Anyone use Red Sail in the Cayman's?

[mibaro]

My wife and I are going to the Caymans in a month. we are staying at the Hyatt Regency, and using Red Sail as the dive operator.
We are both Novice divers, Padi certified.
I can't wait to see Stingray City !!!

--Just wondering if anyone has any good or bad experiences with Red Sail.

Thanks,

Michael

 

[Stone]

I used Red Sail 3 years ago. The boats were nice, and they picked us up on the beach right behind our condo.

What I didn't like: The first dive (of a two tank trip) was always led by a DM, and the dive times were controlled, i.e., "be back on the boat in 50 minutes".

Remember, this info is 3 years old.

 

[detroit diver]

Red Sail has nice boats, but they are cattle boats. If I remember, the hold somewhere around 15+ divers each. Well equipped, though.

I used them thru the Hyatt also. They load and unload right on the Hyatt's beach- or at least they used to.

For a beginner, they are not a bad way to go. You'll probably be well supervised-and that's not bad as a novice.

 

[Scubatooth]

first off i havent used red sail but this is from what i have heard from some people who used them when we were in cayman at the same time.

1. they are expensive at almost 100 per 2 tank trip and something like 75 for a 1 tank SRC trip, and thats if booked ahead it was like 110 cayman if you booked it there (thats around 140 US)

2. the are cattle boats, and who mentioned 15 you must have been on a light day because the days i saw them unload at the westin (just north of the hyatt) there were atleast 20+ people on the boat.

3. one person mentioned that the dives were strictly guided first person to hit 1500 psi the whole group came up, which to me is wrong especially for what they charge (heck i would only be at 21-2200 lbs after being at a 100 feet for 15-20 mins).

also i know that with both neptune and Ocean frontiers, and morritts will watch over you but be sure to let them know you are new divers and they will take good care of you, and if you need to hire a private divemaster for you first trip or two till you get comfortable.

if you really want to get some good diving at a good price contact casey (caymancase on the board) at Neptune's Diver's if you want to dive the west side, or contact ocean frontiers or morritts tortuga divers (Drew sailbum from this board works there) on the east end. only ocean frontiers will pick up from the west side though. plus there prices are just about the same and lower then what red sail has.

FWIW

also if you want some good places to eat on SMB let me know and i will let you know

 

[redseal]

We dove with Red Sail in summer of 2002, picked us up right from the cruise ship and headed toward the first of the two dives. 21 divers, 3 DMs, 3 groups in the water at both sites. Felt that the operation was handled well, cleanly, but did feel that our time was limited (ie, everyone back on the boat after 30 minutes) but a good experience for one of our first open ocean dives.

 

[Texas Diver]

Hi
My wife and I have been to Cayman several times and we use Fisheye as our dive operator. They are located across the street from the Hyatt so you will be closeby. If you have not already made reservationsto dive with RedSail or you can cancell a reservation with them without penatly, you may want to go with Fisheye.

I put the web sit address below.



.http://www.fisheye.com/

 

[munkispank]

Hi there,

just to add to the comments about red sail-

I did not find the bottom time limited or the boat that crowed.
I logged an hour and 10 mins at stingray city- they take you to the stingray location then you swim over to a swall coral patch for the rest of the dive. As the dive is shallow- you get lots of time.

The deeper dives were to a wall- options on the boat for novices(myself at the time) and advanced- the novices stayed at 60ft or so and I logged 45 mins for my dive, with my buddy being the first low on air. These shallower dives were not limited by time- but by air consumption- and on our trip, the whole group did not stop at the first person to 500 psi- we signalled the DM and ascended alone. Maybe the deeper divers had restrictions to follow- but that was probably due to depth and safety issues.

There were 8 people in my group and 6 in the advanced- yes that is a lot of divers- but the boat is huge so there was lots of room and it was very comfortable. The DM's were very thorough with the briefing and really safety consious and attentive to those newer divers on the boat. I wa sthere for Veterans day weekend a couple of years ago and never had more than 18 on the boat.

I personally found them great for newer divers- safe, friendly and a nice big stable boat. There is a lot of discussion on the board about cattle boats and this assumption that these boats are all bad- I personally think the space you get on the boats is great for newer divers who want to take their time to gear up and not feel pressured. The bigger boats also make for easier- less stressful entries and exits and a more comfortable ride out.

In short- red sail are a great operator for divers with less experience- and you will get a great dive. The only negative, as mentioned above is the expense-but then again there really wasn't much in it between the operators anyway. The convenience of being picked from the dock often makes it worth the extra $10.


Happy diving- say hello to the stingrays for me!

 

[mattengstrom]

Read my last trip report here.

I'd agree with the sentiments posted here so far. Their main boats are cattle calls to some extent, and go to the very busy west wall and reef dive sites. I had a MUCH better time with them when I went out with their Rum Point boat. PM me for more details if you want.

I've also heard very good things about Off The Wall Divers but I haven't been with them personally yet. I'm going to change that when I go back again at the end of March. Sigh... 7 more months.;-0

 

[scubachris]

As new divers you will really like Red Sail. They cater to divers who want a little more attention and a led dive, a really really good thing. Sure there boats may be a little busy but they'll have ample staff and you will get to meet all kinds of divers.

On the West and North Wall dives it's better to be led as your Dive Guide will level off at 100 feet max and ask you to stay above them. That's good as you can see the wall going down very clearly an inviting enticement but not so healthy to keep going.

My wife and I got engaged at Stingray City seven years ago. Red Sail helped me set up a private dive, we went off by ourselves with a videographer. The videographer was in on my plan and helped my pull off the underwater proposal.

We went back a few years later to dive with them again.

Great operation, you'll have fun with them. Don't forget to tip the dive staff.

Chris

 

[Drew Sailbum]

DISCLAIMER: I work for Tortuga Divers which is a part of Red Sail Sports.

Scubatooth once bubbled...
first off i havent used red sail but this is from what i have heard from some people who used them when we were in cayman at the same time.

1. they are expensive at almost 100 per 2 tank trip and something like 75 for a 1 tank SRC trip, and thats if booked ahead it was like 110 cayman if you booked it there (thats around 140 US)

AFAIK, nobody on Grand Cayman charges 110CI for a two tank dive. For current info on pricing, call the Red Sail reservation office at 1-877-RED-SAIL.

2. the are cattle boats, and who mentioned 15 you must have been on a light day because the days i saw them unload at the westin (just north of the hyatt) there were atleast 20+ people on the boat.

Cattle Boat is a bit relative. We run a 48ft and a 42ft boat on East End, rated to carry 30 divers each plus crew. We max at 21 plus crew. Your call. Two of the westside boats that Red Sail runs are essentially identical to ours. Often boats are not running at full capacity (21+crew)

3. one person mentioned that the dives were strictly guided first person to hit 1500 psi the whole group came up, which to me is wrong especially for what they charge (heck i would only be at 21-2200 lbs after being at a 100 feet for 15-20 mins).

Uh... No, we don't call ascents at 1500psi on our guided dives. We call ascents based upon agreed upon times (varies with depth) or minimum air, whichever comes first. We might turn the dive to head back toward the boat at 1500psi. Maybe that's what your friend meant. Not running out of air is a good thing.

also i know that with both neptune and Ocean frontiers, and morritts will watch over you but be sure to let them know you are new divers and they will take good care of you, and if you need to hire a private divemaster for you first trip or two till you get comfortable.

Thanks for the plug. Tortuga Divers is the shop at Morritt's. As previously stated, Tortuga Divers is a Red Sail Sports operation. I'd guess that most any shop would be happy to keep a special eye on you as a new diver. Showing new divers the vibrant reefs or the stunning drop-offs of the Cayman Wall is a fun part of the job.