I'm also curious about Divi. We drove past the site on our way to the dock at CBBR and from the road it looked completely gone. I didn't see any buildings, but we didn't have the time to explore.
Trip Report Back from our first visit to Cayman Brac.
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I'm also curious about Divi. We drove past the site on our way to the dock at CBBR and from the road it looked completely gone. I didn't see any buildings, but we didn't have the time to explore.
That photo of the boat launch at Handcuff Reef shows just how easy it is to get in the water at many of the shore diving sites. Completely the opposite of Bonaire. We frequently see divers at the Bonaire airport on the way back with bandages on various parts of their bodies.
If you go a little southwest of handcuff reef, there is a very interesting oblong reef in the sand. This particular reef has a number of large barrel sponges. The first time I saw it, it reminded me of that scene in the movie Aliens where they were surrounded by alien eggs.
If you go a little southwest of handcuff reef, there is a very interesting oblong reef in the sand. This particular reef has a number of large barrel sponges. The first time I saw it, it reminded me of that scene in the movie Aliens where they were surrounded by alien eggs.
The two shops are down the same road from each other, maybe a 1/4 mile. So it would be only somewhat inconvenient. Despite the fact that employees switch between the two shops, there is the normal competition between the shops. One shop will not fill the other shops tanks, etc.
The one tank policy is posted as a prominently visible sign in at least one of the shops. We briefly toyed with the idea of getting tanks from both shops, but ended up discarding the thought as being too inconvenient for how we were diving on that trip.
I also think the one tank policy is somewhat a result of the limited number of air or nitrox tanks that each shop has.
We typically bring a cooler full of frozen steaks, bacon, and chicken with us.
I had a group of 30 at CBBR last April. We had the 3 dives/day AI package. Several people in my group wanted to shore dive as well, so I rented a car. CBBR was reasonable to work with, but they certainly didn't emphasize shore diving. The timing could be a little tight. We returned from the afternoon boat dive around 3:30-4:00 (roughly). When we knew we were shore diving, we would just grab our gear and take it with us. We signed out tanks (1 per diver), piled in the car, and drove do the north shore as quickly as we could. As the leader, I wanted to be back for dinner, so the pace was a little quickened. When we got back, the dive shop was closed. We just left the tanks by the compressor and they showed us a back way into the gear drying area. Next morning, we just grabbed our gear for the boat. We just asked around for advice on where to go - I didn't do much research beforehand. We ended up shore diving Radar Reef, the Kissimmee Wreck, and Atlantis. Lots of fun. Easy entries and profiles. We didn't tow a flag (we should have), but we saw no one else at any site and fully swam back to shore to end each dive. Eagle Rays on every dive. If I went back without a group, I would probably only do the AM package and shore dive in the afternoons. Don't mean to hijack - @morecowbells thanks for your post.
Some pics from shore diving: (more CB pics)
Some pics from shore diving: (more CB pics)
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morecowbells
Contributor
Thanks for the input. You managed to take some amazing photos with pristine visibility!
Wonderful photos!
If you decide to do some late afternoon shore dives remember to bring a flashlight, because they might become night dives! Sunrise and Sunset don't vary much in places closer to the equator like Cayman as they do here in the Midwestern US, but there is some seasonal variation.
I think that in winter the Cayman sunset is around 5:30 pm and in summer it is closer to 7 pm. They don't practice Daylight Savings Time so you don't have to factor that in to your dive plans.
BrackaFish
Contributor
The old Divi site has been leveled with all buildings gone. The brush was cut back as of last month. The property is still IMHO one of the best on the island. There have been a few attempts by people to buy the property, but Divi doesn’t seem to be interested in selling. Since there are no property taxes, they can afford to sit on it as it doesn’t cost them anything. Rumor has it that they has said they will buy a new resort when they can get a casino permit. Several locals I have spoken with said that will take place shortly after hell freezes over. There is beach access via a dirt road just to the west of the property if you want to walk on the beach.
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Thanks Brackafish,
I would like to hope there will be no casino there, f**k Divi. Too bad owning the property does not cost them, does not work that way in most places. I would imagine that they did not pay for the demolition either, insult upon injury. So let it be beach.
What's happened to the Alexander Hotel?
Very best, Craig
I would like to hope there will be no casino there, f**k Divi. Too bad owning the property does not cost them, does not work that way in most places. I would imagine that they did not pay for the demolition either, insult upon injury. So let it be beach.
What's happened to the Alexander Hotel?
Very best, Craig
The Alexander Hotel will open as an Airbnb, see the article below:
Brac’s Alexander Hotel to reopen as Airbnb | Cayman Compass
I agree, no casino! I think that the Cayman government should seize the Divi site on Brac for failure to maintain the property. After all, it was the Cayman government that had to pay to level the place and clean up the mess!
The article below says that "the government has issued multiple orders over the years to the owners requiring them to clean up or face potential fines..." We know that they never did anything, they just let the place sit there and rot; so I think the Cayman government should seize the property in lieu of the back fines, demolition and clean-up costs!
Demolition of Divi Tiara planned | Cayman Compass
BrackaFish
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The why:
For a solid decade, Cozumel has been the go -to dive destination for our October vacation. My husband wanted to try somewhere new. I was initially reluctant since Cozumel is my favorite place to dive. After hearing the news that my favorite dive sites in Cozumel were off limits to divers, I felt we made the right decision in trying somewhere new. We were torn between Turks and Caicos, Belize and Cayman Brac. Since Cayman Brac offered shore diving, it offered the best balance for our diving preferences.
The How:
The traveling logistics were more complex than figuring out a Rubik’s Cube. We booked outgoing flights: St. Louis -Miami on AA. Miami directly into Cayman Brac on Cayman Airways. Returning flights were more arduous. We flew Cayman Brac to Grand Cayman on Cayman Airlines. Switched to Southwest Airlines from Grand Cayman to Fort Lauderdale (dumpy airport but less hectic than Miami) to St. Louis. Cayman Airways ran at least a good hour late on each leg. It was not a big deal for us since we had a long layover in Grand Cayman.
The Where:
I am not a big fan on doing all inclusive resorts. We booked a condo unit at Caribbean Beach Village in the West End. I will admit that I was apprehensive about this unit because it was sold to another owner just prior to our arrival. Fortunately, the unit surpassed our expectations. I am a light sleeper. This unit was by far the most peaceful place I have stayed. There as no noise from clubs, cars or roosters. While being close to the airport, the noise was minimal and during civilized hours. The beach directly in front of condo was not ideal for swimming, but next door is the Carib Sands Resort. We used their dock for boat pick up. While we didn’t do any snorkeling, I heard from others that the area around the pier offered some very good snorkeling.
Across the parking lot from the Caribbean Beach Village is the restaurant and bar ‘The Captain’s Table’. We did venture to some other (very few and limited) restaurants, but always gravitated back to The Captain’s Table. Drinks were fresh and reasonably priced, and the food was excellent. The menu offered a lot of food options and every day, their specials changed. Their taco night was my favorite. I am picky about Mexican food, so many places gringo down their spice and serve up a bland version of Mexican food; however, these tacos were delicious. The food never became repetitive.
The Who:
We booked our dives with Brac Scuba Shack. I was very satisfied with this choice. We never had more than 7 divers on the boat, and there were a few dives with only three divers. Liesel was great at communicating and setting up our dives. Captain Stuart was a seasoned professional. He made sure to find a calm area in the occasional rough seas to spend our surface interval. He was always helpful with setting up, donning and removing our gear. Our dive master Steiner has an amazing gift of finding the most obscure and camouflaged macro life. Some of the critters were literally smaller than a pencil eraser. Tanks were consistently filled at or above 3000 psi. No issues with O ring leaks. They were a well-run, professional and a very personable dive operation.
The What:
We did four days of two tank boat dives. We did two days of two tank shore dives. I was glad we did the Tibbet’s wreck as a boat dive. It would have been an arduous swim from shore. I am not a big fan of wreck dives, and do not feel comfortable diving an overhead environment. However, I enjoyed swimming around the wreck and the reefs around the wreck is where I saw eagle rays and turtles. One dive was at Tombstone Reef. In the distance was a squadron of four eagle rays. They were too far away to photograph.
The shore dives were well marked with signs. Our condo rental had a shore diving guide booklet which proved very helpful. The entrances were unlike any other place that I have shore dived. I am accustomed to navigating jagged rocks, slippery surfaces and iron shore. Here, the iron shore had cutouts with ladders and gentle entrances. Many of the areas actually had an area for swimming/snorkeling with a narrower mouth to the open sea. We were there during low season. We never came across other divers or boats. Unlike Bonaire or Curacao, there is no evidence of broken glass or other ominous signs around parked cars.
I enjoyed swimming around the Atlantis Sculpture Garden at Radar Reef. My husband was getting antsy for me to move along. Just past the sculptures, we spotted an eagle ray foraging in the sand. I was able to get fairly close. When I turned around there was a barracuda approaching me. I though it was just another of several that I saw in Brac. I decided to take some video of the guy. He went from curious to downright dickish. He was posturing and made several fast, close passes. I tucked away my camera and my husband and I stayed side by side. He must have menaced us for a good 10 minutes before swimming away.
Handcuff Reef is another dream shore entry. The swim out to the reef was about 5 minutes. The size and number of towering barrel sponges was unlike anything that I have seen. The hard corals are more of a spur and groove formation which makes for an interesting variety of critters. After our dive, we ordered some meat patties from Pioneer Bakery. They were delish! I wish we ordered some more to stash in the condo.
The Verdict:
Cayman Brac does not have the number or abundance of marine life that I have seen in Bonaire, Curacao or Cozumel. However, I thought the diving was more interesting and richer in marine life than Grand Cayman, St. Croix or Roatan. On other dive vacations I feel lucky to have one eagle ray encounter. In Cayman Brac, we saw an eagle ray every day!
I feel Cayman Brac has tremendous potential as a prime shore diving destination. Being in our 50’s, the easy entries and areas to gear up were a bonus. I am not sure why the island dive operations do not allow divers to take two tanks at a time. When shore diving, we typically head one direction, take surface interval, snack and for second dive head in the opposite direction. Returning to dive shop for the second tank is not isolated to an issue of time, but I do not like getting into a car wet more than absolutely necessary.
The people in Cayman Brac were incredibly friendly and easy going. It was such a refreshing change to visit a Caribbean destination where the presence of garbage, homes with bars on the windows, time share/store hawkers, stray dogs or broken glass in parking areas is not prevalent. The people take a lot of pride in their island which is clearly evident when exploring the island.
No trip report of mine is complete without some amateur video footage
Morecowbells,
Just wanted to know if you would return to the Brac and if you did so, what if anything would you do differently? Thanks
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