Cayman Aggressor IV Captain's Logs

[Aggressor Adventures]

Cayman Aggressor IV Captain’s Report Oct 20 – 27, 2012

Water temp 84f+
Air Temp 80s
Vis 80ft+
Wetsuit Req

Fifteen happy divers came from all over the USA, CANADA and England to spend a week onboard the CAIV. Some have been with us before and a few brand new faces to the Aggressor Fleet. Welcome to all. Once everyone was on board we settled down for a BBQ dinner and a good night's sleep was enjoyed by all.

Sunday. The wreck of the Doc Poulson was up first. The morning spend exploring the wreck looking for the resident moray eel, and heading off over the wall to check out the classic Cayman drop off and swim thru’s, couple of turtles, beautiful headshield slugs, and drum fish. We had two guests, Richard and Mike, already getting the urge and doing their “Wreck Specialty” with Mark. A bumpy jaunt around the island to the north side brought us to our next adventure at Stingray City. The visibility was Outstanding! The clearest the sound has been in weeks. A fantastic dive, small and large Southern rays smooching all over the divers, great photos and video. As the wind and waves were picking up on the north side we ducked out of the sound to get in one last dive on the North Side at Tarpon Alley. One Word…. Hammerhead! Incredible dive, a 10ft Hammerhead swam right underneath the divers up into the shallows and gave us a great hunting display as he chased the stingrays around for dinner. Divers coming back up whooping and hollering with excitement. Heading back around to the west side for the night dive on the Doc Poulson. Another unbelievable moment – an eagle ray behaving like a manta, kept swooping in and feeding on the small critters attracted by our lights along with giant parrot fish lodged in the wreck for the night. This was a great first night dive of the week.

Monday. Big Tunnels was the morning site, always a favorite. Large archways and swim thru’s on the edge of a wall. Turtles feeding, one with four angelfish hanging around for scraps made for great photo opportunities. A hole with four good size lobster, fantastic sponge and sea fans reaching out into the blue, teeming with fish life. The USS Kittiwake and Sand Chutes was on the menu for the afternoon. Richard and Mike finishing up their Wreck Specialty, Mike making his 50^th dive and 5^th Specialty – now qualifying for his SSI Master Scuba Diver certification. Well Done! The night dive bought a number octopus encounters, sleeping turtles and an impressive amount of bioluminescence! It was like pixie dust coming off everyone’s fins.

Tuesday. Round Rock & Trinity Caves was up first, snaking our way in and out of the swim thru’s, ducking under arch ways on pinnacles covered in life. With “Tropical Storm Sandy” starting to whip up the wind we trekked south during lunch, a bumpy ride but tucked on the Pedro’s Castle for the afternoon and dusk dives. Deep pinnacles that appear out of the blue, fabulous tongue and groove reef system, tarpon, staghorn corals and a few very large lionfish. We later enjoyed a great steak dinner prepared by Chef Kingsley and had a well-deserved good night’s sleep.

Wednesday. We moved along the south side to Lighthouse Wall. An impressive wall with swim thru’s, cuts and canyons, sponge life growing out into the blue, a great morning and a fun wall dive. “Cheeseburgers in Cayman Paradise” for lunch! The afternoon site was Kelly’s Caverns – which is really 3 Dive Sites in 1. Crushes Wall, a fantastic wall, two pinnacles and amazing life, turtles and a Reef Shark. Maggie’s Maze where Mark guiding everyone through the maze, Kelly Caverns – tongue and groove formations, drum fish, squid and another reef shark. A great day of diving, settling down for the night with strong winds on the way thanks to Hurricane Sandy.

Thursday. An early morning start and off to the southeast end, to The Maze we went. Swim thru’s, over hangs, a narrow crevice that snakes its way in and out of the wall, two fantastic pinnacles. Wow. As soon as we jumped in a loggerhead turtle meandered straight towards us, and a 7’ reef shark headed up over the wall into the shallows. The Tunnel of Love was the stop for the afternoon and dusk dives. A favorite of the week. This site starts at 45 feet and heads through the reef for 50-60’ and drops you out on the wall at 100’. Chimneys and more swim thrus under the reef made for a fun dive.

Friday. We headed back to the southwestern end to a favorite dive site, Bullwinkle! A beautiful shallow site with plenty of swim thru’s and tarpon everywhere. Lots of healthy staghorn and elk horn corals. it was a perfect dive site for the last day of a great week of diving.
But the adventure is not over yet… due to the spin off winds from Hurricane Sandy, Georgetown Harbor is closed! We moved along the island to a small dock, to enable our guests to disembark in the morning. The crew and Kingsley rustled up another superb dinner BBQ style, awards were presented and a toast to a Great Week and Fantastic Guests! Thank you all for making this another safe week of Aggressor diving in the Cayman Islands.

Until next time…
Cayman Aggressor IV crew

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Cayman Aggressor IV Captain’s Report October 27 – November 3, 2012

Water temp 85f+
Air Temp 80s
Vis 80-100f
Wet suit 3-5mm full suit

Saturday, Hurricane Sandy brought on strong winds from the north so we started our week from the south side dock at Spots Bay. Eighteen guests enjoyed Kingsley's “BBQ Chicken and Ribs” dinner and a beautiful sunset. The captains briefing and a good night’s sleep in preparation for an excellent week of eating, sleeping and diving Aggressor style followed this.

Sunday. Spots Bay was our first site of the week. A shallow reef with plenty of cuts and swim thru’s leads to the edge of the wall. A couple of turtles and an easy check out dive for all. Pedro’s Castle was our afternoon and night dive site. Five large bommies ascend from the deep off the edge of the wall make for an exciting dive and the caves, chutes tunnels and caverns were all explored with sightings of an eagle ray, spotted moray and a nice school of horse eye jacks. The night dive provided lobsters, channel crabs, sleeping parrotfish and a giant octopus eating a crab! Not a bad way to start our week!

Monday. An early morning cruise east to Lighthouse Wall put us on an incredible site for the morning. A shear wall with vertical chutes and swim thru’s made for a fun morning. Another turtle, reef shark, green eel, spotted drums and a grouper cleaning station were all enjoyed. We continued to head east to Kelly’s Caverns for the afternoon and dusk dives. Three. dive sites in one provided plenty to see and explore. The crevice that leads out to the wall is beautiful however DM Mark took a group on a cave exploring dive they will never forget and the dusk dive was enjoyed with lobsters, crabs, green moray eel and a curious reef shark.

Tuesday. First up was The Maze. This site is a little deeper than our other wall sites however the formations are incredible providing us with plenty of swim thru’s and crevices to explore. The Tunnel of Love was up for the afternoon and night dives. Several pinnacles come up from the deep; with a series of caves cuts swim thru’s and crevices for us to explore. Scorpionfish, turtles, eagle rays and another reef shark were all spotted as well as a swim thru the tunnel of love! Another great night dive with all the usual suspects coming out to say “hello”, including lobsters, crabs, spotted eels, sleeping turtle and of course an octopus!

Wednesday. Heading west along the south side we stooped at Pedro’s Pinnacles. This site is rarely dived by anyone and what an incredible morning we had! Several large pinnacles are in formation coming up to 50-60ft with plenty of reef life all over them! The photographers were going nuts taking pics and chasing critters all over the reef! Bullwinkle was the pm site! This was for many their favorite dive site of the week! A shallow reef with arches, swim thru’s, tunnels, caves and chutes filled with tarpon made for a great afternoon of diving before we headed west to do our night dive at the Aquarium. Wow! what a night dive! You name it we saw it! Lobsters, channel crabs, spotted eels, green moray, spotted drums, scorpion fish, yellow spotted rays and a giant 4 ft (7ft by the end of the night) giant alpha male spotlight parrot fish! Many guests stated this was the best night dive they ever did! Wow!

Thursday. Big Tunnels was the morning site. Without doubt one of the best wall dives in GCM! Today we cruised over to Orange Canyon to take a quick look before exploring the tunnels and caves. A friendly turtle came by only to be missed by our own turtle whisperer “Jen”, however she made up for it on the second dive as not only did she see one, but 3 were spotted on the dive! The wreck of the Kittiwake was our afternoon site. Here we get the chance to explore the newest wreck in the Caribbean. This 270 long US Navy submarine rescue vessel sank in Jan 2011 made for a great afternoon of diving exploring all four decks. “Oscar”, the Goliath grouper made an appearance, as did a couple of turtles and a lone eagle ray! Doc Poulson was up for our dusk dive. The wreck sits in 50ft of clear, warm Caribbean water and there are always plenty of critters including our resident green eel, giant mutton snapper and another friendly turtle! Jennifer was happy to say the least! J

Friday. Always comes too quickly! Several guests opted for a pre-breakfast dive at 5.45am. Don’t ask me why? J Another favorite of the week and as always Devils Grotto was our last dive of the week. Swim thrus, caves, cracks and crevices were there for the exploring always a great way to end a great end a week of diving on the Cayman Aggressor IV.

Congrats go out to Brian for completing his SSI Nitrox and Advanced class and to Rudi for completing his 1000 dive, also to Jennifer for hitting her 100th dive and as Aggressor SOP mandates she was treated to being made “The Cake!” And a BIG thank you to all for making this another safe week of diving! Linda come back soon!!! J

Until next time…
Cayman Aggressor IV Crew

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Cayman Aggressor IV Captain’s Report Nov 3 – 10, 2012

Water temp 81f+
Air Temp 80s
Vis 80ft+
Wetsuit Req: 3mm full suit/shorty

Seventeen excited divers from all over the USA, Canada and the UK joined us for another week of fun in the sun Cayman style. A short cruise up the West Bay gave us time to enjoy our BBQ dinner on the sundeck followed by our welcome aboard briefing and a good night’s sleep in anticipation for our upcoming day of diving.

Sunday. We woke to windy but calm conditions, and blue skies! The wreck of the Doc Poulson was our first site. Perfect locations to check out any new gear, photograph the wreck, explore the drop off and generally get wet. An afternoon dive on the wreck of the Kittiwake was our last stop before we headed out into bumpy seas for our crossing to Little Cayman.

Monday. Yes we had a bumpy ride over but everyone survived I think! J Randi’s Gazebo was our first site and here we enjoyed descending into the blue, cruising the drop off exploring the chimneys and swimming through the archway. 3 Fathom Wall was the first afternoon site and 3 dive sites in one make for plenty of things to see, including golden coneys. Queen angelfish, sleeping stingrays, lobsters, rainbow squid, Nassau groupers, another reef shark, and a beautiful eagle ray all were spotted! Meadows was the late afternoon site! Here we managed to enjoy 2 dives on the shallow reef top! And explore the swim thrus. “Cosmo” the friendly Nassau grouper came by, so did an eagle ray, several turtles, nurse shark, and a couple curious of reef sharks. For the night dive we saw all the usual suspects including channel crabs, lobsters, rainbow squid, eels and of course a giant green/blue octopus!

Tuesday. Lea Lea’s Lookout was our AM site. Here we get to enjoy the crevice that runs from the 20ft shallows out to the wall at 100ft! Today we were treated to 2 feeding reef sharks, another sleeping nurse shark at the “Shark Motel”, 2 spotted drums, mating cow fish, free-swimming green eel and more lobsters than we could all eat! For the night dive more nocturnal critters came out to play with more crabs, more lobsters and another octopus! Wow what a great day of diving!

Wednesday. An early before dawn start to our day today. 14 gung ho divers jumped in before the sun came up to see a reverse night-dive. Sharks, several turtles, schooling jacks, grouper cleaning stations and a shear wall were all enjoyed on Nancy’s Cup Of Tea. Our second great dive was spent exploring the pinnacle, wall drop off and Paul’s old anchors. The “Great Wall” was up for the afternoon dive. Here we have “Freddie” and his band of very friendly groupers, more turtles, and even more lobsters were spotted. Another incredible day of diving CAIV style!

Thursday. Big Tunnels was up first! 2 great dives on the swim thru’s, tunnels and chutes! A couple of friendly turtles and nice easy swim over to Orange Canyon followed by an exploration dive thru the tunnels. We moved down to the south side to dive the formations at Bullwinkle where a couple of dozen tarpon gave us the curious eye and checked us out swimming by, as did a giant green eel, scorpion fish and another turtle. Pedro’s Castle (now renamed Precious Castle) was our afternoon and dusk dive. Several incredible pinnacles off the edge of the wall and a maze of caves and tunnels made for two awesome dives and the night dive produced gaggles of lobsters, crabs and another beautiful octopus! Wow - what a great day of GCM diving!

Friday. Just 2 dives left! As we enjoyed “Precious Castle” so much we decided to do our first AM dive here again and finishing our week at the drop off of Eagle Ray Rock! Congrats go out to all our UW photographers on capturing all the amazing pics that were taken and to you all for making this another wonderful week of Aggressor diving in the Cayman Islands

Until next time…
Cayman Aggressor IV crew.

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Cayman Aggressor IV Captain’s Report Nov 10 – 17, 2012

Water temp 85f+
Air Temp 80s
Vis 80-100f

Wet suit 3-5mm full suit
Saturday. We departed Georgetown dock with 18 guests enjoying a BBQ dinner and beautiful sunset. Followed by the captain’s briefing and a good night’s sleep in preparation for an excellent week of eating, sleeping and diving. This week was the start of the celebrations of Pirate's Week! So a few night owlers decided to head out on the town and check the actives!

Sunday. Doc Poulson was up first. The wreck sits in 50ft of clear, warm Caribbean water and there are always plenty of critters including out resident green eel, giant mutton snapper, a couple of eagle rays and friendly turtle! A nice drop off brought in another turtle and eagle ray and garden eels. The wreck of the Kittiwake was our afternoon site here we get the chance to explore the newest wreck in the Caribbean. 270 long US Navy submarine rescue vessel sank in Jan 2011 made for a great afternoon of diving exploring all 4 decks and the night dive here produced all the usuals including huge channel clinging crabs, sleeping turtles, lobsters, squid and octopus!

Monday. Our first dive site was Big Tunnels, as a series of swim thru’s, caves and tunnels make for an incredible morning of diving! The winds were picking up from the west so we headed south to Pedro Castle. This is a majestic site with swim thru’s, alleys, cuts and caves with a shear drop off into the deep abyss! Awesome! Several of us swam over to the caverns here in 30ft water. We enjoyed getting lost in the maze-like formations with cave after cave to explore and get lost! The dusk dive produced free-swimming eels, lobsters, crabs, octopus and a huge sleeping turtle!

Tuesday. Lighthouse Wall was up first! Calm south side seas made for a beautiful sun-filled morning and two awesome dives on the wall with its wonderful crevices and the maze on the inside. A great site to go out for a long swim around all the swim thru’s and cracks made getting back to the boat a whole lot of fun! Kelly’s Caverns was up for the PM dives and once again we had a great afternoon and night dive exploring the wall and series of caverns that give the site its name! A couple of turtles, reef shark and nurse shark all came by to say hello and the reef was covered with a variety small tropical fish, colorful sponges and a couple of friendly trunkfish, horse eye jacks, groupers, green eels and more of the same!

Wednesday. The Maze on the East End was our morning site! Always a great location to spot a reef shark or two and DM Mark loves to show everyone around this site as it knows it like the back of his hand! The afternoon and dusk dive was spent at the Tunnel of Love. Once again we enjoyed the swim thru’s on the edge of the wall as well as the “tunnel of love” that is a vertical shaft that drops down from 60 to 100 ft like a chimney stack. The dusk dive produced all the usual critters including stone crabs, lobsters, squid and a couple of friendly octopus! Wow what a great day of diving!

Thursday morning we made a short ride down the coast to Pedro’s Pinnacles. This place is off the chart! We don’t get the chance to dive here very often but when we do its always a treat! Huge pinnacles rise from the deep providing homes for plenty of reef critters including large mutton snappers, groupers, scorpion fish, stingrays, eagle rays and of course turtles! Two awesome dives were enjoyed before we headed to Bullwinkle for our afternoon dives. Here we have a shallow 20-50ft reef with amazing swim thru’s, cuts and formations making it a perfect hang out for the tarpon!

Friday, and as always, Devils Grotto was our last dive of the week. Swim throughs, caves, cracks and crevices were there for the exploring. This is always a great way to end a great end a week of diving on the Cayman Aggressor IV. A BIG thank you to all for making this a safe week of diving!

Until next time…
Cayman Aggressor IV Crew

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Cayman Aggressor IV Captain’s Report Nov 17 – 24, 2012

Water temp 85f+
Air Temp 87s + Thunderstorms
Vis 100ft+

Wetsuit Req: 3mm shorty
All 18 guests arrived on Sat afternoon with happy faces and were eager to get going! But today was the last day of Pirates Week so we stayed at the dock to enjoy the fireworks and local festivities.

Sunday. We woke to calm seas and blue skies! The wreck of the Doc Paulson was our first site, a perfect location for our check out dive! Here we had a chance to check out any new gear, photograph the wreck, explore the drop off and generally get wet! Stingray City was our afternoon site before we headed to Little Cayman! Here we got the chance to be molested by these pesky little critters, plenty of fun was had. What a great day to start our week!

Monday. Randi’s Gazebo was our first site and here we enjoyed descending into the blue, cruising the drop off, exploring the chimneys and swimming through the archway where we spotted a sleeping nurse shark in on the ledge, a couple of turtles, scorpion fish, cow fish and a cruising reef shark. 3 Fathom Wall was the afternoon site. Three dive sites in one make for plenty of things to see! Golden coneys, queen angle fish, sleeping stingrays, lobsters, rainbow squid, Nassau groupers, another reef shark, and a beautiful eagle ray all were spotted! Meadows was the afternoon site and what a great afternoon it was. We stayed for two dives to enjoy the shallow reef top and explore the swim thrus. “Cosmo”, the friendly Nassau grouper, came by and so did an eagle ray, several turtles, nurse shark, school of squid and plenty of curious reef sharks. The dusk dive was enjoyed by many of our guests, with all the usual suspects coming out to say “hello”.

Tuesday. Lea Lea’s Lookout was our AM site. Here we got to enjoy the crevice that runs from the 20ft shallows out to the wall at 100ft! Today we were treated to 2 reef sharks, another sleeping nurse shark, 2 spotted drums, mating triggers, free-swimming green eel and a couple of turtles. The winds were increasing and the swells were picking up so we headed back over to GCM.

Wednesday. Big Tunnels was the morning site. Here we enjoyed all the swim thru’s, cuts, crevices and caverns that make this a very popular site here in GCM. Today we were treated to a free-swimming green moray eel, two giant turtles and a huge pufferfish came by to say “hi”! Pedro’s Castle was next on the south side of the Island! What a great place for an afternoon and night dive! Two daylight dives were enjoyed as well as a very productive night dive with many crabs, lobsters, sleeping parrotfish, and yes – octopus!

Thursday. The Pinnacles also known as “The Fish Market” was our morning site. As always this sight turned out to be one of our week’s favorites with plenty of chutes, caverns, and swim thru’s again! Lesley was our eagle ray spotter as well as spotting a couple of turtles and a large barracuda under the boat! Bullwinkle was our PM site and is always a hit with the resident tarpon, turtles, giant green eels and plenty of reef critters.

Friday. An early before dawn start to our day today. 8 ‘Gung Ho’ divers jumped in before the sun came up to see a reverse night-dive and boy does breakfast taste so-o-o much better after a early dive. Just one dive left to enjoy. As always Devils Grotto was our last dive of the week and is always a favorite. All that’s left to do is wash our gear and get ready for a cold drink or two at the farewell party. Thank you all for making this another wonderful week of Aggressor diving in the Cayman Islands.

Until next time…
Cayman Aggressor IV crew.

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Cayman Aggressor IV Captain’s Report Dec 1 – 8, 2012

Water temp 82f+ Air Temp 80s
Vis 100ft+
Wetsuit 3-5mm full suit

Greetings once again from the good ole Cayman Islands! We were joined by guests from all over the USA, Canada, and the UK. We enjoyed a lovely BBQ dinner followed by our safety briefing and a good night’s sleep in anticipation for the upcoming dives.
Sunday. South West Cut (aka Bullwinkle’s) was our first dive here on the south side. Beautiful archways and swim thrus make a great hiding place for our resident tarpon to hang and look impressive to our divers. A short cruise east put us at Pedro’s Castle for the afternoon and night dive. A giant green eel, turtle and an eagle ray were all spotted and the night dive produced crabs lobsters, sleeping turtle and an octopus! Not a bad first day!

Monday. Heading further east we stopped at Lighthouse Wall. A shear drop off with several crevices running through the edge of the wall make for some fun dives, spotted eels, hog fish, giant groupers and spectacular sponge formations. The afternoon was spent at Kelly’s Caverns and Quarry Wall. Two awesome sites with a shear wall pinnacles and the caverns and caves. Turtles, a reef shark, nurse shark, scorpion fish, spotted drums and a beautiful school of jacks made for a great afternoon of diving. The dusk dive was awesome with all the usual nocturnal critters including two octopuses and a sleeping turtle.

Tuesday we headed over to The Fish Market! This is one of our most spectacular south side sites with a series of swim thrus cuts, cracks, tunnels and crevices for us all to explore as well as plenty of reef critters. Spots Bay was up next! Once again we had a great afternoon of diving, the winds were dropping down and the vis was over 100ft! We enjoyed two eagle rays, green eels, turtles, several nurse sharks and the beautiful caverns and swim thrus at the drop off! And again the night dive produced all the usual critters.

Wednesday. We headed to south west point and to Eagle Ray Pass for the morning. Always a great opportunity to encounter an eagle ray or two! And again we saw a giant ray feeding in the sand! As well as a giant green eel, turtle, a nice school of jacks and a strange bump head looking type of grouper or wrasse? A short journey up west bay enjoying our lunch on the sundeck put us on the wreck of the Kittiwake! A former US Navy submarine research vessel it is now the Caribbean’s newest wreck! Always a fun dive to explore the wreck from the inside out and today we enjoyed “Oscar”, the Goliath grouper as well as the resident school of horse eye jacks, a turtle and another monster green eel!

Thursday. The wind had dropped so we had an early start and cruised over to the north side to dive the North Wall at Rhum Point! Wow spectacular vis a free swimming eel, three turtles and a visit by “Stinky” the lone dolphin! One that Andy will never forget! Stingray City was up next! Once again we were molested by these pesky critters and have the war wounds to prove it! We motored over to the West Bay for our late afternoon and dusk dive at the Aquarium!

Friday. As always come around too fast! Two last morning dives and as always our last dive at Devils Grotto finished off our week of diving Cayman style! All that’s left is to wash down our gear, pack our bags and drink a cold one or two at the farewell party. Congrats go out to Hicham & Ken for completing their SSI Nitrox class and thanks to all for making this a wonderful safe week of Eat Sleep & Dive Aggressor style.

Until next time
The Crew of the Cayman Aggressor IV

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Cayman Aggressor IV Captain’s Report Dec 8 – 15, 2012

Water temp 82f+
Air Temp 80s
Vis 80-100f
Wet suit 3-5mm full suit

Saturday. We were joined by 16 excited guests for another week of fun in the sun! First of all we enjoyed a BBQ dinner and beautiful sunset which then was followed by the captains briefing and a good night’s sleep in preparation for an excellent week of eating, sleeping and diving.

Sunday. Doc Poulson was up first. The wreck sits in 50 ft of clear, warm Caribbean water and there’s always plenty of critters including our resident green eel, giant mutton snapper, a couple of eagle rays and friendly turtle! A nice drop off brought in another turtle and eagle ray and garden eels. The wreck of the Kittiwake was our afternoon site. Here we get the chance to explore the newest wreck in the Caribbean. This 270 foot long US Navy submarine rescue vessel that was sunk in Jan 2011 made for a great afternoon of diving exploring all 4 decks. “Oscar”, the Goliath grouper, and a turtle were enjoyed as well as several brown sea hares. The night dive produced all the usuals, including a giant lobster, peacock flounder, spotted eel, flame scallop, green moray eel and plenty of giant spotlight parrotfish.

Monday. Big Tunnels was up first! What an incredible wall dive we had. A series of swim thrus, chutes, crevices and caves made for a fun dive, as well as a free-swimming green eel, turtle and a beautiful eagle ray! Our second dive site was Stingray City. Once again we were molested by these frisky critters and just about everyone had the wounds to prove it. A short cruise along the north side put us at Babylon! Wow - what a great dive we had! A shear wall with plenty of hanging sponges, cup sponges and a beautiful crevice made for a great dive. The weather was improving so we decided to head over to Little Cayman and Bloody Bay Wall!

Tuesday. Randy’s Gazebo was up first! This site has it all. A shallow reef, a shear wall archways, swim thrus, two chimneys and plenty of reef critters. Also a couple of nurse sharks, lobsters yellow spotted ray and plenty of nudibranchs we found! The Meadows was our afternoon site! As always we were thrilled by the amount of critter life here. Schooling jacks, giant barracuda, eagle ray, turtles and several curious sharks kept the photographers busy! We enjoyed the wall, swim thrus, along with the maze and the night dive here delivered up all the usual suspects, including spotted drums, sleeping turtles, lobsters, crabs and a beautiful out and about octopus! Wow!

Wednesday. We enjoyed the shear wall at Leah Leah’s Lookout the majestic swim thrus and the reef was covered with a variety small tropical fish, colorful sponges and a couple of friendly smooth trunkfish that posed for an excellent photo. The wall was alive and spectacular and the caverns were amazing! Two nurse sharks, another turtle, green eel, scorpion fish and more lobster than we could count! The afternoon was spent not at one, or even two, but three dives sites. We enjoyed all that 3 Fathom Wall, Donna's Delight and Marilyn’s Cut had to offer. We had walls, shallow 20-foot reef tops, swim thrus, shark alley, friendly groupers, eagle rays, stingrays, lobsters and “Frederica” our Labrador Nassau grouper. The dusk/night dive produced once again a myriad of channel crabs, spotted eels, lobsters, scorpion fish, sharks and yes more octopus! Another great day of Cayman diving.

Thursday morning. Yep, we had many ‘gung ho’ divers wanting to get wet nice and early! Very early before the sun even came up they entered the water around 5.50 am - Yes I said AM! To catch the reef on a reverse night dive! What a way to start your day and boy does breakfast taste sooo much better! All enjoyed another dive at Nancy’s Cup Of Tea, as was the Bus Stop with its caves, tunnels, and swim thrus, but let’s not forget the hunt for the sailfin blenny and snapping shrimp. Two dives at the Great Wall with its shallow reef and shear wall with resident labragrouper “Freddie” completed our diving here in LC and we enjoyed Kinsley’s dinner on our crossing back to the BIG Island!

Friday. Trinity Caves was our first site here we get to enjoy the swim thrus, caves, and crevices before we moved over to Devils Grotto for our last dive of the week. Swim thrus, caves, cracks and crevices were there for the exploring. This is always a great way to end a great end a week of diving on the Cayman Aggressor IV. Congrats go out to Britney, Joan, Ji and Kevin for completing their SSI Nitrox class, and a BIG thank you to all for making this a safe week of diving!

Happy upcoming holidays to everyone out there who’s been on the boat or are coming down to see us in 2013.
Until next time…
Cayman Aggressor IV Crew

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Cayman Aggressor IV Captain’s Report December 22 – 29, 2012

Water temp 26 C/81f+
Air Temp 86s +
Vis 100ft+
Wetsuit Req: 3mm shorty


Christmas Week Charter 2012
A full boat this week with 19 guests ready to celebrate Christmas and spend the holiday season diving with us in the Cayman Islands. The adventure started Saturday afternoon as we ferried everyone out to the boat from Spotts Dock. Due to very strong winds and conditions in the harbor being unsafe, we had to move the Cayman Aggressor IV to the south side of the island for boarding. They were a very friendly group of people and we had a fantastic atmosphere from the kickoff. Thanks to Kingsley we all enjoyed a BBQ dinner of ribs, jerk chicken and all the fixings, a good night’s sleep after a day’s traveling.

Sunday. Ready to Dive! Spott’s Cove was our first dive site and a great place to get re-acquainted with the sea and dive gear, as for some folks it has been a few years. Giant stride off the back deck and it all comes back. Great coral heads, and finger reefs heading down towards the wall. Pedro’s Castle was the afternoon and night dive site. This is a crew favorite. Pinnacles dropping down into the blue, schooling fish teeming over the reefs, elk and staghorn corals basking in the sunlight. The night dive delighted us with octopus, huge lobsters, spotted eels and stingrays. Afterwards, a boat full of very happy divers settled down to a movie and fresh popcorn.

Monday. Christmas Eve and we moved east along the South Coast. Lighthouse Wall was the first morning dive site, and Deb’s 200^th dive! Well done! This site has an impressive drop off the wall with very healthy soft and hard corals and rivers of blue chromis pouring over the reef. Kelly’s Caverns was the next stop. Mark guiding everyone through the maze. Lucky for all he actually knew the way! Tunnel of Love was, as always, a highlight with all divers. The wall is covered in sponges and we went coasting through the ‘Tunnel of Love’ to emerge out off the wall at 100’ where a reef shark stopped by to check us out. Scorpion fish, spotted drums and stingrays made for a perfect final dive on Christmas Eve. After securing the vessel, we headed off for Little Cayman, which is 80 nautical miles (NM) to the NE. We were all hoping Father Christmas would be able to find us as we travelled.

Tuesday. Merry Christmas to all! After a little bumpy cruise we arrive in the calm waters of Bloody Bay! It turns out that Santa did find us, and left a horde of goodies under our tree! Christmas Breakfast was amazing Eggs Benedict, “Thanks Kingsley” and the first morning dive was Randy’s Gazebo. Chimneys, archways, giant sponges, turtles and very friendly groupers greeted the divers this morning. The Meadows provided the excitement for the rest of the day and dusk dives, and what a great afternoon it was. Natural sand channels forming swim thru’s right under the reef to drop out on the wall. ‘Cosmo’ and his gang of friendly Nassau groupers came by, so did several turtles, a nurse shark sleeping right under the boat and plenty of reef sharks. Jitka had a close encounter with one of our reef sharks that was very interested in what she was looking at, and her fin J. Wow - what a great day of diving! Christmas Dinner was a really special night. Roast Duck dinner, plenty of wine and bubbly going around and everyone got a present! Guess everyone was good this year (phew).

Wednesday. Lea Lea’s Lookout was our morning site. Here we got to enjoy the crevice that runs from the 20ft shallows, out to the wall at 100ft! Today, we were treated to a green moray eel and more giant channel crabs than we could all eat! Donna’s Delight was next and was everyone’s delight today with one of the sheerest walls you will ever see outside of a city! This site is covered in a tapestry of colorful sponges, and we even spotted a small school of squid! The final dive site this Boxing Day was Bus Stop. Something for everyone with a mini wall, a shark alley, swim thru’s and of course more of the Little Cayman Wall. Friendly groupers, friendly sharks, and of course for the macro hunters, the sought after Sailfin Blennie. Big congratulations to Stephanie who knocked out her 100^th dive on the night dive.

Thursday. An early before dawn start to our day today. Seven ‘Gung Ho’ divers jumped in before the sun came up to see a reverse night-dive with sharks, turtles, jacks, groupers and a knarly wall at Nancy’s Cup of Tea. Once the sun came up the search was on for ancient anchors and cannons that are hundreds of years old, encrusted with corals. The world famous dive site The Mixing Bowl/3 Fathom Wall was up next. What can I say, but wow – wow - Wow! The dramatic collision between Bloody Bay Wall and the Jackson Bight topography is awesome. A shear wall, giving way to a swim thru ridden reef filled with schools of mahogany snapper and grunts, chubs, horse eye jacks, sleeping rays, nurse sharks and very much awake yellow headed jawfish. We then had lots of happy divers hungry for lunch! The Great Wall was our final dive site before we had to head back to Grand Cayman. What a great way to finish in LC. This site offers 25ft to the top of the wall then dropping down 300ft into the deep! . Here we have ‘Freddie’ and his band of very friendly groupers, more turtles, spotted drums, yellow rays, a free-swimming green moray eel, and of course the shear wall!

Friday. The Kittiwake. What a treat for our wreck lovers. Purposely sunk two years ago, she is a fun wreck and an ex-submarine Rescue Vessel where loads of critters have moved in, including a resident Goliath grouper and a barracuda checking himself out in the mirrors in the bathroom. Right next to the reef is a labyrinth of reef that is yet another Cayman reef. As always, Devils Grotto was our last dive of the week and is always a favorite. All that’s left to do now is wash our gear and get ready for a cold drink or two at the farewell party.

Congrats go out to Jen for completing her SSI Digital Underwater Photographer class – she has great photos to take home! A BIG thank you to all, for making this a wonderful Christmas week of Aggressor diving in the Cayman Islands.
Happy New Year to you all. Safe diving.

Until next time…
Cayman Aggressor IV crew.







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[Aggressor Adventures]

Cayman Aggressor IV Captain’s Report Dec 29 – Jan 5, 2013

Water temp 80f+
Air Temp 80s Windy
Vis 80-100f
Wet suit 3-5mm full suit

We have a multi national boat this week, with representations from the US, Guatemala, Brazil, Italy, Germany, UK and Canada! Andrew was first in the water with a quick dive in the Bay to get ahead on his Open Water Course. We enjoyed a BBQ dinner and beautiful sunset on the sundeck, looking out on Georgetown (the best view in town). We stayed at the dock while we waited for the final guest to arrive on a late flight. After the captain’s briefing, everyone enjoyed a good night’s sleep in preparation for an excellent week of Eating, Sleeping and Diving.

Sunday. We departed Georgetown dock early in the morning with 18 guests for a short cruise up to the West Side. Doc Poulson was up for our first dive site. The wreck sits in 50 ft of clear, warm Caribbean water and we always plenty of critters to find, including our resident green eel, giant mutton snapper, plenty of stingrays going about their business and a friendly turtle! The wreck of the Kittiwake was our afternoon site here we got the chance to explore this two year old wreck. This is a 270-foot long US Navy submarine rescue vessel sank in Jan 2011 that made for a great afternoon of diving exploring all 4 decks. Andrew completed his 4^th Open Water Dive! He is now a certified Open Water Scuba Diver!! Well Done. Of course he was made into a ‘cake’ on the dive deck when he surfaced. The night dive produced all the usual, including huge channel clinging crabs, sleeping turtles, lobsters and a very colorful octopus.

Monday. Heading to the South Side, Bullwinkle was our morning site; one of the crew’s favorites. A 60 ft dive, finger formations, swim throughs, schooling tarpon, beautiful stag and elk horn corals (hence the name). For the macro lovers this site hosts a large population of yellow-headed jawfish and always the hunt for nudibranchs. A free-swimming moray eel surprised Marla on her way back to the boat. Pedro’s Castle was the stop for New Years Eve. Nestled into a cove, sheltered from the swell, the perfect spot for afternoon, night and Midnight Dives!! Five divers loaded on coffee and excitement jumped in the water in 2012, popped a bottle of champagne at midnight, and returned to the boat in 2013! Pretty Cool. A toast back on board, with a few fireworks, along with the fireworks on the shoreline made for a Happy New Year’s Celebration.

Tuesday. Happy New Years Day. What better way to kick off the New Year than a morning dive on Round Rock/Trinity Caves. Three turtles, moray eels, fantastic swim throughs, and pinnacles covered in sea fans, corals and an array of sponge life. Very happy divers back on the boat after two dives, ‘Burgers in Paradise’ for lunch. Life is good. The afternoon and night dives took place at Killa Puffa Reef. A beautiful shallow reef with plenty of friendly critters, hanging just under the boat was a large barracuda. A short swim away we found groupers, a snapper followed us along. Neale had an angelfish for company. On the night dive plenty of nocturnal critters, the Killa Puffa. Ok, maybe not the Killa Puffa, but it was a beautiful porcupinefish and a common octopus with one leg missing!

Wednesday. Our first dive site was Big Tunnels. Turtles, turtles and more turtles! Here we enjoyed amazing swim throughs and archways along the edge of the wall, and rivers of blue chromis. The wall was teeming with action. The current started to pick up, so we moved around to the north side of the island to Sting Ray City! The perfect day for this Iconic Cayman dive, 6 beautiful lady rays swam around our divers, taking squid and entertaining us all. The rays stayed close, so we were able to get lots of wonderful pictures and great video. Just perfect. During lunch we headed off to Babylon, where we stayed for the afternoon and night dive. This site has both a fantastic wall and an incredible pinnacle. Slowly circling the pinnacle, corkscrewing our way up, one could very easily spend the whole dive just there, but we have more to check out on the wall and surrounding reef. Later our night dive was full of huge clinging channel crabs and lobster!

Thursday. Still on the north side, Rum Point was the site of choice for our morning dives. The North Wall is rugged and full of nooks and crannies that are filled with lionfish, turtles, a nurse shark and a special appearance by the local lone dolphin. He hung our by our hang chain for the whole morning entertaining us with his antics. An amazing experience to be diving with a wild dolphin! In the afternoon, we cruised over to the Aquarium at the wreck of Oro Verde. Exploring this wreck we were able to see yellow-headed jaw-fish and a couple of the male jawfish had eggs in their mouth. As we cruised by the reef near the wreck we were up close and personal with a turtle, giant parrotfish, and a beautiful green moray swimming out in the open.

Friday. We moved to Eagle Ray Rock. Large coral formations, channels and swim throughs, a resident giant snapper, watching for eagle rays in the sand. A fabulous site full of healthy soft corals and juvenile fish life. Devil’s Grotto completed the 29^th Dive for the week!!! A maze of tunnels and overhangs with tarpon hanging at every bend. A great dive to finish a great week and the first week of diving for 2013!

Congrats go out to Andrew for completing his PADI Open Water Diver. We would like to say Thanks To Everyone For Making This New Years Week A Safe Fun Week Of Eating, Sleeping And Diving!!!!

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON!!!!
Until Next Time…
Cayman Aggressor IV Crew

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Cayman Aggressor IV Captain’s Report Feb 9 – 16, 2013

Water temp 80f+
Air Temp 80s
Vis 80-100f
Wet suit 3-5mm full suit

Saturday. We have just completed 5 weeks of dry-docking the vessel in La Ceiba Honduras! A complete overhaul of the plumbing, a/c, fill station, cabins/heads, sundeck and dive deck including a fresh coat of paint all over made the good “Ole” CAIV look and operate “Good As New”. We are excited to be back in Georgetown waiting for our first group of 16 guests to arrive so we can provide them with a fun week of “Eat Sleep & Dive” here in the Cayman Islands! We had late arrivals due to the massive snowstorm in the Northeast US so we decided to stay at the dock and have an early morning departure to our first dive site!

Sunday. 5.30AM we departed Georgetown and headed up the West Bay to our am site at the Doc Polson. This small wreck that was sunk in 1994 provided a perfect place to get in, check our gear, check out the local marine life and get wet! A short cruise over to the Wreck of the Kittiwake made for a great afternoon of wreck diving on the US Navy Submarine Rescue vessel that was sunk in 2011. Four decks, a recompression chamber, engine rooms, bridge and numerous compartments made for a fun afternoon. We were also treated to a long visit by “Oscar” the 300 lb Goliath grouper chowing down on the resident school of silversides. The night dive was enjoyed by only a few but we enjoyed a couple of crabs, giant lobsters and a free-swimming green eel. Not a bad first day of diving Cayman style! J

Monday. The am dives were wall dives at “Big Tunnels. Here we got to explore and enjoy the swim thru’s, tunnels, alleyways and cuts that all lead out to the wall! Today must have been turtle gathering day as we enjoyed the company of five different turtles! The weather was improving and the wind is dropping so we have decided to head north to enjoy Stingray City before we make the 90-mile crossing to Little Cayman!

Tuesday. Our first dive site on Little Cayman was Randy’s Gazebo, which is always a favorite in LC because of the sheer wall, archway, great vis and the two chimneys to explore. Today we were treated to two turtles, a sleeping nurse shark and a grouper being cleaned at the grouper fish wash! Meadows was up next and what an incredible afternoon we had! You name it we saw it including, eels, friendly groupers, stingrays, tarpon, schooling jacks, giant barracuda and of course our four resident reef sharks. The dusk dive was enjoyed by all! What a great way to finish a great day of diving than to watch the sun go down at 40ft! Another truly wonderful day of Bloody Bay diving!

Wednesday. We cruised a short ways down Bloody Bay Wall to dive at Leah Leah’s Lookout. Two incredible crevices, a shear wall and a pinnacle, along with sightings of a nurse shark and plenty of groupers in cleaning stations. We had 150 vis and warm waters. The afternoon was spent on 3 Fathom Wall where we have 3 dive sites in one! ‘Alfreddo’ the grouper came by, as did a spotted eagle ray, a couple of turtles, reef shark, lobsters, and channel crabs. Again the dusk dive wowed everyone producing more lobsters, green eels, more crabs, sleeping nurse shark and plenty of early sleeping reef critters!

Thursday. Eight guests had an unusual way to start the day by jumping in before sunrise to enjoy a predawn dive at Nancy’s Cup Of Tea. What a great way to start Valentines Day! Always a fun dive and breakfasts tastes twice as good! We then had another second dive here that allowed for a swim up the wall and through the swim thru to find the lost anchors! More sharks came by to say ‘hello’, as did another eagle ray and plenty of groupers. The wall was beautiful with 150ft+ vis and a shear drop into the deep. The Bus Stop was up next. Probably one the best dive sites in the Caribbean in my opinion. We have the shallow reef and mini wall, Shark Alley, and then Cumbers Caves all at one site! The swim thru’s are beautiful and the hunt for the elusive “Sail Fin Blenny” was very successful! This completes our dives in LC and it’s time to enjoy our dinner and cruise the 75 miles back over to the west side of Grand Cayman. The weather is excellent so we are hoping for a calm crossing! J

Friday. Our first dive of the morning was at the Aquarium, which is always a fun critter filled dive. We then moved to Devils Grotto for our last dive of the week with swim throughs, caves, cracks and crevices that were there for the exploring. This is always a great way to end a great end a week of diving on the Cayman Aggressor IV.

Congrats go out to Carla, Harvey, Jason and Adam for completing their SSI Nitrox class. It was really nice to see so many familiar faces, and a few new ones. A BIG ‘Thank You’ to all for making this a safe week of wonderful diving in the Cayman Islands - Aggressor style!

Until next time…
Cayman Aggressor IV Crew