Trip Report Back from our first visit to Cayman Brac.

[BrackaFish]

Is that all shore diving there? If so, do the shore divers actually do it the big majority of the time, or is it often ignored without consequence?

Generally speaking shore diving in the Brac is much lesser known than boat diving. It is not something that is actively promoted by the local shops. There was a strong group of expatriates that formed a FB group Cayman Brac Shore Divers that setup a lot of the ladders and underwater markers at the dive sites. There are about 21 North side sites and 6 Southside sites that are marked and well known. The Southside diving is better, but harder to do as prevailing waves are generally from the South and so entry/exit is easier on the Northside. I am generally alone at the dive sites as I avoid the sites/times when the dive boats are doing their shallower dives. In 15 years of trips to the Brac, I have been asked twice by DOE if we had a flag prior to the beginning of the dive. Another time Customs was stopping a small boat packed with Cuban refugees and we surfaced post dive near the dock. We didn’t have a marker and the officer told us we really needed to use one. This is really true at certain sites where there is a good bit of boat traffic. Solo diving does occur. Spearfishing of Lionfish is not allowed except by people that have been vetted by the government or you are on a boat and have taken their course. There has been some concerns recently about people feeding the dead Lionfish to the sea life and not removing them to the shore. Some of the Barracudas seem to be a bit more aggressive lately around certain sites. The Brac tends to be a very laidback place with a live and let live attitude. People have told me that this was the way Grand Cayman was in the 60s and early 70s. Most of the shore divers I have seen are pretty respectful in spite of the occasional stroke you may come across.

 

[KathyV]

I received a very prompt and detailed response from CBBR regarding their support for shore diving. All good for me except that they do not allow solo diving

Hi Craig,

My name is Erin and I’m the Dive Coordinator with Reef Divers Cayman Brac.

I understand you have some questions regarding shore diving…

Yes! We will give you tanks you can use to go shore diving. And being a guest on a dive package, your shore diving is at no extra charge! We just ask you check your tanks in and out with the shop and take one tank at a time.

Unfortunately, solo diving is not condoned, nor do we have pony bottles for you to rent. You will need a buddy!

Lastly, flag and float are in order to go off our shores and we have those here for you to take at no charge. This is a requirement from the Department of Environment Cayman Islands and is strictly enforced.

Let me know if you have any other questions and we look forward to diving with you again soon!

Kind regards,

Erin Rinard

Dive Shop Coordinator

Tel: +1 (345) 948-1642

clearlycayman.com

reefdivers@bracreef.com

Thanks for getting this information! Interesting that they no longer allow you to take 2 tanks, unlike the experience of @divezonescuba with CBBR a few years ago.

When you are staying at CBBR on a dive package I wonder how they coordinate valet boat diving and shore diving? They promote "you won't have to touch your gear all week" unless you want to!

You probably just take your gear off the boat at the end of the day's diving and take it with you and bring it back in the morning. I hope that they let you take 2 weight belts - so you can leave one on the dive boat and leave one in the car, unless your weights are integrated into your BC of course.

Of course, shore diving is commonplace at the Reef Divers Cobalt Coast resort on Grand Cayman, but they have a house reef and shore diving facilities right on the resort property.

 

[divezonescuba]

Yes, it appears in recent years that it is more difficult to take more than one tank. That first time, CBBR was reluctant, but agreed to do it as it was really a CITA recommendation rather than Cayman law and everyone in our party was certified.

Since then, we have usually only been able to take more than one tank at a time, if we have people in the group that sidemount. The last couple of trips we have been using the BSS. On one of the more recent trips, i almost left my pony bottle with them, but it was going out of hydro shortly.

I may leave one there this next trip in May 2020. If that happens, I will ask her if she would be willing to rent it out to their divers in exchange for keeping it there.

 

[KathyV]

@morecowbells I am sorry that we've highjacked your excellent thread for this interesting discussion! Please tell us more about your trip to Brac. You said that you spent some time exploring the island so what kinds of things did you see and do? I think that Brac is an interesting island with a rugged beauty.

 

[Aviyes]

Thanks for getting this information! Interesting that they no longer allow you to take 2 tanks, unlike the experience of @divezonescuba with CBBR a few years ago.

When you are staying at CBBR on a dive package I wonder how they coordinate valet boat diving and shore diving? They promote "you won't have to touch your gear all week" unless you want to!

You probably just take your gear off the boat at the end of the day's diving and take it with you and bring it back in the morning. I hope that they let you take 2 weight belts - so you can leave one on the dive boat and leave one in the car, unless your weights are integrated into your BC of course.

Of course, shore diving is commonplace at the Reef Divers Cobalt Coast resort on Grand Cayman, but they have a house reef and shore diving facilities right on the resort property.

When I stayed at Cobalt Coast this summer, all I did was let the crew know that I was planning to shore dive that afternoon/night and they brought my gear back from the boat and placed it in the storage shed for my use. When I was done with it, I just placed it back on the appropriate shelf for transfer back to the boat the next morning.

 

[KathyV]

When I stayed at Cobalt Coast this summer, all I did was let the crew know that I was planning to shore dive that afternoon/night and they brought my gear back from the boat and placed it in the storage shed for my use. When I was done with it, I just placed it back on the appropriate shelf for transfer back to the boat the next morning.

Wow, that's nice! How did you like Cobalt Coast? We have never stayed there, we have visited and did a couple of dives with their RD op and we've seen some of the improvements they've been making.

How did you like shore diving the house reef?

What was the food like? One thing that concerns me about CCGCR is that they do not have an indoor dining room, correct? I sometimes get eaten alive by mosquitos so I am not always a fan of eating outdoors.

 

[Aviyes]

Wow, that's nice! How did you like Cobalt Coast? We have never stayed there, we have visited and did a couple of dives with their RD op and we've seen some of the improvements they've been making.

How did you like shore diving the house reef?

What was the food like? One thing that concerns me about CCGCR is that they do not have an indoor dining room, correct? I sometimes get eaten alive by mosquitos so I am not always a fan of eating outdoors.

It was nice. Definitely a cozy resort. You didn't have to walk far for anything. We hung out in the pool a bunch after diving, small beach area that had some small amounts of sand deposited by Mother Nature. Easy and fun to get to know the other guests. The nighttime shore dive on the house reef we planned was nixed, as the current was too strong for my dive buddies fitness level.

Food was good. We did the all-inclusive option, which included buffet at breakfast/lunch and off a menu for dinner, with different options on the menu each night. Often had some great soups and everyone found something they enjoyed each day among the different options. I believe they also had a ala carte food option. While not indoor dining, the dining area was awesome. Right there on the pool deck with a roof overhead, it was easy to roll right over from chilling in the pool or hot tub and enjoy dinner. I was there in June and didn't deal with any mosquitoes. But, that may be time of year based.

 

[drrich2]

The Cayman Brac scene turns out to be more complicated from my perspective than I thought. Sounds like it's different from the steep wall boat diving Cayman is famous for, easier entry/exit than I thought (at least north) with a number of sites, and could be really nice. Here's where complications would affect me:

1.) I like the A.I. simplicity of CBBR described in reviews, but CBBR doesn't support solo diving (I could care less whether they 'condone' it, but presumably they take it upon themselves to police this in some way?).

2.) I take it Brac Scuba Shack is a dive op., not a holistic 'accommodations + diving' unit like CBBR.

3.) I've towed a dive flag once before, at Florida's Blue Heron Bridge, and I don't have a single underwater photo from that long, entertaining dive because the thought of having to fiddle with a camera (just a snap shooter) and the float sounded like too much. If I am de facto prevented from snap shooting, the desirability of a dive destination tanks. An octopus at BHB put on an interesting display, held its ground and let me observe quite awhile; could've made some treasured shots!

4.) I've read that in Curacao one is technically supposed to tow a float/flag/whatever it is, but hardly anyone does with most shore diving. If you towed one in Bonaire, I imagine people might think you were marking something or taking a class!

Every time I read about shore diving Brac and start thinking 'Wow, that sounds nice. Maybe...' something comes up and makes Bonaire or Curacao look better.

I get that with Brac for most people it'd be a boat diving with supplemental shore diving trip. But Cayman Brac isn't known for it's great topside attractions. I see Brac Scuba Shack offers rates for up to 3 dives/day, which I think is what CBBR does.

 

[KathyV]

The Cayman Brac scene turns out to be more complicated from my perspective than I thought. Sounds like it's different from the steep wall boat diving Cayman is famous for, easier entry/exit than I thought (at least north) with a number of sites, and could be really nice. Here's where complications would affect me:

1.) I like the A.I. simplicity of CBBR described in reviews, but CBBR doesn't support solo diving (I could care less whether they 'condone' it, but presumably they take it upon themselves to police this in some way?).

2.) I take it Brac Scuba Shack is a dive op., not a holistic 'accommodations + diving' unit like CBBR.

3.) I've towed a dive flag once before, at Florida's Blue Heron Bridge, and I don't have a single underwater photo from that long, entertaining dive because the thought of having to fiddle with a camera (just a snap shooter) and the float sounded like too much. If I am de facto prevented from snap shooting, the desirability of a dive destination tanks. An octopus at BHB put on an interesting display, held its ground and let me observe quite awhile; could've made some treasured shots!

4.) I've read that in Curacao one is technically supposed to tow a float/flag/whatever it is, but hardly anyone does with most shore diving. If you towed one in Bonaire, I imagine people might think you were marking something or taking a class!

Every time I read about shore diving Brac and start thinking 'Wow, that sounds nice. Maybe...' something comes up and makes Bonaire or Curacao look better.

I get that with Brac for most people it'd be a boat diving with supplemental shore diving trip. But Cayman Brac isn't known for it's great topside attractions. I see Brac Scuba Shack offers rates for up to 3 dives/day, which I think is what CBBR does.

If you really want to give Brac a try, perhaps you could do a 2-tank per day dive package with CBBR and then rent tanks for afternoon shore diving from BSS and focus on dive sites with a permanent mooring or UW tie-up so you can tie off the flag. The tanks won't be free but for $10 to $12 per tank the price won't be bad, just an idea.

 

[divezonescuba]

On our last trip, I regretted doing two tank boat dives in the morning. My time would have been much better spent shore diving. On the next trip, I will probably mostly or completely do shore diving.

The same diving freedom that many people enjoy on Bonaire can also be enjoyed on Cayman Brac. They do not have unlimited nitrox diving, but the underwater topography is simply stunning in comparison.