I am going to plan a trip to push the cocodrillo system at Cozumel. I am looking at early June. Anyone interested in being a part of this team?
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I am going to plan a trip to push the cocodrillo system at Cozumel. I am looking at early June. Anyone interested in being a part of this team?
Maybe. I just paid for the CD Workshop, so it might be tough, turning around and taking off so quickly again. But I might be. I'll have to watch the video again.
How early in June? I will be in the Bahamas the last week in May.
Dates are open still but looking at June 4-12. You can dive OC or rebreather. We are looking for leads. The cave is like a maze. There is no big going passage that you just go run line in. Most of the cave is 30'-40' deep. We are going to rent a house. Max 8 divers. Estimated cost per diver $600 this takes care of everything but food and airfare.
We are not looking for hard core explorers. Anyone that is team player, at any level, back mount, sidemount does not matter. We will find a part for you. And lots of cave diving!!!
True dat! He's even gonna let me go! :smt081Quote:
Originally Posted by deepairmike
Mike, send me the info. I might be interested- isn't that on cozumel? Perhaps I can wrap it into another trip down there.
Jason
He said he didn't need any hard core explorers :rollguyQuote:
Originally Posted by rchrds
Hey, I was typing that...stay outta my head! :smt081Quote:
Originally Posted by FW
What, I cant just swim around and not survey? Ok, you know I cant. Damn.
I'm in is there any chance of taking the camera back? I'd love to get some more shots of the artifacts and just more of everything
Yea I think we coul do thatQuote:
Originally Posted by scubadam67
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Originally Posted by deepairmike
This is going to be a great "trip"Quote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
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Originally Posted by deepairmike
Oh HELL YEAH! I can't wait!!! :dancingbear:dancingbear:dancingbear
I am looking at June 4-12 for me. I think we will have the house for a few days more so pick your days and book you air.
Shirley, just stick me in one of your bags!! I'll take care of everything in the caverns, I'll just be the slave boy.
Sweet! For a few days more after the 12th? Flying directly into Cozumel or into Cancun?Quote:
Originally Posted by deepairmike
Careful what you offer, Murf! A good sherpa is hard to find and worth his weight in dive gear! Jamie's gonna kill me! I can see it already!Quote:
Originally Posted by murfef
You might need help there Sis, I mean have him carry your gear as you WILL be busy carrying my gear.
Just fly into Coz and call it good.
I am already making plans for this trip. Be so much fun to get back in there and do more work. Even after Mike has been busy at J2 and all the fun stuff with all them cool guys he was with last month with and just think, we ALL wil be in the presance of a nationaly known diver, LOL.
SLIM
:rollguyRIGHT! Just leave it right where it sits and I'll be SURE to get it. :rollguyQuote:
Originally Posted by SLIM
Carfull it's a long haul...all of 4 big stepsQuote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
I'll carry everyones gear, just take me with you!!! I'm used to carrying things on my back.
With a skill set like that, plus your knowledge of things that go "POW! POW! BOOM!", I don't see how we could miss! Come on down!Quote:
Originally Posted by murfef
Come on, how's your mexican driving? We will have instructors along and get you some water time for sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by murfef
Wait his profile said "wants to dive with safe responsable divers"Quote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
:rollguyI dunno...he's seen the Blue Springs video!Quote:
Originally Posted by deepairmike
No :rollguy Not me or Mike W. :rollguy I was refering :rollguy to you, Slim, and Adam. :rollguyQuote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
Just thought that comment would help me get into the club. lol I really wish I could go but maybe I can make it sometime in the future. And for the record, maybe Shirley put on a show for me but she seems like a safe diver. Responsible, well that depends on which of her personalities you're dealing with at the time. I'm not sure that all of them even know how to swim. haha
I was just teasing Shirley you are welcome to come, we have lots you can do. It will be fun for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by murfef
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Originally Posted by deepairmike
Oh Mike, teasing me? And you KNOW I'm such a sensitive girl!!! :rollguy :rollguy :rollguy
Now, Murf....you weren't supposed to tell about the multiple personalities! Especially the ones that can't swim! I mean, heck, everyone on here thinks I'm normal!
Sure we do :roll:Quote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
I know and I would love to go with all of you. It's gonna be a great time and I'm sure and I could learn a LOT from all of you. But alas, I can't. Just no way to finance it now and of course there is the wife to contend with.:bekhair
Ummmm, I think the cats been out of the bag on that one. LMAOQuote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
Hmm I never thought she was normal, I am glad I am not the only one that sees that.
Hay I am responsible, I have do so much and all I can to be safe.
Just beacuse I have dove in Blue Springs and hang out with Mike should not be anything on me.
SLIM
"Normal" is a very elastic concept, especially when it comes to cavers!Quote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
Mike
I just signed up for this shindig... It sounds like it's going to be a great time and I look forward to meeting all of you!
--Cliff
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Originally Posted by crpearson
Woo hoo! :smt006 Welcome aboard, Cliff! :smt039 Yer gonna have a blast!
And don't listen to these guys...I AM completely normal (using Morgan's definition) ! :smt026:smt026:smt026
It'll be interesting to see what everyone thinks of my normalcy after this trip... I guess there's a chance I may be normal using Morgan's definition, but I'm not counting on it :smt001
Ok everyone I have been very busy, but now it's time to get this plan started. We are going to work in 2 different systems. The diving will vary depending on your skill level. I am going to get a villa for June 4-11 it is 5 bedroom with a privat pool. We will be exploring, shooting film, relining areas, and having a great time. TheSe need to get deposits in soon. The cost will be about $480 per person. This covers house, vans, air fills, and some food. You must be a teem player.
There will be some non diving spouse's along and they are welcome also. But this will be more of a camp type atmosphere not much privacy.
Still have dive spots?
Yes, welcome aboard!!! Just booked house for 4-11 so everyone start shoping for your airfair.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoska
Normal won't fit in with this mad house group!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by crpearson
HEY! I resemble that remark! Well, partially...one of my personalities is sane. :smt102Quote:
Originally Posted by deepairmike
I guess I haven't met her yet :smt081Quote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
:rollguyQuote:
Originally Posted by FW
The others keep her sedated with chocolate. She's mean.
Mexico, here we come!
I don't think anyone has met her. Maybe she's a figment of her imaginations!:smt081Quote:
Originally Posted by sskasser
Looking forward to meeting you guys. :yawinkle:
Ditto that! It's gonna be a blast!!
Hello, I'm in Tulum and would be interested in getting involved.
Come on over will you need a place to stay?
2 spots left!!
Maybe I could come for a day trip or two?Quote:
Originally Posted by deepairmike
I signed up yesterday and am now looking at airfare. I live an hour from Tallahassee, two hours from Jax, and 3 hours from Atlanta. Is anyone flying out of any of these airports or others in the area? If so, have you seen any good deals?
I look forward to meeting all of you.
It looks like I'm joining all of you for this expedition. I'm pretty excited, I look forward to meeting you all in person.
Sandy, I will probably fly out of Atlanta but I didn't see any "deals" last night when I was looking. If you see something, please let me know.
Will we only have AL80 tanks available to us? What is the water temp there in June?
Hey Mike, I have not found any deals yet and may use airline miles. Looks like the cheapest flight I have seen so far is a direct flight on Delta for about 500 that arrives Cozumel at 12:50PM. I am thinking about staying over another two nights for some more cave or ocean diving. I hate to waste Saturday and Sunday while in Cozumel :)
I understand we will use 80s and that different people may dive wet or dry. I think the water temp is about 77. In the next two months, I hope to rent some 80s in cave country (if possible) and make a few dives wet and dry to check buoyancy, trim, and comfort.
I will be in N Myrtle Beach in 4 1/2 weeks. Let me know if you are in the SE part of NC. Also, let me know next time you are in cave country.
Ok we have a pretty full group now. My travel guy said wait a few days to book flight the airlines are up to something strange. I will get a list of parts for people to bring. One thing for sure is about 100 tank o-rings.. 12 large snaps.. I have all the safety regs. Tuned and ready.
LMAO I have already put an order in for O-rings for the valves. I am even going to redo the Oring station and try to make it more stream lined. Yes I remeber thoses morinings atht he site changing them all out. This time I think I am just going to start doing that once there before others put regs on and we can see if that makes things run smoother.
I will even practice some to see if I can get my times down a few seconds.
Trust me, we WILL be changing out some O-rings, I think last trip out of all the tanks we used maybe only 10% of them did not need to be changed. Hope they dont look at us funny when we donot bring back the same amount of tanks at the end of the day and leave 80% of them in the cave like last time.
Oh that 10% even encludes the ones we used for the day we took off from cave diving to shoot video in the ocean. LOL
SLIM
Hey Sandy, that's about what I saw as well. I even looked at leaving from Charlotte and Spartanburg but they were even higher. It may end up being a mileage flight :yawinkle: I live near Charlotte, in Gastonia, NC (SW). I just spent a few days diving the Cooper River in Charleston. Charles (Murphy, NC) and I are planning a NFL trip for the weekend of April 17. I may be teaching on Friday and Saturday which will leave us only Saturday evening and Sunday for cave diving, but it will be fun. What are you up to that weekend? 77 degrees! No way I can dive dry in that. I have only dove NFL dry a couple of times and it burns me up. It will definitely be a wet suit for me. I dove Coz 8 or 9 years ago but it was all ocean diving. I used a 2 mil shorty for that.
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Originally Posted by sandy
That weekend is between my NMB weekend and the NACD Safety Day at Ginnie. Plus, my youngest daughter is in Atlanta for a school choir trip that weekend. If I leave my wife at home alone, I may not be alive for the Cocodrilo trip. But I will let you know if something changes.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arctic Mike
I get the feeling this trip will be fairly educational!Quote:
Originally Posted by SLIM
Sandy
Edjucational,ha ha ha ha ha ROFLMAO ha ha LOL LOL LOL
Yes it will but it will also be a great time to meet others and learn how exploration is done on a tight budget with some awsome explorers and Cave divers that do it for the love of the challange and not for the money or fame.
We are a true die hard exploreres that have all kinds of experiance that we will glady share so that others will not have to go through the pains that we have.
Can't wait to get back in the system and meet you all and hav so much fun doing it.
SLIM
I was wondering if anyone might be getting in a few days early and looking for some diving? As luck would (or would not) have it, I will be in COZ from 5/29 until 6/5 with my wife. I usually scoot across on the ferry for a couple days of cave diving while she shops. Any more than two and it gets *really* expensive :smt102
Thanks Slim,
This type trip has fascinated me since I started cave diving and began reading some of the various cave books. I look forward to meeting all of you, learning from you, and providing a helping hand (er maybe make that a fin).
Have you looked into the availability of tanks? Almost everyone on the island uses yoke valves. There are some tech centers but they may not have enough tanks on hand for a large group. (Most of the dive shops consider a cave dive taking clients through the swim-throughs on the reefs.) I spent some time looking for tanks this past January on the island and struggled to find DIN valves. One suggestion for sidemounters is to bring your own valves and plan on Al 80s.
Plan on using all yoke valves. We will go through 100 or more tanks and many will be placed in the system as safties and it is easyer on them (tanks from Coz) to have stuff set up for Yoke.
SLIM
It seems that that week is a bad time for air fare how many of you have tickets booked?
Don't hesitate to fly into Cancun if there is a substantial savings. You can take the EDO bus to Playa for about $10 US then the ferry to Coz for about $14 US. We have done both airports (Cancun and Cozumel) over the years and while Cozumel is convenient I always look at the bottom line to decide.Quote:
Originally Posted by deepairmike
Mike, I have not booked yet but am ready too. I will probably use Delta airline miles unless prices drop substantially.Quote:
Originally Posted by deepairmike
Mike, from Atlanta to Cozumel, it looks like the tickets are roughly the same costs for the next few weeks after 6-4. Are we still a go from 6-4 to 6-11? I think there are only about 8 seats left so I will pull the trigger soon if we are still a go.
Thanks.
Still on for 4-11 villa is set so that is the dates we need to hit. Good luck everyone...
If anyone is interested in staying another day to dive Friday (cave or ocean), let me know before noon tomorrow which is when I plan to book my flight.
Check this postQuote:
Originally Posted by sandy
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Originally Posted by diveconjeff
Thanks Forrest,
Unfortuneately, I have a better chance with my wife in leaving late than arriving early :) Otherwise,that would have worked out pretty good.
The dive boats will take single divers you just buddy with the guide/dive master
I will need to get the balance April 20. Keep in mind we may need to kick in alittle close to the end. But I am getting pretty good at estimating the cost. Any who want to see the documentory (not finished) to get an idea what too expect pm your address and I will mail one.
It's a DVD I will need to mail it snail mail
We need line arrows, and clothes pins.
Sometimes the gear suppliers, or manufacturers will donate markers for an exploration project.Quote:
Originally Posted by deepairmike
Or the NSS-CDS??Quote:
Originally Posted by FW
They have to get them from DiveRiteQuote:
Originally Posted by deepairmike
DVDs mailed out yesterday, enjoy
Got it, watched it, and I am absolutely PUMPED! June 4 will not get here soon enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by deepairmike
Now we just need to film a great ending!!! How about "Slim finds..?..at the back end of cocodrillo"Quote:
Originally Posted by sandy
+1......whatever the ending is, it is already great! Thanks for the dvd Mike! Awesome :clapperQuote:
Originally Posted by sandy
Yes, I am looking forward to Mike and Slim exiting the system, with big grins on their faces, and saying, "you are not going to believe what we found!"Quote:
Originally Posted by Arctic Mike
got Shirley and my tickets bought we are going to be heading into Cancun on Friday if anyone wants to meet there and share some taxi fees we will be getting in around 4:00 pm. It is very easy and usually cheaper to go this route. Shirley says i can even use her FW reel with the pink knotted line on it if i want. WOO HOO!!!!!!!! :D is she good to me or what? I can't wait to get back in the cave!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the DVD I just watched it and ummm WOW!!!!!! Good luck on your trip.
come with us!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by rkij
I haven't even done cavern yet, I'm just open water :(Quote:
come with us!!!Quote:
Thanks for the DVD I just watched it and ummm WOW!!!!!! Good luck on your trip.
Perhaps Slim can make a class and you can get a cert. On the expodition?Quote:
Originally Posted by rkij
here are some questions from Sandy that I will answer here:
Will you be sending any information regarding what to bring in the way of “extra” equipment. So far, it sounds like I need to bring yoke valves and/or DIN/yoke converters? yes yoke alum 80s bottles only.
I have all the line and safety regs already. no need for anyone to bring "extras" that I know of
• # of stage regs to bring? 2, one to use and a spare for part or backup
• I am guessing we should bring a spare reg just in case? .see above
• What should we bring in the way of spools or reels other than a couple of safeties? only what you need: I will have reels for the push
I know I will not at the end of the line but I am not sure what you may need from me elsewhere in the system (and I assume the beginning if anything)? There are leads to look for even in the first part of the cave
• # of primary lights and/or batteries to bring - as it relates to potential BT each day. bottom time should be about 2 -3 hours per day. I will have a backup primary light, no need for every one to carry a extra primary but a few wouldn't hurt
Also, I have read that water temps are low 70s and high 70s. Do you know what temps will be? about 70-72
It may make a difference in diving wet or dry? can you handle the cold and how long do you want to stay in. some of us will stay in 4-6 hours so we will be diving dry.
_________________
How far of a taxi ride is it from Cancun to where we are staying? It does seem to be a lot cheaper.Quote:
Originally Posted by scubadam67
:rollguyQuote:
Originally Posted by Arctic Mike
Pretty far, and you would need a water taxi, since it in on the island of Cozumel.
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Originally Posted by Arctic Mike
LOL, don't listen to him, Mike! He's suffering from Mexico-cave-withdrawal. It's a very serious condition, and there's no cure. Repeated visits become the only method of obtaining relief. Plus, it's been over a week since he got to dive with me...that in itself is a serious condition.Quote:
Originally Posted by FW
We're staying on the island of Cozumel, so we'll take a ferry over (not to be confused with taking a faery, this is not advisable). Your flight is coming in shortly after ours, so we'll get together and travel over. It's gonna be FUN!!!!
Shirley
We'll have plenty of dive gear with us. Taxi to beach, rent a tank, and go! Is there a better way to get prepped for this excursion? :smt081Quote:
Originally Posted by FW
Y'all check this out.... http://www.advanceddivermagazine.com...catan2010.html
Very nice!Quote:
Originally Posted by deepairmike
Fantastic article.
Who will write the article for this expodition????
If only we had a writer going along???
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Originally Posted by deepairmike
A writer?! Noboby said NUTTIN bout being able ta rite on this here trip! WTH?! Doo'na go gettin all fancyschmancy on us, now, Mike!
Next thing you know he is going to want areal phtographer. I mean he is now big time and will be nationaly known.
SLIM