For those reading this page who do not dive it's very hard to discribe the feeling of being 100 feet down. If your lucky enough to live near the Gulf Stream and get that 100+ foot viz (horizontal visabilty) and can see that turtle cruising across the sand, WOW! I myself get the biggest kick out of hitting a wreck and seeing a peice of history that only a handful of people have seen.
Often called the Ghost Fleet of the Atlantic there are over 500 wrecks located between Cape Henry. Va. and Wilmington, NC. Ships have run aground on the many shoals, drove onto the outer banks by winter storms, or sunk by blockaiding ships of the North during the Civil War to U-Boats during WWI&II for the past 300 years. During the peak of the U-Boat action of WWII a ship a day was being lost.
Papoose
A WWII tanker sank by a U-Boat in 120 feet of water. She lies upside down and list slightly so that at sand level you can see and penetrate under her side. Her stern was blown open and you can penetrate into the engine room but be wary as all the heavy engines are mounted to what is now the ceiling. The viz here is oftern 80+ and summer water temps are in the high 70's. Baitfish abound and can even obscure the wreck from above, 4-5 foot Cuda's and even lobster are common.
U-352
WOW!That says it all. The history and sight on this wreck is unreal. Sitting in 110 feet of water just NW of the Papoose she lies UPRIGHT and can be seen from 60 feet above lying on the sand. Her hatchs had been sealed by the US Navy but persitant divers have reopened them so penetration is possible, caution (as with all penetrations) should be taken as silt is easily disturbed. Outside she is a marvel but the inside is fantastic. I myself have penetrated the forward hatch and moved to the torpedo tubes while dive buddies have gone into the coning tower and rear areas. Artifacts are slim on this wreck as this is a very popular dive and actually the German government has protested any removal of artifacts or remains (and there are human remains) from her as she has been declared a War Cemetary by Germany.
Cancun diving is not all that great but for an all around trip going to Cancun and then taking a day trip to Cozumel to dive is great. Cancun itself was built for one reason only and has tons of timeshare rentals, hotels, bars, clubs and shopping. Buses run regularly to ruins, other resorts and a small town just south of Cancun where you can catch a ferry to Cozumel. By staying in Cancun you don't limit yourself to the smaller island town of Cozumel but you get to take advantage of it's incrediable reefs and walls.
Señor Frog's
Cancun- No Name Reef
Cozumel- Santa Rosa
A fogging mask is one of the most common problems of divers. Instead of going out and buying a chemical Anti-Fog try this on your next dive. Take a small amount of Aim Jell toothpaset and rub it all around the mask including the nose area. Rinse thoroughly and I think you'll find this works better and much cheaper than any of those Anti-Fogs plus you'll smell the spearmint all through the dive.
Thanks to BHI for our Home Page http://www.geopages.com/WallStreet/1781/
Sorry I had to throw this in. Not really a dive Frogs is a bar that every Cancun tourist has to visit. This place is more or less a hole in the wall but it's a fun place to start or end a night of partying. One neat thing about this place is during the dinner hours they have a custom of throwing any waiter that spills a drink out the window into the bay. Beware of Tequila Slammers as they tend to prowl late at night and their bite is worse the next day.
The local reefs tend to have several names but this one is known to many. Standard Caribean style reef at about 60 feet. Good viz and little current makes this a nice beginner/intermediate dive. A good many varieties of tropicals but almost all are juvinels with the reef itself rising 5-15 feet off the sand. All and all a good dive to take a buddy that's never been ocean diving.
The most dove wall in Cancun rises to around 60 feet and disappears into the depths. Lots of places to investigate, giant sponges, sea fans, but not to many fish. Most divemaster's in the area enforce a 100 ft. rule and will also tell you when to surface. A hint here is to make sure you act like you know what your doing and be with a larger group of good divers then you can kinda slide by a little more freely. There's really nothing special about diving deeper and infact I spent much of my time in the 80 foot range which allowed me to conserve air so when the DM said "up" I still had over 1200psi. I made a hand signal to the DM that I would slowly rise as the other divers were struggling to get aboard the boat and by doing that I was able to get in another 10 mins of dive time.
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