Just wondering what the diving is like since Hurricane Paloma whacked it. Has anyone been there in Dec or Jan even? I called Sam's Dive Lodge, they said they are closed for 6 months while they rebuild after the hurricane. I am looking to go in March maybe. Any groups headed down?
Anyone been to Little Cayman recently?
- Thread starter Unibrook
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fisheater
Contributor
I'll be there the last week of this month.
Can hardly wait!!
Reports are that most damage is fixed, especially vis-a-vis the dive operations.
Can hardly wait!!
Reports are that most damage is fixed, especially vis-a-vis the dive operations.
carriemak
Contributor
We have a group going but not until June. We will be staying at Little Cayman Beach Resort. PM me if you want more details and rates about the trip.
petsygal
Registered
Hi Fish, I'm headed to Little Cayman Beach Resort March 6-13. Would like to hear about your trip, especially any reef damage since Paloma. Also interested to know where you are staying.
fisheater
Contributor
I just got back from the Little Cayman Beach Resort and dang was that a great week!
The facilities, the personnel and the diving was top notch.
The facilities, the personnel and the diving was top notch.
I have a friend who lives on LC and works for Pirates Point. She said the reefs are looking pretty good. There is some sand on some reefs on one end of the island, but other than that all is well.
I just returned last Thursday from a month on Little Cayman, and during that time I got about 30 dives in. I covered everything on the north coast from Ken Wagnon's house out to Paul's Anchors, and hit some of those sites multiple times.
I had two computers with me. One of them recorded 80F on every dive, and the other showed 78F. My wife's showed 80F, and I had a friend down for a while who also recorded 80F. Compared to the water here in California, that's downright balmy.
The reefs are in excellent condition, and I was pleased to note lots of thriving colonies I had not seen just a couple of years ago. There is some sand scattered on some of the reefs, but that's normal after a big storm. There were some new swim-throughs opened up at Cumber's Caves and Bus Stop, and I consider that a big plus. One change I did note was that there was no sign of Benji at Donna's Delight. However, there is another smaller Nassau Grouper who must have been Benji's understudy and has now taken Benji's place. I think this may be the one we used to call Minnie Mae, but I'm not sure. Minnie Mae used to hang off about 10' away from Benji when he came over to play with the divers and just watch, while not becoming involved himself. Anyway, this fish loves to "shadow" you. He/she will swim just 6" below you and stay with you while you cruise the site, but I did notice that when we got to some invisible (to us) boundary point as we cruised west toward Randy's, the fish suddenly broke away and headed back to Donna's. He doesn't like to mug for the camera quite the way Benji did, but there definitely is no shyness.
The land which the McCoys owned right by Great Wall West/Great Wall East/Ringer's Wall was sold and is now being developed. It was a real dump ever since Sam McCoy bulldozed his would-be waterfront bar, but now it's been cleaned up and graded. According to Perry McLaughlin, the new owner is going to put some spec. homes there. Ugh.
I did some maintenance on the trail from the road back to Mixing Bowl. It was impassable when I first got to Little Cayman, but it's easy to use now. I also cleared some on the trail to Sarah's Set and the drive from North Coast Road to the shore between Randy's and Donna's. I can tell somebody else has also been maintaining this drive!
Besides noting the excellent condition of the coral colonies, I was very impressed by the abundance of Nassau Grouper. I've been diving Little Cayman regularly for 16 years now, and for 8 years I lived there at least 6 months out of the year. It may be my imagination, but I could swear there are more large Grouper around now than ever before. The 8 year moratorium on fishing at the spawning sites is surely having a large positive impact. If you aren't familiar with the Grouper Moon project, you really should read up on it. To me, it's one of the great conservation stories I have been privileged to watch unfold.
Bruce
carriemak
Contributor
Thanks for the great report. Can't wait till June to return!
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