Drift Diving in Cozumel

overhangs. Most of these ledges parallel the shoreline, forming a series of ridges. These ledges provide shelter for some very large schools of nocturnal fish.As a general rule, you can recognize nocturnal fish by two characteristics: first they’re hiding in caves and other dark places during the daytime; and second, they have big eyes with large pupils for effective night vision. Look for the hatchet-shaped glassy sweepers, the red and silver-barred glasseye snappers, and a variety of squirrelfishes. Cardinalfishes are also easy to find at Cardona, although they often hide among the spines of sea urchins.

San Francisco Reef is directly offshore from San Francisco Beach, consisting of a low-profile coral strip on the lip of a drop-off. If you have never made a wall drift dive, San Francisco Reef might be a good one to start with, since the edge of the drop-off is shallower than many of the other walls on Cozumel. In some places the lip is as shallow as 20 feet, though 50-60 feet is more typical. This reef is excellent for sightings of filefish, angelfish, trumpet fish, and other common species. It is also known for its tentacle-faced anemones that look like beds of small green grapes up to a foot across. The many nooks and crannies on San Francisco Reef shelter large lobsters, and you can often find bigeye, sweepers, and other nocturnal fish hiding in the crevices during the daytime. If you stray off the reef and over to the west, you’ll be looking down into the drop-off; the white sand to the east is a good place for stingrays and conch.
© 2001 Linda Gettmann

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