Cayman Brac Shore dives?

[Quetzal]

Please tell me about any and all Cayman Brac shore dives. I will be staying at a house on the beach on the North East end of the Island. At keast I think its the NE end, its near the Parrot preserve. We will be there Nov 6-13
Thank You.

 

[Quetzal]

Someone has got to have shore dove on Cayman Brac. Pleeeeeeeeeease share your experiences.

 

[champ]

I have done a lot of shore diving from Grand Cayman but I have not been to Cayman Brac. All the sites are marked with a white bouy in the Caymans - if you can see a bouy and swim to it, you are set. There are a lot of good shore dives, some with easy access. The best shore dives were a bit of a swim but worth it - surface swim to the bouy drop down on the wall, turn around at 1500 psi and start your assent, your swim to shore served as a great decompression/safety stop. This was a lot better than the cattle boats, you are not limited to 100 ft max, more bottom time, you can dive north side sites rarely done by the boats.

For Grand Cayman this a great website for shore diving.
http://caymanislandsdiscounts.com/offshore_diving.htm

Not so good for Cayman but great for other shore diving info. I dove several of the sites on the Big Island of Hawaii
http://www.shorediving.com/

The best dive book for Cayman diving is "The Dive Sites of The Cayman Islands"
Here is what they have listed for shore dive sites
North Shore
1) Jan's Reef & Shark Hole (difficult from shore, 25-50ft)
2) Greenhouse Reef (difficult from shore, 25-50 ft)
3) Plymouth Reef (difficult form shore 30-50 ft)
4) Radar Reef (difficult from shore, 30-50 ft)
5) Snapper Reef (difficult from shore, 30-50 ft)
6) Grunt Valley (30-50 ft)
7) Patch Reef (30-50 ft)
8) Charlie's Reef (30-50 ft)
9) Kissimmee Rock (100m swim, 45-65 ft)
10) Fisheries Reef (long swim, 15-50 ft)

South Shore
1) Pillar Coral Reef (200 m swim, 30-50 ft)
2) Cayman Keys & Heddy's Reef (200m swim, 30-50ft)
3) Fry Cave (200 m swim, 30-50 ft)
4) Prince Frederick Wreck (20-50 ft)

Unfortunately the book does not provide info on where to park and tips on the entry point. But you don't have to worry about missing the reef since you just swim to the bouy.

I'm courious to here what you think of the shore diving on Cayman Brac. Send me a PM when you get back and let me know what sites are worth checking out.

 

[Quetzal]

Thank you very much. I will get the book you talked about. And yes I will post a report when I get back.
Anyone else?

I have done a lot of shore diving from Grand Cayman but I have not been to Cayman Brac. All the sites are marked with a white bouy in the Caymans - if you can see a bouy and swim to it, you are set. There are a lot of good shore dives, some with easy access. The best shore dives were a bit of a swim but worth it - surface swim to the bouy drop down on the wall, turn around at 1500 psi and start your assent, your swim to shore served as a great decompression/safety stop. This was a lot better than the cattle boats, you are not limited to 100 ft max, more bottom time, you can dive north side sites rarely done by the boats.

For Grand Cayman this a great website for shore diving.
http://caymanislandsdiscounts.com/offshore_diving.htm

Not so good for Cayman but great for other shore diving info. I dove several of the sites on the Big Island of Hawaii
http://www.shorediving.com/

The best dive book for Cayman diving is "The Dive Sites of The Cayman Islands"
Here is what they have listed for shore dive sites
North Shore
1) Jan's Reef & Shark Hole (difficult from shore, 25-50ft)
2) Greenhouse Reef (difficult from shore, 25-50 ft)
3) Plymouth Reef (difficult form shore 30-50 ft)
4) Radar Reef (difficult from shore, 30-50 ft)
5) Snapper Reef (difficult from shore, 30-50 ft)
6) Grunt Valley (30-50 ft)
7) Patch Reef (30-50 ft)
8) Charlie's Reef (30-50 ft)
9) Kissimmee Rock (100m swim, 45-65 ft)
10) Fisheries Reef (long swim, 15-50 ft)

South Shore
1) Pillar Coral Reef (200 m swim, 30-50 ft)
2) Cayman Keys & Heddy's Reef (200m swim, 30-50ft)
3) Fry Cave (200 m swim, 30-50 ft)
4) Prince Frederick Wreck (20-50 ft)

Unfortunately the book does not provide info on where to park and tips on the entry point. But you don't have to worry about missing the reef since you just swim to the bouy.

I'm courious to here what you think of the shore diving on Cayman Brac. Send me a PM when you get back and let me know what sites are worth checking out.

 

[caymaniac]

Some, of the shore dive sites do not have a bouy. Other notes, there is pillar coral off from the airport that would be accessible with a swim, I would not advise it as I've seen some big current on the end of the island - next stop, maybe the Yucatan. Plymouth and Greenhouse did have a bouy, as well as Charlies, Snapper and Kissimmee. No bouy at Buccaneer, radar, cemetary.

 

[ianr33]

There is some good info here
http://www.huntzinger.com/dive/brac/brac-shorediving.html
Sounds like a fun adventure,tell us how it goes

 

[gasgirl]

We were in the Brac last November and the shore diving conditions were fairly rough according to the locals (3-4 ft swells).

Radar Reef has the easiest shore entry. It is definitely worth doing more than once! It was a great night dive as well because underwater navigation was so easy (just follow the cable line). There is a friendly octopus that seems to be there every dive.

The Captain Keith Tibbetts was also definitely do-able as a shore dive. It is definitely worth the 10 min surface swim.

We did try to do a shore dive on the south side but there was a lot of surge, very little vis, and we called the dive.

Do some boat dives - the wall diving is truly breathtaking. We found Divi Tiara to be very friendly and Brac Reef to be not so much but that was just our experience.

Have fun and dive safe!

 

[champ]

Quetzal,

If you bring a digita camera, it would be greatly appeciated if you could submit a few sites to

http://www.shorediving.com/

It is nice to have pics of the entry along with a description of the dive - depth range, location of key features like caves, surface swim distance, current, coral types, fish types, hand drawn map of dive site both above ground how to find it and underwater. Shore divers need to stick together and share information. Some places like Cayman and Hawaii are getting carried away with prices for boat dives ... plus it is just so much more relaxing to do a shore dive.

 

[Quetzal]

Thanks all! Any more?

 

[caymanbraca]

Hi Quetzel,

My name is Shelly and I am new to the board. I am originally from Cayman Brac but I am in FL going to school. I would also suggest the MVP Capt. Keith Tibbetts Russian Destroyer for a shore dive. If you have any other questions please feel free to email me at sjones@islandva.net. Otherwise have a great trip.