Playa del Carmen is Important

Today, a committee of dedicated volunteers is launching a community event that should prove to be one of the best that Playa del Carmen has seen in many years. Though Playa is known for its events, community and continued playfulness, Taste of Playa 2009 is sure to be a hit with everyone. They sure got our vote!

As a Playa Del Carmen business for over 13 years, we have been through some good times and some not so great times. We remember it all, and are thankful for the experiences we have received and the experiences that we are able to give our clients. Whereever there is an action there is always an opposing reaction and we have proven that again and again.

There are times when we ask for support and there are times when we give support. This is a time that we feel, as a Playa del Carmen business, it is important to show our support. Abyss Dive Center has quickly and without question decided to support, as a sponsor, Taste of Playa 2009 to show the world that this is a great place to live, visit and work.

The committee is working hard out of a passion for where they live. We work hard each and every day out of a passion for where we live. This basic commonality is why we think this event is important. To add to the commonality, we admire the committees willingness to donate a portion of the proceeds to Aklu’um International School, a relatively new addition to the Playa scholastic system that is not for profit and has over 36% of the children on scholarship.

This is a win win situation and we encourage anyone else who wants to support to come out as a sponsor or an attendee. It is a date to keep in mind and we will be there, eating, drinking and having a great time with our friends and visitors in the Parque Fundadores September 5, 2009.

Part 2... Cantil Dive Playa del Carmen Riviera Maya

Part 2…

The dive plan. Depth 42 metres, bottom time, 20 minutes. The ascent, three minutes at 15 metres, two minutes at 9 metres, two minutes at 6 metres, fifteen minutes at 5 metres. Diving tables.

After a choppy boat ride, the group was dropped off over top the cantil. Nothing but dark blue below. It took eight minutes to reach the edge of the cantil.

“We just flew down” says Johnny. “we were in the middle of the blue and then we were level with this huge sloping wall. It gives you the feeling that it is the end of the earth.”

A reef on a grand scale and it didn’t disappoint. Johnny
Gets the credit for sea life sightings.

“At one point we saw a huge sea turtle sitting on the edge of the cantil, then a bull shark came out in front of us, it appeared out of the dark and followed the edge of the cantil, it was like wow! It didn’t even pay attention to us, like a commuter on the way to work.” Johnny Faulds.

“It was fantastic” says Dean, his face lighting up. “I was blown away by the size (of the sea life) and the variety. We saw a remora and that meant there were bigger customers around. An eight foot bull shark! Just a beautiful shark, it just went about its business. I saw the biggest parrot fish in my life and a big fat thick barracuda”

Though none of the abyss staff are first timers to the cantil, the beauty of it never escapes them. The dive extraordinary because they got to do it together and take some guests along. Dean got the dive he wanted and…

“It was something we wanted to do for Johnny; we wanted to show him the cantil”. Ross Anderson

So, the dive didn’t go exactly as planned, even though the plan was on dive tables, Dean’s sunnto kicked in some conservative numbers, telling him he needed a 25 minute deco stop at five meters, so he wanted to do it. But air was good and the rest of the group stayed above and within sight to wait out Deans stop. In all it was a ninety minute dive!

Katy couldn’t have said it better. “it was a lovely, lovely dive. A great experience”.

“As a business owner, I love to have staff functions. It’s a great shop bonding experience. It builds camaraderie and teamwork. This felt similar and I felt chuffed to be included. It was nice of Dave to run the front of the dive shop. Whoo hoo”. Johnny Faulds


Whoo hoo indeed, Dean is already pestering Dave for a repeat performance.


By Denelle Balfour

Cantil Dive in Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya

Dean Turner couldn’t wait to do a deco dive. Though decompression certified, Dean hasn’t been able to go deep for years, because of hockey related shoulder stress -- he’s Canadian, eh! -- and subsequent surgeries.

He simply couldn’t lift his arms to reach the gages. Now after seven years of keeping it recreational, he was good to go.

Dean has been a friend of the abyss dive center and its owner, Dave Tomlinson, for years, so he dogged Dave and the staff to dive the cantil.

The cantil is part of the continental shelf that spans the Riviera Maya and beyond. It starts at 30 to 35 metres, and gradually slopes off into the abyss (couldn’t help it), meaning it’s beyond the limits of recreational diving. Which also means it’s not a regularly scheduled dive for the shop. Special arrangements and considerations have to be made.

For advanced or Padi deep divers, the cantil beckons. It’s full of life, large sponges, soft corals, sea fans, large ocean going fish, including bull sharks. Not to mention the big blue.

Not only did Dave make the dive happen, he decided to make it a staff dive and include the abyss dive slave, now certified dive master, Johnny Faulds, another canuck! A sort of graduation gift to mark Johnny’s new certification. Dave would man the shop. The schedule that day also allowed for the dive.

Ok, Johnny Faulds…. A walking advertisement for his tattoo shop, urge 2 tattoo, in Edmonton. There are a lot of stories in that ink. His personality, enthusiasm and smile light up the shop, especially when the sun hits his gold tooth. Everyone loves him.

How often does the entire staff of a busy dive shop in playa del Carmen get to do a dive? Hardly ever. The abyss staff couldn’t believe it! It was like a holiday on the job, they were thrilled. Johnny told me he didn’t want to be too sappy, but he was honoured to be included. Dean had made the initial request, now it was a dive group beyond his expectations.

“It’s a dive” Dean says, “that I wouldn’t do with people I didn’t know, trust or dive with before.” As much as this was to be a staff event to enjoy, Dean says it was 100 per cent professionally handled. “the vibe was relaxed and happy and very professional”. Dean hunter.

Dive day. This is the first opportunity for abyss staff members, Sebastian, Katy and Ross to dive together. Not only are they colleagues, they are also good friends.

Sebastian Peña has logged well over 100 dives on the cantil, but this was unique. “I liked my dive buddies the best” he says.

Katy Djelia has been diving since she was a child and is no stranger to deep diving. But “this was like a little present” she says “it makes the job all that more fun”

On dive day, the group meets; Ross has come in on his day off. They silently gear up, double tanks for everyone, Ross and Sebastian are side mounting, Katy’s second cylinder is oxygen. Dean and Johnny are getting whatever assistance or gear they need. Everyone knows this is a special dive.

“Tech diving is always fun, because some people are quiet, some joke, but it’s a serious dive, everyone looking after their own equipment, checking, double checking” Ross Anderson. “we have a very high safety margin, the motto…plan the dive, dive the plan. We also know the boat crew is trained and on stand by, and Dave, the owner, is waiting in the shop.”


To be continued…

Our Philosophy on Safety

Scuba Diving has been rated one of the top 10 most dangerous sports in the world. In an article written by Forbes, scuba diving and cave diving were both up there. I have to question why scuba diving was #4 on the danger scales and cave diving was #5. I am assuming it has to do with percentages of divers verses diving incidents. There are far more scuba divers than cave divers so the percentage of 'accidents' can be mathimatically higher...when looking at probabilities.

That aside, we are proud to be teachers of the one of the most dangerous sports in the world...in the universe and on the planet...who wrote that article anyway...must not be a scuba diver..or a knowledgable scuba diver.

First lets discuss perceptions. There is a perception out there that scuba diving is SCCCaaaRRyyyy!!!! Should we let our little secret out or should we keep it to ourselves. The perception comes from all that weird looking equipment that we have to wear, with hoses, and tubes and that funky black suit and hoods and weight and all things that are not dainty. It is daunting and for the non-diver, super intimidating and super 'scary'. For the non-techy people, it is even scarier...hence why women joined the scuba diving later....but as we all know, the equipment is easy, it is not as complicated as it looks and we have squashed thousands of beliefs of people who thought scuba was an unattainable sport for them. Bless their hearts, all of you, and I know you know who you are.

Examples of overcoming the Perception. There was a student who was afraid of fish, there was a mom who wantingly supported her entire scuba family, but when it came to her it was...no, no, i possibly could not...she is now certified and joins the family a few times a year on their dives with us. There have been many who came up from their first ocean dive and said, no way...they are all certified now once we discussed how to get the little voice out of their head that said, 'this is not natural'...

Let me tell you, anything that you do, if you dont have the proper training and knowledge is dangerous. Crossing the street, if you dont know how to look both ways, is more dangerous than scuba diving. When we are three years old, and Dave knows about this with Ryder, you are taught to look both ways so that you can for the rest of your life, cross a street safely. You are not taught about scuba equipment, what it is and how to use it...excect Ryder of course. He had his own mask at the age of one and was being taught how to snorkel. At 2 Dave put a reg in his mouth on land...and now at three we think he is being drilled about scuba equipment and scuba sales.....

Back to our focus. Scuba diving IS dangerous if you do not go through the motions of learning. Scuba diving is dangerous if you dont follow the rules of decompression, or apply what you learned in your diving training thorugh your SSI or PADI courses. BUT if you apply the rules, listen to your qualified dive instructor, and are an aware diver, then you should not have any issues.

We are your gatekeepers. Please remember that. We ask a ton of questions when you are booking or when you arrive so that we are not putting you at risk. We ensure that our dive center is making a great decision for you and your ability as a diver. The questions are sometimes interpreted as annoying and some people insist on diving a profile that they are not ready for. Our philosophy is, there is never a bad dive, diving an easy dive first to get accustomed to the current, the local environment or for our guides to check you out is a good and safe thing to do. Some times things fall through the cracks, a diver states they have dove in the last 6 months, hop on the boat and then we get in the water and the truth comes out as the tears run down their face...'it has been 8 years since i have been in the water, i am not ready for this'. So back on the boat they go, back into the pool they go...they are a bit shaken up so they have to rebuild their trust in their ability. Finally after a whole entire day they are back in the water, enjoying the sport they love. All of this could have been resolved by just letting us know...and we would have been happy to do a refresher with you and get you super comfortable in the water so you have a great dive. lesson learned.

We have millions of stories like this and this is what has built our safety philosophy. Dive a bit under your skill level when entering a new environment, so that you have a super great dive. Listen to the suggestions of our qualified staff so that you and them have a great time. You can always dive again, and you can continue to build your endurance. Would you run a marathon if you had not run for 6 months, a year, or even 8 years on your first day back to running...Hell no....you would do it little by little...and scuba diving is the same way....don't go out to a 30 meter dive in angelita after you have not been diving for over a year..come, play lets see how you do and let us suggest some dives that would be good for you or confirm that your dive choice is a great choice for you. We want you to keep diving with us and we want you to have a great time....dive safety philosophy item 2...fun...

We at the Abyss Dive Center have been using this philosophy for years. It works by the way, and we have the million stories to prove it. We have taken people who thought they would never dive and made them divers, regular divers, not just recreational a few times a decade divers. We have nurtured divers from being out of the water to being back into the water due busy lives. We have taken people from open water to dive master and instructor levels as a way to nurture their dreams. It happened to us a long time ago, someone was good to us, a dive instructor was patient with us and taught us how to make a dive safely..and we want to pass that on to you.

So if you have always dreamt of being a diver or thought you could never get back in the water, or thought that scuba diving was way to dangerous, give it a try or should we say, give us a try and lets see if we can erase those fears, those visions and unnecesary gremlims that exist in your head about diving. Let us turn you into a diver who is passionate about what they do, just like us.

Polygamy Legal in the Ocean and the life of the Mexican Hogfish

So clarification is required. But we have to laugh....and loudly!

Todays Fish Lesson is about the Hogfish, otherwise known as the Boquinette, to Mexican Fisherman or local Restaurants.

In our research, which we will pass in a minute, we learned a few very interesting facts about this fish. They exist in harems; not pods, not schools, not a gaggle and not a herd...A HAREM!

This is a direct quote from the Florida Fish Site...

"Reproduction of the Hogfish

Hogfish are protogynous hermaphrodites. Females, upon reaching larger size and through social dominance, can transform into fully functional males. This often occurs at 3 years of age and lengths of approximately 14 inches (35.5 cm). In waters off south Florida, peak spawning occurs during the months of February and March. Hogfish schools consist of groups of females dominated by a larger male, referred to as a harem. The male guards his harem, spawning exclusively with the females within it. Spawning occurs in later afternoon and early evening. This event involves male courtship of the female, followed by a rush towards the surface. The male and female release gametes into the surrounding water where fertilization takes place. The fertilized, pelagic eggs rapidly develop into larvae, hatching approximately 24 hours after fertilization occurs. This larvae stage lasts several weeks until they grow into juveniles and settle out of the water column, onto suitable habitat. Juvenile hogfish have an oval profile and are compressed laterally. Reddish in color with faint vertical bands, they are commonly observed around seagrass beds. "

Our thought is, does this mean that ocean waters are free zones or legal areas that allow polygamy...that topic is waaaayyyy to political for this blog and we will just not go there...but fish existing in harems...who would have ever known, and who categories/defines fish anyway....we find this hilarious....

Before we carry on with the Latin equivelants and descriptions, there is another fact about the Hogfish that needs to be clarified....We have been told for years that the Hog fish was a vegetarian fish, a fish that did not eat other fish, fish meat, etc. THIS IS INCORRECT! and though we are happy to now report the truth (?), if anyone wants to shed light on this topic, please do.

Hogfish feed on mollusks (members of the squid family), crabs and seaurchins. This according to our books does not seem vegetarian, but the Mexican culture defines a vegetarian in a different way. Vegetarians in Mexico are people who eat chicken a few times a week, they are not eating it everyday, byt they are supposed to eat chicken. Vegetarians in other parts of the world, as far as we know, do not eat chicken...so maybe crabs, seaurchins and mollusks for some reason fall under the 'chicken' category. Hmmmmm Not a big deal, just interesting.

So back to the Latin understanding and some solid details and facts about the Hogfish. They live it the waters surrounding Florida, Bermuda and The Caribbean side of Mexico. There is a difference between the US based Hog fish and the Mexican Hogfish. Their colours can vary with the pink version found here in Mexico. They are a part of the Wrasse Family, and the latin name is Lachnolaimus Maximus. 'Lachne' defined means covered in hairs, which is directly related to the fact that the dorsal fin has 14 spines. When the Hogfish feels threatened, it does rise the dorsal fin, making it look a bit like a rooster...that dorsal fin, and the fact that the iris is bright red, and that there is a black dot on the dorsal fin where it meets the body, builds the unique characteristics of the Hogfish.

According to the World Conservation Union the Hogfish is on the Vulnerable Species list. This is due to overfishing, or should we just say a super delicious fish that is fished...if anyone has gone to La Bamba Jarocha on 3oth ave in Playa Del Carmen, or over to the Costa Del Mar you will know that this is a delicious, flakey, white fish. It is best served, and don't cringe until you have tried it, deep fried. This is done with the skin on, not off and definately not battered, which does not allow the oil to soak into the flesh, so what you are left is, a super flakey, fresh white meat that melts in your mouth...yummmmm

We find Hogfish on many of our reefs as they live in waters from 10 to 100 feet. Recently juveniles were spotted in Casa Cenote, an open cenote near tulum where there is a direct exchange of sea and fresh water, making casa cenote a fish spawning area. Super cool place and worth a trip. But that is for another day.

So that ends our funny, and informative Fish Class for today...harems, really this will stick with us forever....or at least give all of us a smile for the rest of the day...