Page 116 - Mexico Diving From the Caribbean to Pacific Isles

SAN JUAN REEF 21-25m (69-80ft.) Boat
dive in strong currents and usually windy
conditions. Seldom dived due to location
and difficulty. Harbormaster permission is
required. Grey reef sharks, eagle rays, nurse
sharks and big pelagics are common.
BARRACUDA 14-30m (45-100ft.) Boat
dive in very strong currents and wind chop.
Rarely visited. It is possible to drift 4 miles the ledges and overhangs of the walls.
on one dive. Sparser fish that southern dive
sites, but large pelagics are often seen.
WALLS: Strong currents flow south to
north, flushing drop-offs with nutrients and
a continuous supply of clear water, provid-
ing Cozumel’s amazing diving visibility.
These dives are “drift dives”, which means
that the divers are simply swept along by the
current as the spectacular underwater scen-
ery goes by. The shallows around Cozumel
tend to descend gradually, but depending on
where you are, the underwater terrain drops
off steeply into the abyss. In some areas the
“wall” begins at just 9m (30ft.) deep and
in other areas this awesome drop-off starts
at 36m (120ft.) Examples of wall dives are
Santa Rosa Wall, which plunges into the
deep beginning at only 10m (33ft.), and Ma-
racaibo Deep, which begins a steep slope at
21m (70ft.), and then becomes a sheer wall
at about 36m (120ft.). These intermediate
to advanced dives are full of spectacular tered in the countless swim-throughs, caves,
sights, including gigantic sponges, colorful and other features of these beautiful coral
gorgonians that live only in the deep, and pinnacles and towering buttresses. Visibility
coral buttresses. Walls are the place to dive here generally exceeds 30m (100ft.). The
if you want to encounter fish that are bigger current is almost as variable as the scenery,
than you are - such as graceful eagle rays, but these are almost always “drift dives”.
seldom-seen mantas, groupers, and nurse
sharks. All kinds of colorful fishes patrol
CORAL PINNACLES & BUTTRESSES:
Pinnacles and buttresses are well-developed
coral formations, making an intricate maze
of coral tunnels, archways and holes, full of
giant brain corals, star corals, and all kinds
of colorful sponges, algaes, and fishes. The
holes make perfect places for lobsters, octo-
puses, and nudibranchs to hide. The open
ocean is not far off, so a few pelagic species
may pass by checking for a possible meal
or rest stop. The sand all around is actually
made of parrotfish waste. They eat coral
and make sand. All of the beautiful sand
on the island of Cozumel came courtesy of
generations of local parrotfishes. Punta Sur
and Columbia Pinnacles are amongst the
favorites of these sites, with depths ranging
from 12m (40ft.) to well over 30m (100ft.).
Usually, intermediate to advanced dive
skills are necessary due to depth, drift and
buoyancy control requirements. Sharks and
rays are more commonly seen early or at
sunset, but all kinds of fish may be encoun-