Kittiwake and Russian Destroyer were both remarkable. Bloody Bay Wall was magnificent." https://www.aggressor.com

And for a Little Cayman land-based choice, keep in mind the rarely advertised, highly regarded Southern Cross Club, a great boutique resort that has been around since the '90s, when I first visited. Michael Cotter (Great Falls, VA) says, "A group of us have been going since 2022. Many of them visited in the '90s. SCC has two dive boats: a 36-foot Newton and a 36-foot Seahawk. Three of the current DMs have been at SCC for the three years I have visited. They do a great job. Of my 17 dives this February, we visited Bloody Bay Wall nine times. The reef did have a few spots of bleached coral, but it was not as bad as I had expected. The DMs said the bleached corals had been recovering decently since the water temperatures dropped to normal. Rooms were very comfortable; my favorite feature was an outdoor shower on the balcony. The meals are wonderful." https://www.southerncrossclub.com

An Embarrassing Grounding

Another liveaboard, Fiji's venerable Nai'a, didn't fare as well as the Cayman Aggressor. John Kirkenir (Cranbury, NJ), aboard in May, reports that on his first day, "We sailed about an hour from the dock and did a checkout dive. This was a good idea, but we were tired after traveling 24 hours from Philadelphia. The boat returned to the dock to get supplies and serve dinner. The plan was to get underway around 10:30 p.m.; we awoke to find out that the boat had run aground around 11:30 p.m. There was a well-marked channel with lit markers about 1000 feet off to starboard. There appeared to be minimal damage, but we were stuck on the reef until 11.00 a.m. when the tide came back in, and a tug boat could come to pull us off the reef. We returned to the dock, a surveyor checked the boat, and around 3:30 p.m. we were cleared to resume our trip . . . . the communication with the passengers was poor and sketchy. At no point during the accident or after did the captain address the passengers at all.

"The Cruise Director/Divemaster, Mike, let us know that the boat was good to go. When pressed for details on what happened, a vague explanation of a bad GPS overlay was given. When asked how the person driving the boat missed the lit channel markers, the answer was 'it's behind us now,' and he immediately left the galley. Discussion over. During the week, the captain never engaged the passengers or offered an apology or explanation. We were all given a $250 credit on our final bills, but the credit didn't come close to the cost of one day lost. It was something, I guess. But the diving in Fiji was amazing. I have never seen reefs so healthy and colorful or such a variety or abundance of fish life. Fantastic . . " www.naia.com.fj

Kirkenir described another problem, not unique to the Nai'a, that divers should keep in mind. "There are ropes on the side of the skiff to hold onto while you pass up your gear to the captain. Four passengers had weight pocket assemblies on their Aqualung Outlaw BCDs knocked off during the week. They get caught on the rope, and the whole assembly falls off when yanked over the side. Thankfully, the Nai'a did not charge us for our lost weights."

Traveling divers increasingly favor the Philippines over Indonesia as the go-to tropical destination for three reasons. First, getting there is much easier. One can get a nonstop flight to Manila from the west coast. Second, the resorts are much less expensive, some under $1500 per week. Third, diving is fishy, and some places offer unique diving. We wrote about thresher shark diving in March, and here's a word about dugong diving.

Dugongs and Manatees

Phil Johnston (Bayswater, Australia) says: "I have been diving 40 years and have never seen a dugong (a manatee relative) despite having dived many dugong habitats in Australia and the Red Sea." So in March, he went to Dugong Dive Center on Busuanga Island (Palawan), where "the dive manager advised me that they have a 90 percent success rate with dugong sightings on the three-tank trips. They divide passengers into two groups, with only one group in the water at a time. On the second dive, my group successfully encountered a full-grown male for the 20-minute maximum dive time, and I got what I paid for.

"We did two reef dives on the same day; the sites were average by Philippine standards, although coral life was healthy. We went to the Kyokuzan Maru wreck, a 145-foot Japanese freighter sunk in 1944, exploring the stern on the first dive, midships and bow on the second. Some limited penetration of the wheelhouse and gangways at 80-100 feet; despite heavy encrustation, the wreck is structurally sound. A good dive for experienced divers." So, if dugongs are on your bucket list, this is the place, and have a wreck dive while you're there. http://dugongdivecenter.com/v3/

Or maybe an American manatee will fill your bucket list. If so, American Pro Dive Center, says Samuel B Johnson (Greensboro, NC), does the job. "I went out with this Crystal River, Florida, operator twice. Once was a swim with manatees; the other was a drift dive in a freshwater spring system. The manatee experience was excellent; the guide was very good at finding manatees and helping us interact appropriately with a young, curious manatee. The drift dive was quite disappointing. I would advise not doing it. Water was 76-78°F in June." americanprodiving.com

For big fish diving, Mexico's Revillagigedo Islands are the closest place to the U.S.; then it's a 30-hour liveaboard trip to get there. Michael J. Millet (Dublin, CA) has done it 15 fifteen times, always aboard the Nautilus Explorer. On his first day, he said, "We had some nice encounters with silver tip and Galapagos sharks and an occasional passing manta ray. The crew is always professional, with an emphasis on safety while at the same time interacting with the divers. The dive operation ran smoothly and efficiently, considering there were 23 of us. The dive deck could get congested, but we were all courteous and mindful of each other. The dives were usually 50-60 minutes, as deep as 120 feet. Most were 74-75°F, temps I would expect in February and this was May. All divers are given an SMB, a Dive Alert, and a Lifeline GPS signal. The safety mantra is: "Don't Go Blue"! This was probably my last trip to Socorro, but it was indeed a memorable one, having celebrated my 76th birthday on board. My first trip was in 2005. So lots of great memories of some awesome trips." www.nautilusexplorer.com

Doing Cozumel Right

With endless dive operators, Cozumel is perhaps the most popular Caribbean venue for North American divers. If you have not been there and have some decent dive experience, you won't go wrong selecting Aldora Divers, always a favorite of our readers. Bobby Munno (NYC), a long-time Undercurrent correspondent, only recently got around to trying Aldora, and says, "I have been diving on Isla Cozumel since the 1980s but finally figured out how to do it correctly! Better late than never, I suppose? While one of the more expensive dive operators, Aldora is the only way to go for the experienced diver. Their shop is in town and a half block from the waterfront and their pier. I was on three different vessels with some of the same and different divers every day. All were serious and experienced. I stayed at the Casa Mexicana on the waterfront in town, around the corner from Aldora's shop and across the avenue from their pier. All the town's shops, bars, and restaurants are a short walk. The Roman-numeraled boats of the Aldora fleet are propelled by twin 150 HP outboards and get a maximum of eight divers on the reefs to the south long before the competition arrives. We were generally back at the pier around 1.00 p.m. after the two morning dives. It took years of trial and error, but henceforth, all future Cozumel trips will have me staying at Casa Mexicana and getting wet with Aldora Divers! Cozumel done correctly." All I can say is 'Bobby, had you read what some of your fellow travel writers have written about Aldora, you would have found them long ago! 😀
www.aldora.com
www.casamexicanacozumel.com/en

Blackwater Diving

No matter who you dive with in Cozumel, if you have your diving chops and haven't tried a blackwater dive, give it a go. Lynette Jennifer Green ( Tempe, AZ) had a great experience. "My most impressive dives were with Blackwater Cozumel and Rob Stanfield. Blackwater diving takes place at night, well after the sun goes down. We headed out to a drop zone approximately two miles off the reef in open ocean, had an extensive educational dive briefing by Robert, and entered the water around 8:30 p.m. For 90 minutes, we drifted at 40-50 feet deep over six miles, above depths of 700-800 feet, and observed the largest synchronous migration on the planet. All sizes of deep-sea creatures come to the surface to feed. It was incredible! The scariest thing was a box jellyfish the size of a man! We saw tunicates, Venus girdle, club hydromedusa, acorn worm larvae, and so much more. This is a dive I want to do again and again during a full moon, new moon, etc., as the moon phase determines what you might see. This dive requires experience with night diving, good buoyancy, and good air consumption. It is not for the faint-hearted." Facebook or @blackwatercozumel on Instagram

So, fellow divers, keep an eye on the Caribbean hurricane forecasts, and if we have any news to impart about dive operators' problems, will update you in our mid-month emails. Meanwhile, dive safely.

- Ben Davison