Grand Cayman Trip Report

[High Plains Drifter]

Well, I got back Saturday night and I've only now overcome my depression at being back in Chicago enough to post a report. All in all, Grand Cayman is a place I would highly recommend. If you're thinking of going -- do. Start saving now, though. You're going to need it.

We stayed away from the crowds on Seven Mile at a place called Cobalt Coast. It's a small (14 room, I think?) hotel with it's own smallish restaurant and, more importantly, an onsite dive facility called Dive Tech. I really don't think I can recommend the folks at Cobalt Coast and Dive Tech highly enough. Arie, the owner of Cobalt, along with Dora, the manager, are two of the more hospitable folks you could meet. The folks at Dive Tech are no less friendly, but their experience and skill at all things dive related is what sets them apart. They've got everything manned by what seems the most experienced folks around, whether you're a rookie like me or an advanced technical diver, or even a free diver.

The only thing I would do different is make a more concerted effort to pick up some ingredients for lunch in our room, as opposed to eating out all the time. Yikes. Couple the expense of island costs with the fact that just about everything is in Cayman Island dollars (sometimes 20% more than US), it adds up to an expensive stay.

We did do a drive down to the East End and took a look at Compass Pointe. I'd definitely check that out next time. MUCH more secluded than where we were, not to mention the relative chaos of the Seven Mile resorts. Their units have kitchenettes, so you can be pretty self-sufficient food-wise.

Diving -- generally, it was excellent. My experience is fairly limited, so this was the first real experience I'd had with walls/steep drop-offs. The huge underwater structures were pretty amazing. My favorite dive was probably Trinity Caves with its very cool swim-throughs. Just about every 2nd (i.e. shallow) dive was great for its biodiversity (see pics below). We were able to do a couple of shore dives and while we did enjoy them, that side of island (NW) can get fairly rough this time of year. The waves were high enough that it became difficult to stay on the surface for your swim out to the reef (waves high enough to make snorkeling an exercise in inhaling sea water). The alternative was to descend 100 yards early and burn off a bunch of air getting to your destination.

High Point -- I got to spend 3 hours with one of Cathy Church's professional underwater photographers on my last day. Her group is located in Sunset House just south (?) of Georgetown. The wealth of knowledge these people have is amazing. Definitely loved it.

Low Point -- There was a diver lost while we were there. Apparently a group of divers were shore diving at Cracked Conch (very near our hotel), when one began experiencing buoyancy problems and left for the surface. The group didn't send a buddy back with him. I don't want to claim that was the cause of the tragedy, but geez, people! Stick with your buddies!!! My experience with the rough shore dives indicated above really has me shuddering when I think about what this guy must have gone through.
CDNN :: Body of Missing Scuba Tourist Recovered off Grand Cayman Island



Pics -- Here are a couple from the trip. Please note that these were taken BEFORE my lessons, so be kind.

Waiting to exit after a dive..


Stingray City...


Stingray Lips...


Moray "cuddling" with the wife...


Leopard Flatworm...


Nurse Shark...


Cleaning Station...


Dominica's next!

[lisacay]

Hey, very cool! That is a place I would like to go glad it was enjoyable. I am also a newbie photographer. Just took a specialty course I would highly recommend that, with a good instructor, as well.

[scubasamurai]

hey i thought these pictures were pretty good , thanks for the report. you kinda wonder why the cayman authorities are so slow in their investigations? but people will still dive there. glad you had a good time and how much snow do you have in chicago now???

[fisheater]

Beautiful photos.

Thanks for sharing. I'll use these to help convince my wife that we should go next year.

[Only 4 posts until Grouperhood!]

[ianr33]

Originally Posted by High Plains Drifter

The folks at Dive Tech are no less friendly, but their experience and skill at all things dive related is what sets them apart. They've got everything manned by what seems the most experienced folks around

I went diving with Divetech last Thanksgiving. Got talking to one of their employees (Natt) He said he did a 300 foot dive pretty much every week and his deepest ever was 450.
They seem to know what they are doing..........................

[Dive4Fun]

450! whoa, I'd like to get there one day.

[RECDiver]

Thanks for the report and the nice pics. I have made 20 trips to the Cayman Islands and always look forward to the next one.

[dannybot]

Cool, I went last June, really liked it. Nice pics, unfortunately when we were there, there was an awful algea bloom at Stingray City and the water was an awful cloudy green, but the rays were way cool.

[DRNightdiver]

Great post. I'm head down the GC Martch 29th. This will be my first trip to GC with and UW Camera so your pics got me even more anxious.

Now on the sad part of your post:
The lost diver had a heart attach as he was swimming in. The buddy system would have prevented the length of time that it took to find him but the odds of surviving the heart attach were slim.

[whse56]

I love diving in Grand Cayman, it maybe expensive but overall it's worth it. If you compare it to, say Hawaii it isn't that bad. The death of the diver is a tradgedy, if he died from a heart attack it maybe wouldn't have mattered. My question is, did he panic when he started swimming in and didn't seem to be getting anywhere (fighting a current) if his buddy had stayed with him would he have been a little calmer and maybe survived. No one will ever know, but I can't imagine the guilt I would feel if I was the buddy that let him go up alone.