On Sun, 18 Feb 2001 20:27:33 -0600, Chuck <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>.> > Went with Yellow Rose Divers for the first time. Nice boat.
>>
>> Tell us more about it.  What prompted the trial with THIS op?  Schedule
>> of dives, place of pick up for cattleboat, cost, etc.?
>>
>The dive shop I work with had a trip down here this weekend and one of the
>instroketors needed a DM. Since I was here anyway...

So ... you baited my questions, but evaded all of "Schedule of dives,
place of pick up for cattleboat, cost, etc."

Were you doing a soft-sell of that shop for your instroketors, or
just bragging about your substitute as a DM?
>
>> > Too many people for my taste (17).  No real 'rules' laid down by he
>> > DMs.  EVeryone dove their own dive and people came up when they came
>> > up.  That part is nice (and unusual for Coz.)
>>
>> Unusual for groups of that size, if the 'no real rules' applies to all.
>>
>Yellow Rose might be what Aldora wants to be when it grows up.

( SNIP )

More sales pitch for Yellow Rose.  Was the 'no real rules' for EVERYONE
for ALL DMs on all YR dives, or was it just on that one particular
occasion because of pinch-hitting DM Chuck?

If it's the former, then it would be a VERY BAD policy for Yellow Rose
because such 'dive as you please till you air runs out' is a very bad
policy for MOST groups of that size, and MOST of the inexperienced
divers in Coz, of which there are plenty.

>Towels after each dive.  Nice lunch during the SI.

Once more -- what's the COST for a two-tank dive.  Is the SI on a
beach?  What kind of lunch is "nice lunch"?  What are the schedule
(times) of the dives.  These questions are particularly relevant
since you chose to compare it with Aldora.

> Everyone goes up when they are out of
>air or they run the DM out of air (I have only seen that happen once
>in all the years I have been coming here

That's only because you've been diving mostly with the 120 tank-toting
DMs of Aldora.  Though MANY DMs in Coz have excellent ACR, they are
not that good collectively as a group.

Moreover, diving till out of air is generally a poor policy.  In
Cozumel, it's driven to ridiculous extremes by Aldora's bragging of
the LENGTH of their dives.  For the most part, Aldora divers just
HANG in shallow towards the end of the dives with nothing worthwhile
to see left, or just hang over sand when the reefs run out.  I could
do that for TWO HOURS on every dive (on an AL80) if I wanted to
(have logged a 103 fsw max for 100 minutes with 500 psi remaining
on the Aggressor, without trying for any length record), but
why bother?  I get BORED when there's nothing left to see;  or as
in the case of liveaboards, an hour is about the MAX anyone wants
on a single dive, because there is always the NEXT dive, and SI
considerations for repetitive dives.

On the "fatal" Cockroach dive (where I did a 147 fsw for 45 minutes
total time), I had 1092 psi left (from an AL80 fill of 2813 psi
at the start ), according to the Cockroach computer record -- which
were accurate on THESE.  The Cochroach merely ERRED (big time) when
it croaked on said dive and diagnosed that I had missed 52 minutes
of a 55 deco, when the dive was (later verified by both the ORCA
and UWATEC technicians, based on the DETAILED time/depth Nemesis
records) a no-deco dive, not even within 5 minutes of an NDL at
any time during the dive!

Wirh 1092 psi remaining, and actually PLENTY left to see on the
6-fathom wall site (the ledge is a 6-fathom or 18ft plateau), anyone
but an air hog could have dived another hour at THAT depth.  :=)
But why bother?  That was only the 2nd dive of the day, with three
more to go.  :-)

"How long can you dive until you're OOA" is an air-hog mentality
and fetish, apparently popularized by Aldora Mental Midgets and
IDIOTS.  :-))

>and the DM in that case was not a native
>but rather had the initials DD - you figure it out.)

I've never heard anyone say Dave Dillehay (owner of Aldora) is a
good DM;  I've heard plenty of negative tales about him as a DM.
So what's new?   ;-)

>No steel tanks but
>that was not a big selling point for me in any case.

Why should a BIG steel tank be a selling point to ANYBODY, doing
an ordinary recreational dive in Cozumel?   That's why there is only
one shop in Coz that does that, and it is catered to air hogs who
wants to brag about how long they can stay underwater in one dive
before running out of air.

BTW, on the ONE shallow dive I've ever done with Aldora, I chose
to use the AL80 instead of the usual steel 120 they give to divers.
Sure enough, after about an hour or so, I had already done more
than 20 minutes of "safety stop" with the group (having run out of
reef, and was just hanging around with the group staring at sand
and water).   I FINALLY signalled that I wanted up, NOT because I
was out of air or even short of it, but because I was terribly BORED
by that style of 'diving'.

Wanna try again in telling us some hard facts (schedule, price,
etc.) about Yellow Rose, and whether you would recommend it if not
for your instroketor?   I guess not.  :-)

-- Bob.