On Sat, 14 Apr 2001 David Strike <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>On Saturday, April 14, 2001 2:58 PM, Don Ward wrote:
>(snip)
>> I have refrained from making this observation for many years b/c
>> of the advocates on this list and their feelings for Cozumel. But
>> I have to tell you, from my trip to Cozumel, I can't think of a
>> more overrated destination in the Caribbean.
>
>G'Day, Don! You've raised an interesting point about what constitutes
>a good dive site/destination? :-)
>
>I thoroughly enjoyed our short time in Cozumel and for two major reasons.
>
>First was the diving itself.  It was remarkably different from the
>type of diving that we generally enjoy in this part of the world.

I did find the area a bit silty .. but they made good hiding country for a
lot of the sea critters at ground level. Chuck seemed to spend most of his
time head-down in macro-mode. For me it was not that great a place for wide-
angle photography .. but as my w/a shots are all crap that didnt matter ;-))

I had never seen so many arrowcrabs in my life. I was expecting to see
something in the anemones. I knew anemonefish were not in the Carribean ..
but I expected some shrimp or maybe anemone crabs. Alas, none :-( I
thoroughly enjoyed the night dives also. Have never seen so many conch
shells or octopus out at night. Would I go back again.. you bet :-)

<snip>
>And that the marine life was so remarkably different from that found
>in this part of the world.  (It may not have been so prolific or
>colourful as, say, the Great Barrier Reef, but that - in itself - was
>no bad thing.

Yes, indeed .. so different. While it pales in comparison to an all-round
dive site like Sipadan Island, or various spots around Papua New Guinea ..
it was the marinelife that blew me away. I had never seen the Splendid
toadfish, French and Grey anglefish, Porkfish, Oceanic Triggerfish, Spotted
Drummer... or that small fish with the name Slippery in front of it ;-)

<snip>
>Second - and perhaps more important? - are the social aspects of diving.
>It's always seemed to me that all too often the difference between a good
>dive and a bad dive - even those at the exact same site - is determined by
>the people that you happen to be sharing the experience with! :-)

Exactly! I think Huw would have had a better Ningaloo Reef experience if,
IMHO, I had been there with him :-)) Wot I really mean is that the dive
operators there just take you to the same old place, dump you in & then
return you back to shore. If I could have taken the leave I think Huw would
have had a better time at Coral Bay if I took him to my secret dive spots,
or outside the reef itself on the ledge.  But, they are all weather
dependant dive spots .. and also, Huw was not there at the right time of
the year to see the place at its best :-(

<snip>
>Whether I'd actually enjoy it quite so much if we went there by
>ourselves, however, is doubtful! :-)

I back that comment. Half the fun was meeting the folk we had joked,
clubbed, sparred & cajoled with ;-)  I felt like I had known everyone for
years & the only difficulty was matching the face I saw in the flesh with
some of those awful pics posted on the NEDfest page. A lot of you put up
your worst pic ever ie Mr Nitrox <evil grin> ... or hid behind huge
sunglasses (Ray Jones).

>In some respects, Shelly Beach is a good yardstick.  Because so many
>people have trained in the sheltered beach area, they subsequently
>regard the whole general area as not being worthy of attention. And
>yet we continue to find amazing marine life and the occasional
>adrenalin challenge that makes every dive there unique.

Yep, Cottesloe Beach is exactly like that. Many folk that are on the beach
when we exit out after an hour long dive cant believe what we see just 500
metres off the kelp beds. The only folk you see snorkelling there are the
teenagers with gidgees. They get quite snotty at us when we point out what
they are doing is illegal in that area. Because we have been donating dupes
of our photos from the annual Cottesloe Beach photo to the Cottesloe
Protection Society we have provided enough material for them to put up lots
of common fish ID signs at every walk path down to the beach.

>But best of all are the people with whom we share the experience and
>the subsequent conversation about different aspects of the dive.

Hear, hear :-) I still giggle to myself remembering back to the first dive
we did where your eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when you saw that
pack of Oceanic triggerfish heading your way <G>

>Oh!  And the coffee and Tim-Tams!  :-)

Of course! I will have to bring a few of em along to the Cayman trip just
for nibblies :-))
Viv