Blog

June 27, 2022 By admin

Night Diving

It all starts on the boat. Hopefully, you’ll be watching the Cozumel sunset as you cruise out to the reef. Once you reach the dive site, you begin to put on your gear and finish watching the beautiful sunset. Now it’s dark, it’s time to roll of the boat and discover the ocean at night. While you might think diving at night could be scary, somehow the darkness becomes soothing. Perhaps because the ocean seems smaller as you can only see with your flashlight or, it’s all the creatures lighting up before your eyes.

The most famous of the night is certainly the Octopus. It’s amazing how it glides across the sand stretching its tentacles in every direction while changing color to fit its surroundings all in the same moment. Lobsters and king crab are also popular visitors, you would be surprised by how big some of them look in person or by their curiosity. You also may think you know what a lobster looks like, but the Slippery lobster has flat claws and a flattened body, you might say it’s the biggest cockroach you have ever seen. Of course, let’s not forget the nurse shark, nocturnal in nature and can reach up to 14ft long but not to worry they are bottom feeders.

While some sea creatures are more active at night, some are trying to get some sleep like the parrot fish who wrap themselves in a fluorescent bubble of their own mucus to help mask their scent from predators. You might be saying that’s nasty but we promise it’s pretty cool. Or you may have the chance to come across our personal favorite, a sea turtle sleeping near or under a coral structure or coming up for air during the night.

Endemic to Cozumel is the sudden sound similar to a croak, you turn looking for a frog but a fish is staring you straight in the eyes, it’s a splendid toadfish using its mating call.

While no one ever wants the dive to end, eventually it is time to come up but the fun is not over then. Everyone turns off their light and we move our hands through the water to enjoy the bioluminescence. The water glistens with organisms and bacteria we can’t even see, but it is a spectacular site.

We left out our eel friends, rays and other little guys that grace our presence but all are equally as beautiful. Come join us on a night dive in Cozumel, we promise you will love it!

Diving Reefs Trips

June 29, 2020 By admin

Fear of Fear

What’s your biggest fear? Have you ever thought about the one thing that you fear most? Many of us have numerous fears and some are more debilitating than others. Some of us will feel panic getting on a plane while others will not experience that same level of panic unless they are jumping out of that plane.

Can we overcome fear? Yes, we can. It’s not easy but it is possible.

As a child, I was a free-spirit. I was the outdoorsy type of girl that always loved adventure. I loved the water and anything related to it. Jumping of a dock and into the water was exhilarating for me. It was my idea of a fun way to spend the day. My sister on the other hand feared the water. She was paralyzed with fear when she was around it. There was no way I could ever convince her to jump in with me.

Fast forward to 25 years later, I was now that same person as my sister. I had begun to have paralyzing fears. In 2011, I experienced a life-threatening incident that changed my life forever. Not only did it change my life, but it changed me as a person. I had become that person that feared fear.

What happened to me? First, let me describe the physiological effects of trauma on your body. During a trauma your brain’s fear center, the amygdala, sounds an alarm causing your body to instinctively respond immediately. Instead of your brain preparing itself to think about what’s going on, your brain prepares itself to run or to fight and to shut down all non-essential body and mind processes. It floods your body with stress hormones causing you to focus only on the task at hand.

It’s the same feeling you experience when driving a car, you turn a corner and a person crosses your path out of no where,and you slam on the brakes in hopes of not hurting that person. Your blood pressure and pulse start to rise, you sweat and your breathing increases. Your body is responding to fear. Now imagine experiencing this with everything you do. It’s exhausting, right? Sometimes after trauma, that ‘on’ button in your brain remains stuck. It doesn’t turn off. That’s what happened to me. I developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The more stress I had, the more fear I encountered.

How can we change that? How did I change that? There are many medications out there that help with this. However, for me, medications never helped. I tried a few but the benefits were too little compared to the side effects. I recall a conversation with my Long-Term Disability agent wanting to know if I could return to work for the four hours a day when I wasn’t nauseated or asleep, I was so saddened by such a question. She didn’t understand what I was experiencing.

How did I overcome the fears? I put myself into paralyzing situations day in and day out. I pushed my body to the limit. I cried, gave up, got up, wiped the tears away and picked myself up again. It took days, weeks and months, even years to push through the fears. It drained me of energy. However, with the help of good friends, family, professionals, Tedtalks, and self-help books I slowly began to fear less things. I accepted the new me. I was kinder to myself and told myself that if I could overcome a few things in my life I had made significant progress.

You can and will overcome fear and once you realize you can, you will start making a list of all the things you want to do because that one fearful thing that was so paralyzing is now fun. We all want more fun in our lives.

In my new profession, I deal with many students and divers who are paralyzed with fear. I can empathize with them. I see it in their eyes. I smell it a mile away. It makes me extremely happy when I see them accomplish a skill that they never thought they could do. They practice repeatedly and eventually they succeed. They face fear, we all can face our fears if we try. My sister went on to try scuba diving and she loved it. If she hadn’t faced her fear of water, she would have remained stuck within her comfort zone. As we all know, we need to step outside our comfort zone in order to grow.

When was the last time you faced a fear?

Written by Glenda Meade, Owner of Maple Leaf Scuba.

Uncategorized

May 26, 2020 By admin

Ship Wreck C-53 Felipe Xicotencatl in Cozumel, Mexico

HISTORY OF THE C-53 WRECK

The C-53 was built in Tampa in 1944 at the Wilson Marine Ship Works. It was build as a mine sweeper for service during World War II named under Scuffles. After the war in 1946, it was decommissioned.

In 1962, the C-53 was discharged and sold to the Mexican Navy. It was converted into an Admiral Class Gunboat and retitled ARM General Felipe Xicoténcatl (C53). It was named after Felipe Santiago Xicoténcatl, who was a General in the Mexican Army.

The C-53 was purchased for the sole purpose of guarding the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea in Search and Rescue operations. In addition to providing surveillance of illegal arms and drug trafficking.

Felipe Xicoténcatl (Cozumel C-53 shipwreck) provided 37 years of assistance to the Mexican Navy and was finally retired in 1999.

DEPTH

(50′-70’/15m-21m)

DIMENSIONS

The C-53 is 184 feet (56 meters) long, 33 feet (10 meters) wide. It was sunk to the bottom of the Caribbean perfectly upright. It rests on the seabed in 70 feet (21 meters) from the surface.

The Cozumel C-53 wreck stands 40 feet (12 meters) from the seabed permitting divers to reach the wreck by descending 30 feet (9 meters) from the surface.

LOCATION

It was sunk in Cozumel in June of 2000.

The location chosen for the wreck is just offshore from Chankanaab Park. The site was selected for many reasons including easy access for divers in an area sheltered from strong currents. It was lodged on a big sand bar where the ship would not cause any damage to the existing reef structures.

WHAT INSPIRED THE SINKING OF THE C-53

Sinking the C-53 as an artificial reef and dive attraction was designed and carried on by the ANOAAT (Cozumel Watersports & Tourism Association), in collaboration with local dive shops and the Parque Marino Arrecifes de Cozumel. The inspiration came from another place where ships had been successfully sunk by and for divers – Canada. This project started in 1998 at a DEMA show. Canadians were making artificial reefs for their diving areas by getting old boats from their government, cleaning and preparing them for sinking and diving them. This inspired Cozumel to do the same.

The plan behind its intentional sinking was to create an alternative site to help alleviate heavy traffic on nearby reefs.

DIVE DIFFICULTY

The C-53 is an easy to explore wreck with large openings to penetrate. The site is known to have the occasional strong current often making it sometimes a bit challenging to navigate.

It has easy access from all sides and at a depth that can be dove as a first or second dive.

WHAT MARINE LIFE WILL YOU SEE?

Inside you may see a giant Green Moray Eel along with Glassy Sweepers and depending on the season shoals of sardines. Sponges and coral are starting to form thick colonies on the metal of the wreck. Look carefully for tiny blenny’s, starfish and cleaner shrimp.

The exterior of the wreck remains relatively clean, likely due to the currents, but it boasts a great variety of marine life and sponges. Large schools of barracuda frequent the site along with groupers, morays eels and a wide variety of other reef fish.

Diving Reefs Travel Trips Uncategorized

May 26, 2018 By admin

Why Dive Cozumel?

Regardless of whether you are a novice or advanced diver, or you are heading into the water for your first time, Maple Leaf Scuba offers a variety of PADI Dive Certification courses and daily dive trips that will fit your style and your budget. Cozumel has abundant reefs that are just off the southern shore of the island, swept by a mild current and offering many shallow nearshore coral gardens that makes it great for the novice diver. For those more experienced divers, don't worry. Cozumel offers areas with swifter current and coral pinnacles near the drop-off that is challenging for the intermediate divers and vertical walls in deep water for the advanced diver.

Diving Reefs Travel Trips