Jim Lyle refers to Scuba Club Cozumel as “Heaven on Earth”. Although we can’t speak for other resorts, no truer words were ever spoken. SCC far exceeded our expectations, and it was a privilege to experience friendly ambiance with good company.

Activity begins every day at 7:00* a.m. when the dive shop mobilizes. Mountains of tanks are dollied to the dock, breakfast buffet is served, and divers gather casually to await the prompt arrival of boats at 8:00.

*Early birds, (you know who you are) have their 6:30 a.m. coffee and review photos at the palapas.

On the last day of diving, Margaret heads for the Dive Cat.

Deft boat captains handily maneuver their boats to and from the dock, sometimes weaving between other boats as if scripted. We’re surprised to see that the boat has no GPS, and find that the captain locates sites using lineups. Perhaps there’s also some dead reckoning involved, as crystal water reveals sand channels and reefs. Really tricky, as it all looked the same to me!

It’s mostly current diving on the reefs, and multiple dive boats on same or adjacent sites make for a busy place at times. Captains drop-off their dive master and divers, and somehow keep track of the bubbles. Divers may (or may not) ascend at 750 psi. As divers begin to surface here and there, the captain and his crew must identify their divers, motor very close without running anyone over, and pluck them from the water a few at a time. It takes great expertise, and Captain & crew are phenomenal at it.

Dive Cat and Captain Paco

So Jim, tell us how you feel about diving the reefs of Cozumel.

Wizard Lyle with his new magic wand

Glorious, glorious reefs. Many of these reefs are protected as part of the Chankanaab National Park, and must be dived with the greatest of care.

Queen angelfish

Rock beauty

French angelfish

French angelfish

Stoplight parrotfish – Initial phase

Stoplight parrotfish – Terminal phase

Great barracuda

Famous divemaster, Jesús Zetina, with Cathy.

Smiles from Deborah, Betsy, and Juanita, who wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Margaret is planning their next warm water dive trip.

Ever-wise Bill and Mischievous Scott. I forgot to get a shot of Bill’s wife, Corinne, catching rays on the upper deck.

The Infamous Max Bottomtime

Longspine squirrelfish

Spotted drum

Pipehorse

Whitespotted filefish – Whitespotted phase

Beware the Yellowfin Weebfish!

Squat anemone shrimp

If you enjoy magnificent sponges and corals, Cozumel fits the bill. Too many colors, shapes, and textures to capture in one trip. Some of my faves:

• Re: Diving the Reefs of Cozumel Kevin Lee 13:56:50 08/29/12 (0)
• Re: Diving the Reefs of Cozumel maggieD 08:26:36 08/29/12 (0)
• Re: Diving the Reefs of Cozumel Cathy 18:40:56 08/28/12 (0)
• Re: Diving the Reefs of Cozumel Jim Lyle 19:12:22 08/27/12 (0)