Cozumel Drift - Cozumel's happenings

Cozumel Drift - Sep Edition

Roberta's -

Scuba Shack

Dive

ECO-cozumel

Village Tan Kah

Blue Bubble Divers

Hola Amigo !

Welcome family and friends to the Cozumel Drift: Scuba Shack and Village Tan Kah's newsletter keeping all of you up to date with what is happening here on the best island in the Caribbean - COZUMEL, as well as your favorite dive shop and hotel.

If September was your first time with us - BIENVENIDOS - welcome to The Drift. We are thrilled that you vacationed with us, and hope that you enjoyed your time here. If September was not your first time, a HUGE GRACIAS to everyone for coming. We are always grateful that you come to see us. And we look forward to seeing you all again soon.

If you missed it the last time. Cozumel and all of Quintana Roo are now in the YELLOW category. This catagory means we have less Covid and less risk here on the island. CLICK HERE to read up on the specifics of it all. And, as of September 21st the curfew was pushed back 'til midnight. I don't know about you, but I am not usually up at that time if I am diving the next day.... just saying. Curfew here is now from 12 midnight - 5 am.

What in the world ???

What in the world, or the universe is that ?? It sure does look like a universe..... and guess where it was found? You got it - underwater. A universe unto itself. This is called a Silly String Creature, which is part of the siphonophore family. These sea creatures are related to jellyfish, and are carnivorous predators just like them as well. They like to eat small crustaceans and fish. Really, this is not just one creature - it is a colony of small creatures connected and living all together, similar to a coral head, or sponge, or some of those cool jellyfish we see here in the spring.

Photo courtesy of Schmidt Ocean Institute

The Schmidt Ocean Institute found this amazing creature floating in the Ningaloo Canyon off of the western coast of Australia, and it is believed to be the longest creature to ever be found on the face of this earth - approx. 154 feet long! The ocean is still winning all categories for the largest animals and creatures!! SEA MORE of what they have found. There aresome really amazing photos !

Octopuses or Octopi???

Have you ever been on a night dive while you are here in Cozumel? If you have not, you are missing out on some of the most interesting and mesmerizing creatures that we see underwater - octopuses.... or octopi? No, octopusses.... hmmmm....

Here in Cozumel, you are most likely to encounter the Caribbean Reef Octopus (Octopus briareus) or The Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris). The Caribbean Reef Octopus is a medium size octopus, generally 1-2 feet long and with an average weight of about 3 pounds. With your dive light, its blue-green and brown color makes them quite easy to spot moving across the reef on night dives. The Common Octopus is also a medium size octopus, generally slightly over 3 feet and with an average weight of 12-15 pounds.

The Common Octopus prefers sea grass, sand and rubble over coral reefs. They will often make homes of discarded conch shells, empty cans, glass jars and bottles. Both are very similar and share common characteristics with other species of octopus. Both species of octopus are solitary and primarily nocturnal creatures. They tend to remain in the same den for the majority of their lives and will usually only venture out to feed and mate. If they do changes dens, it is likely when they have been disturbed by an intruder.

Interested in learning more? Curious as to whether it's Octopuses or Octopi? We, along with lots and lots of help from Ron Knafla, have put together a two part series for you on the octopus. Click the button below to go to the first article in this two part series.

Octopus Part I

Christmas Gift Certificate

Is it too soon? I waited until all of the Christmas decorations began showing up in the retail stores...... and this is the perfect time to think for this year or next year. Gift Certificates can be purchased for not only dives put also online course through PADI or SDI. And there are lots of discounts for these online class right now. So beat the Christmas rush and order yours today.

Email us today to get yours

Reef Closure Changes

As you know, in Sep of 2019, the Marine Park began assigning "vacation times" to the reefs so that they can have a break from the stresses of divers and snorkelers. The yearly schedule was published and will be enforced until further notice. The year is broken down into 2 month periods, with almost all of the reefs assigned to one.

For the months of October and November, the closures will be more in the middle of the of the marine park - Santa Rosa and San Francisco. Luckily, Santa Rosa has been getting more of a break due to the lack of cruise ship divers. They ship diving excursion exlusively goes to Santa Rosa and Tormentos.

We all know the dangers and damage to the reefs due to illegal fishing, careless divers, stress and disease. The closure to the reefs the marine park last year allowed for noticeable improvements for the reefs. Plus measures were put in to stop illegal fishing, illegal boats of divers coming over from the mainland, and other measures to reduce stress on the reefs.

So it's great news that we know these measures work and will hopefully help save our reefs before it is too late. So during this time, we still have a ton of reefs that we can dive. If you would like to see a larger version of the map, just click on it and read more.

Where to find important information...

SCUBA SHACK WEBPAGE

Check out the Scuba Shack Website (www.scubashackcoz.com). With all this changing news and information, fun articles and interesting updates, sometimes it's hard to keep track of it all. So, we have been working hard to also update the Scuba Shack website. Here you can find our new FAQ page, newsletter archive page, COVID-19 status page, Travel info page, and much, much more.

A blast from the past.... and present

One of the first Scuba Shack Stickers !!! Who recognizes this? Scuba Shack was literally just that.... a small shack. No locker room, nothing. This was also well before the Village Tan Kah was built. Scuba Inn consisted of a number of igloo rooms in the back of the current hotel. Ernesto's was were the pool is currently. The kitchen was located where breakfast is currently being served.

Wow, how times have changed.... this is probably circa 1980.