Cozumel Washing Machine 

On our yearly sojourn to Cozumel we were able to experience the ‘Cozumel Washing Machine’ firsthand. We started to dive Santa Rosa Wall and were swept away from the wall and aborted. (I’ve never had to abort a dive in ten years of diving Coz) This is the season of ‘Crazy Currents’ four months late. Anyway, after diver recovery ops were done, we re-entered the water at Paradise Reef North. The current was running from north to south swiftly at 6-7 knots. Midway through the dive we hit the Cenotes freshwater current just north of the marina, the temp dropped 7-8 degrees and the halocline enveloped us. It’s like seeing through Italian Salad Dressing. Then…..the current swapped ends. It is now flowing south to north and picking up all the particulate that had been swept into all the nooks and crannies and threw it up into midwater. Normal 60-80ft viz went down to 5-10ft. Welcome to the ‘Cozumel Washing Machine’. All divers kept their head and were recovered safely.

You know the current is crazy strong when the fish look exhausted.