What is Blackwater Diving?
Blackwater diving is a night dive in open ocean, away from a reef, over deep water. We aim for 3 kilometers away from the shore where the sea floor is over 300 meters / 1000 feet away. Combined, this provides us with no visual reference.
Why do we do Blackwater Diving?
The largest migration of animal biomass happens every single night as animals migrate from the mesopelagic zone unto the surface. In simple terms, plankton (pelagic life forms of fish, corals, and other invertebrates before they settle to the reef) migrate from the dark depths of the ocean each night to feed near the surface. This offers us the ability to see otherworldly lifeforms that are otherwise far beyond the reaches of scuba diving.
How do we do it ?
Here on Cozumel we dive around a free floating lighting buoy several kilometers out into the Cozumel Channel. Unlike Hawaii that makes divers weather to the boat, here we are free to dive around and explore the migration as it occurs. The lights are used to attract life and also act as the centre of the dive, the start and end point for out dive.
Who can do it ?
Advanced divers or divers with previous night diving experience. Good buoyancy is a must. No heart conditions .
What’s needed?
- Full dive kit – Rental Available
- Dive light – Rental Available
- Full length wetsuit / stinger suit
We also recommended:
- Hooded top
- Camera with lights/strobes
- Narrow beam torch for spotting
- Video / Focus light
- 2 or more strobes
When do we do it ?
Weather is the limiting factor with open ocean dives. We use a large boat that can comfortably operate in waves up to 2m in hight. For an enjoyable dive we aim for 1.8m or less with the most up to date weather forecast. So if you plan on a blackwater dive during your stay on Cozumel please be extremely flexible with dates for the dive.
We meet at sunset in Fonatur Marina. After a safety briefing we aim to be in the water at the drop site 1.5-2 hours after sunset.