Dive Review of Fathom Divers Expeditions/Cozumel in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel

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Fathom Divers Expeditions/Cozumel, Aug, 2004, by Chris Sklarew, MD, usa . Report 1257.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This is about a stupendous divemaster/operation in Cozumel, not easily found: Fathom Divers Expeditions and its proprietor/divemaster, Omar Gomez. We went to Cozumel three years ago as a newly-certified family of four (with our boys, then 12 and 14) and dove with Aldora. Aldora had small, fast boats and personalized services, and took divers to a beach for the surface interval--all the positive things the chapbooks said about them were true. As new divers, we were put at ease. We were very happy with Aldora’s services, and particularly liked one of their divemasters, Omar Gomez. This year (Aug. 2004), as we planned our third trip to Coz, we heard from a friend that Aldora had been sold and was no longer the same. With a little luck, we found Omar, who now runs his own small operation, called Fathom Divers Expeditions. Omar is simply the best. He is extremely knowledgeable, competent, and experienced, in addition to just being the kind of person you like to spend time with. Although we did not engage his specialties, he does a lot of technical diving and instruction and has worked at the hyperbaric chamber in Cozumel. He also does freshwater cave diving expeditions on the mainland. We each have about 60-70 dives logged by now, so while we’re not interested in technical diving, we wanted to have the kind of confidence in our divemaster that would give us some flexibility and allow for some adventure. Omar balances the need for safety--his first priority--with the desire for fun. He not only answers all your questions, but will also tell you the reason why. One of us was an airhog, running out way ahead of the rest of us, and one of us had an aversion to narrow swim-thrus. Omar helped solve both of these problems, by watching the airhog and offering suggestions that led him to use a little less air each day, and by leading the hesitant diver through progressively more challenging swim-thrus, never pushing beyond her readiness. For all his expertise in technical areas, he never seemed bored by recreational diving, nor did he regard us as wimps. He is also great with kids, and makes it fun while keeping it safe. You can reach Omar at h2omarscuba@yahoo.com. As for the diving conditions on this trip, the current was much stronger than it had been on our prior visits, and the viz a little lower/murkier with all the stirred-up sand. Nonetheless, we had a great week of diving, and saw a dolphin, two big nurse sharks, a huge supermale parrotfish, many barracudas (one of them over 6 ft. long), huge groupers, turtles and rays, in addition to the usual angels, jacks, parrots, triggers, porcupinefish, damselfish, tilefish, cowfish,snappers, etc. We stayed at Plaza las Glorias, our favorite because of its proximity to town, but it was scheduled to be renovated the day after we left and thus was looking a little worn. We were told that it will be converted into an "all-inclusive" resort, to our dismay, but that the all-inclusive aspect will be optional.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman, Hawaii, Florida
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	currents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	1
Water Visibility	30-75 Ft/ 9-23 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Because the current was exceptionally strong, we kept a close group (4 divers, 2 of whom were teenagers, and the divemaster).
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Fathom Divers Expeditions/Cozumel in Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel

Fathom Divers Expeditions/Cozumel, Aug, 2004,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Fathom Divers Expeditions/Cozumel in
Cozumel and the Mexican Yucatan/Cozumel