Hoag
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Hi everybody, I just got back a week or so ago from a week at the Cayman Brac Beach Resort (CBBR) traveling with The Dive Academy in Oakville Ontario on a trip organized by Fly & Sea Dive Adventures. I have never traveled with The Dive Academy before and it had been over 3 years since my last dive trip, so I was expecting an "interesting" trip.
FWIW, there is a quote that I believe is normally attributed to Jimmy Buffett that goes something like this:
"The difference between a Tourist and a Traveler becomes apparent when things inevitably go sideways. A Tourist freaks out and expects somebody else to solve the problem, but a Traveler comes home with a good story."
In that light, I try to always be a traveler, so here is my story.
Logistics:
The original plan was to fly from Toronto to Grand Cayman on Air Canada and then connect to a Cayman Airways flight to Cayman Brac on Saturday 26 November, but Air Canada cancelled its Saturday non-stops to Grand Cayman so we had to come up with another plan.
The new plan had us leaving Toronto on Friday 25 Nov and flying to Miami where we would spend the night, and then catch a direct flight to Cayman Brac out of Miami on Saturday. This new plan also meant that we had to fly through Miami (with about a 6 hour layover) on the way home. It also meant that we had to "deal with" TSA and clear US Customs, something that a direct flight to/from the Caymans would have avoided. No big deal. On the way there, we clear US Customs in Toronto and on the way home, with a 6 hour layover, we had lots of time to clear US Customs, gather our luggage, walk to the Air Canada counter and check in for the flight to Toronto.
All the flights were on time (give or take a few minutes) and had no significant issues. As a side note, having a NEXUS Card was worth every penny and although there is not a "NEXUS" line at the US Customs in Miami, when I asked, I was told to go through the "Global Entry" line (which had no one in it so I just walked right up to the scanner and then the Kiosk
) On the way home, since the security at Cayman Brac does not meet TSA standards, we had to get off the plane in Grand Cayman and clear security again (then get right back on to the same aircraft) before our flight to Miami.
Accommodations and Check in:
CBBR was simple, charming and quite clearly optimized for divers. The rooms were clean and functional. Registration both at the Front Desk and at the Dive Shop was all done online in advance, so it was simply a matter of showing ID, and a Credit Card for incidentals and they handed you a wrist band with an RF chip in it as your key. The wrist bands were water proof but would not stand up to a dive. Luggage was left and the staff would take it to your room. Once there, it was time to go check in at the dive shop. As mentioned above, registration with the dive shop was already done, so it was mostly just a matter of showing up to confirm that you matched the face on your C-Cards, tell you what boat you are on and give you a numbered mesh "boat bag". You were asked to put your dive gear (except your mask & computer) into this mesh bag and place it outside your door by 7am the following morning and the staff would pick it up, take it to the boat and set your gear up for you.
Our group was on a meal plan that included 3 meals per day. The meals were tasty, hearty and plentiful with a good variety that offered something for just about every palette. The meals were set up as a buffet style. Not that this was unique to CBBR, but the sunrises each morning were breathtaking!
The Dive Op:
There are three dive boats, and our group had a boat (the "Coral Sister") basically to ourselves. CBBR runs what they call a "Valet Diving" service. When you get to the boat, your gear will be stowed under your seat, your BCD will be mounted on one of your tanks and your reg will be in position but not attached. The first thing that they do is to analyze the (NITROX filled) tanks. They hand you the log and they do it for you showing you the results which you would then log the date, O2 content and tank number. The O2 was very consistent at 32% and I never had to change it all week. After both of your tanks were analyzed, they would attach your first stage and move on to the next diver. Prior to leaving the dock on the first morning, we also had a comprehensive safety briefing.
The diving had fairly benign and conservative profiles:
1st dive (morning): 90 feet and 60 minutes (Typically a wall or a wreck. We did dive the Tibbetts one day.)
2nd dive (morning): 50 feet and 50 minutes
3rd dive (after lunch): 50 feet and 50 minutes
Throughout the week, my NDL rarely moved off of "99".
For the most part, the diving was what I affectionately refer to as "Toilet Bowl Diving". Turquoise water, with unlimited visibility, few if any waves, virtually no current and no colder than room temperature.
As for what we saw ... well, we saw the Tibbetts of course, but there were Turtles, Lobster, Sting Rays and Spotted Eagle Rays and lots of Grouper. A pleasant surprise was that although we did see some, the Lionfish were "few and far between".
Prior to a dive, you would put on your wetsuit, grab your mask & fins and go to the stern of the boat. The crew would meet you there with your BCD (and tank) and you would get into your mask, fins and BCD at a seat on the swim/dive platform on the stern. After the dive, remove your fins in the water and hand them up to the crew member, then you would again sit on the chair, and after you undid your BCD, the crew would take it back to your seat and switch it over to your new tank.
Note: If you are someone who freaks out when other people touch your gear, CBBR may not be an ideal fit for you.
Due to high winds, there was a Small Craft Advisory on the last day, and the day's dives were cancelled since the boats could not depart their mooring spots.
Conclusions and Final thoughts:
First and foremost, it was so good to get back into the water after a 3+ year hiatus! Just to complicate things, I also had not one, but 2 new dive computers (I traded in my Oceanic ProPlus3 and Geo2 for a Shearwater PERDIX AI and a Teric.) and I love my new computers. As a recreational/vacation diver, they are far more than I will ever need, but I prefer AI, and since there isn't an AI version of the Peregrine, this is what I got.
From a logistics point of view, it would have simplified things if the original plan of flying into Grand Cayman and from there to Cayman Brac could have been executed, but hey, there are certainly worse places to spend a Friday night than Miami. This did, however add one more night (and hotel cost) to the trip and it meant that we had to deal with both TSA and US Customs which wouldn't have required if we could have had the direct flights.
The resort was well laid out for our needs and was extremely focused on making our time in Cayman Brac as enjoyable as possible. The staff at the hotel (and bar) as well as the crew on the boat made sure that our every reasonable request was looked after, and the service was impeccable.
The dive op was well organized and was focused on making our vacation as easy as possible. Some may find that they do not want someone touching their gear and may not like the "Valet Diving", but personally, I am OK with somebody else catering to my every whim.
I guess, the real test of a trip like this would be "Would I go back?" and for me, that would be a resounding "Yes! In a heartbeat!"
I would also be remiss if I did not mention the team at Fly & Sea and Paula & Dean from the Dive Academy all of whom worked very hard behind the scenes to give us the appearance that the trip was effortless.
Postscript: I got an email from Fly & Sea Dive Adventures a few days after I got home. It had a voucher attached valid for the 2 missed dives that were cancelled due to the weather on the last day. The vouchers are valid for 2 years and are valid at either CBBR or at any of their sister resorts.
FWIW, there is a quote that I believe is normally attributed to Jimmy Buffett that goes something like this:
"The difference between a Tourist and a Traveler becomes apparent when things inevitably go sideways. A Tourist freaks out and expects somebody else to solve the problem, but a Traveler comes home with a good story."
In that light, I try to always be a traveler, so here is my story.
Logistics:
The original plan was to fly from Toronto to Grand Cayman on Air Canada and then connect to a Cayman Airways flight to Cayman Brac on Saturday 26 November, but Air Canada cancelled its Saturday non-stops to Grand Cayman so we had to come up with another plan.
The new plan had us leaving Toronto on Friday 25 Nov and flying to Miami where we would spend the night, and then catch a direct flight to Cayman Brac out of Miami on Saturday. This new plan also meant that we had to fly through Miami (with about a 6 hour layover) on the way home. It also meant that we had to "deal with" TSA and clear US Customs, something that a direct flight to/from the Caymans would have avoided. No big deal. On the way there, we clear US Customs in Toronto and on the way home, with a 6 hour layover, we had lots of time to clear US Customs, gather our luggage, walk to the Air Canada counter and check in for the flight to Toronto.
All the flights were on time (give or take a few minutes) and had no significant issues. As a side note, having a NEXUS Card was worth every penny and although there is not a "NEXUS" line at the US Customs in Miami, when I asked, I was told to go through the "Global Entry" line (which had no one in it so I just walked right up to the scanner and then the Kiosk
) On the way home, since the security at Cayman Brac does not meet TSA standards, we had to get off the plane in Grand Cayman and clear security again (then get right back on to the same aircraft) before our flight to Miami.Accommodations and Check in:
CBBR was simple, charming and quite clearly optimized for divers. The rooms were clean and functional. Registration both at the Front Desk and at the Dive Shop was all done online in advance, so it was simply a matter of showing ID, and a Credit Card for incidentals and they handed you a wrist band with an RF chip in it as your key. The wrist bands were water proof but would not stand up to a dive. Luggage was left and the staff would take it to your room. Once there, it was time to go check in at the dive shop. As mentioned above, registration with the dive shop was already done, so it was mostly just a matter of showing up to confirm that you matched the face on your C-Cards, tell you what boat you are on and give you a numbered mesh "boat bag". You were asked to put your dive gear (except your mask & computer) into this mesh bag and place it outside your door by 7am the following morning and the staff would pick it up, take it to the boat and set your gear up for you.
Our group was on a meal plan that included 3 meals per day. The meals were tasty, hearty and plentiful with a good variety that offered something for just about every palette. The meals were set up as a buffet style. Not that this was unique to CBBR, but the sunrises each morning were breathtaking!
The Dive Op:
There are three dive boats, and our group had a boat (the "Coral Sister") basically to ourselves. CBBR runs what they call a "Valet Diving" service. When you get to the boat, your gear will be stowed under your seat, your BCD will be mounted on one of your tanks and your reg will be in position but not attached. The first thing that they do is to analyze the (NITROX filled) tanks. They hand you the log and they do it for you showing you the results which you would then log the date, O2 content and tank number. The O2 was very consistent at 32% and I never had to change it all week. After both of your tanks were analyzed, they would attach your first stage and move on to the next diver. Prior to leaving the dock on the first morning, we also had a comprehensive safety briefing.
The diving had fairly benign and conservative profiles:
1st dive (morning): 90 feet and 60 minutes (Typically a wall or a wreck. We did dive the Tibbetts one day.)
2nd dive (morning): 50 feet and 50 minutes
3rd dive (after lunch): 50 feet and 50 minutes
Throughout the week, my NDL rarely moved off of "99".
For the most part, the diving was what I affectionately refer to as "Toilet Bowl Diving". Turquoise water, with unlimited visibility, few if any waves, virtually no current and no colder than room temperature.
As for what we saw ... well, we saw the Tibbetts of course, but there were Turtles, Lobster, Sting Rays and Spotted Eagle Rays and lots of Grouper. A pleasant surprise was that although we did see some, the Lionfish were "few and far between".
Prior to a dive, you would put on your wetsuit, grab your mask & fins and go to the stern of the boat. The crew would meet you there with your BCD (and tank) and you would get into your mask, fins and BCD at a seat on the swim/dive platform on the stern. After the dive, remove your fins in the water and hand them up to the crew member, then you would again sit on the chair, and after you undid your BCD, the crew would take it back to your seat and switch it over to your new tank.
Note: If you are someone who freaks out when other people touch your gear, CBBR may not be an ideal fit for you.
Due to high winds, there was a Small Craft Advisory on the last day, and the day's dives were cancelled since the boats could not depart their mooring spots.
Conclusions and Final thoughts:
First and foremost, it was so good to get back into the water after a 3+ year hiatus! Just to complicate things, I also had not one, but 2 new dive computers (I traded in my Oceanic ProPlus3 and Geo2 for a Shearwater PERDIX AI and a Teric.) and I love my new computers. As a recreational/vacation diver, they are far more than I will ever need, but I prefer AI, and since there isn't an AI version of the Peregrine, this is what I got.
From a logistics point of view, it would have simplified things if the original plan of flying into Grand Cayman and from there to Cayman Brac could have been executed, but hey, there are certainly worse places to spend a Friday night than Miami. This did, however add one more night (and hotel cost) to the trip and it meant that we had to deal with both TSA and US Customs which wouldn't have required if we could have had the direct flights.
The resort was well laid out for our needs and was extremely focused on making our time in Cayman Brac as enjoyable as possible. The staff at the hotel (and bar) as well as the crew on the boat made sure that our every reasonable request was looked after, and the service was impeccable.
The dive op was well organized and was focused on making our vacation as easy as possible. Some may find that they do not want someone touching their gear and may not like the "Valet Diving", but personally, I am OK with somebody else catering to my every whim.
I guess, the real test of a trip like this would be "Would I go back?" and for me, that would be a resounding "Yes! In a heartbeat!"
I would also be remiss if I did not mention the team at Fly & Sea and Paula & Dean from the Dive Academy all of whom worked very hard behind the scenes to give us the appearance that the trip was effortless.
Postscript: I got an email from Fly & Sea Dive Adventures a few days after I got home. It had a voucher attached valid for the 2 missed dives that were cancelled due to the weather on the last day. The vouchers are valid for 2 years and are valid at either CBBR or at any of their sister resorts.
