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Cozumel Scuba Diving Trip
Posted by R&R (Ron and Robin) on 07/10/01

shore diving  report- LaCeiba airplane

Diving La Ceiba Airplane – Cozumel June 2001
This is our second vacation to Cozumel but the first time diving the airplane wreck.  We have heard it is a great shore dive and since Ron is doing his DM certification right now his instructor suggested that he do his mapping assignment of the airplane.  This sounds like fun since we wanted to dive the plane anyhow.  Ron did 3 dives to the plane, 2 with me and one with a friend we made there in Cozumel.  We only took the Auto35 with us on the last dive so all underwater pictures are from that day.

Ron at the La Ceiba pier surveying the site of our dive the next day

Friday, June 15
La Ceiba Airplane:  32’ max depth, 16 minutes, vis 100’
This is our first day of diving on this vacation and it will be our third dive of the day. By the time we drag all the gear out to the pier and get set up I am tired already.  This has been a busy day and it is only 2:44pm and we are ready for our third dive.  Tiffany, our 13 year old daughter, decides not to dive, she is too tired.  So Ron and I rent the tanks at the Del Mar Aquatics shop, $5 each and give them our C-Cards to hold until we return.  (This is their procedure and I am not really sure why they do it other than maybe to make sure the tanks are returned or to know if divers are lost and a search needs to be made!!?? )  There is a room with baskets for storing your stuff while you are diving, bring a padlock though.
We climb down the stairs and fight the surge getting our fins on.  I decide not to bring the camera this time and I am glad once we get in the water.  The current is incredible and heading south, away from the plane which is just northwest of the roped-off snorkel area!!!  For those of you who dive Coz often you know that the current almost always runs north.  The plane is directly in front of the pier and just a short swim.  Depth is from 8’ right at the pier to about 20’ swimming out, then there is a small dropoff to 35’ or so where the wreckage sits.   We kick our way out to the spot where the plane should be and finally see it.  Wow.!! It is bigger than I expected and the pieces are strewn over a large patch.  The 40 passenger plane is broken into sections and is spread over a sandy bottom, wing section flipped upside down, tail section to one side, other various pieces here and there.  
 

fusilage

an anemone and sponge growing on the wing

tail section
Fish are everywhere, large and small.  There is some coral in the area but mostly sandy bottom and wreck debris.  Very cool but the current isn’t cooperating with me.  I kick and kick and I am standing still.  I finally kick my way upstream from the wreck and drift past it in a matter of seconds.  I try to circle around again but my legs are tired and I am ready to go.  Ron is busy doing his mapping assignment for his DM and is having no problem with the current.  He took down several slates and is scribbling away, counting kick cycles back and forth, etc.  Ron sticks his head under the wreck and a huge parrotfish comes out and scares him back.  It then quickly disappears under the wreck again.  Ron looks over at me to see if I saw it.  Yes, I did, and yes it is the size of a Buick!!!  I am really  pooped now.  Geez, I need bigger leg muscles and stronger fins, I guess!!  I signal Ron that I want to go back in to shore, and he agrees to follow me.  It was a short dive but very enjoyable.  Ron says he has great stuff for his map already.  But we will be back!!  I can’t wait to bring Tiffany and the camera down again.  I know there are some great pictures there waiting for me.

Sunday, June 17
Ron and Ken (a guy also diving with PapaHogs all week with us) decided to
dive the airplane wreck together and I was planning to join them with
Tiffany for awhile if the current isn’t too bad. We get back to hotel to
get the gear and Tiff decides she wants her hair braided before the dive. We told Ken we would pick him and Candy up at their hotel at 4pm and it is quarter til so I tell Ron that I won’t
dive. Tiff and I will walk down after her hair is done and meet them at
La Ceiba. When we arrive at 4:30 Ron and Ken are still on the shore. Del
Mar is out of tanks and the truck has gone to pick up more. They stood around and waited for at least 30 minutes but finally the truck arrives and Ken and Ron do a giant stride off the end of the pier (much better than fighting the surge on the stairs).

La Ceiba Airplane: 39’ max depth, 35 minutes, vis 100’
Ron and Ken swim out to the airplane, the current was the same as the
time before – strong and heading south. Ron still has some details to add to his map of the site for his DM certification so he does that while Ken checks out the plane and  plays in the current. Under the plane this time is not the huge parrotfish, but a huge spotted moray  which was
at least 7’ long and a crab the size of a hubcap. Of course, no camera again, so we will just have to take their word for it!!! Several rays are circling the area, and Ron and Ken play with the dreaded attacking damsel fish. They both drain their tanks dry fighting the current and make it back into shore very tired.  

Wednesday, June 20
We are flying out tomorrow afternoon so we decide to skip the boat dives this morning and dive the airplane one more time.   I really want to get Tiffany down to see the plane.  She wants to rest on shore under a palapa.  Oh, well, Next time for her. We tote our gear over to the hotel and we arrive at 8am ready to dive.  Tanks $5 each.   They are just opening the dive shop at this time and there aren’t many tanks sitting out.  We grab 2 and check the air pressure, nope, try 2 more, one is okay this time but one is empty also… seems people get them mixed up all the time there so be careful.  Finally we get 2 full tanks and gear up.
La Ceiba airplane:  35’ max depth, 27 minutes, vis 100’
We giant stride into the water from the pier and start swimming out to the airplane as a boat pulls into the pier.  Ron signals me, a yellow stingray on the bottom!  I swim over to it, right under the whirling propellers of the boat and I can see Ron screaming through his regulator.  I know it’s up there, I am fine, okay??  I snap a picture, then another, and he doesn’t even move!!!

yellow stingray
I really want to keep taking pictures of him but the boat over my head is a bit disconcerting so we head out to the plane.  Once again the current is heading south  but it isn’t as strong as we had experienced on those afternoon dives earlier in the week.  

squirrel fish
We get out to the plane site with little trouble and find several other divers there in the water already.  It looks like a dive class group doing a certification dive, maybe?  Ron immediately grabs the camera and goes looking for that moray…. He sticks his head under the wing.. nothing!  

No crab, either.  Rats!!  He hands the camera back to me and starts working on the final details of his map while I swim around snapping pictures.  

I really recommend this site for photographers!!!  Fish are very friendly and I get  some portraits without any effort on my part.

filefish

butterfly fish pair


stoplight parrotfish
I don’t know if my diving is that much better than before or they are just more tame here  but they let me swim right up to them.   A real photographers heaven!!!  I shoot the whole roll of film and could have done several more.  I really have to dive this at night some time!!  
We hit the 20 minute mark and I signal Ron that we need to start back… I know getting back to shore in this current is going to be rough.  The return to shore is the hardest part of this dive but we make it back and return our tanks.  This was the last dive of our vacation and a great one!!  We will be diving the La Ceiba airplane next trip!!!  This a great shore dive for all skill levels, just remember currents can wear you out quickly...

Robin & Ron
Camera:  Ikelite Auto35, film Kodak Royal Gold 200

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