MacroFan
Registered
We moved to Grand Cayman earlier this year and have spent last couple of weeks diving in Brac and Little Cayman.
Unfortunately due to Covid, both islands are doing minimum amount of business. In Brac we stayed at Brac Reef Beach Resort on room only basis. The only option to dive was to rent tank from Brac Scuba Shack and do shore diving. We did enjoy the shore diving in Brac - we saw eagle rays, turtles, tarpons, lemon rays and sting rays as well as macros such as juvenile drums and sailfin blennies. The reef is very healthy. We enjoyed very calm water with no current, though visibility was relatively low at probably 60-70 ft. The eastern end offered more dramatic landscape. We didn't dive south shore though it was probably calm enough to do it.
I found this website to be most helpful.
Shore Diving | BracBeachHouse.com | Rosanna Sickels
We dove
1. Bert Brothers - it was a tougher entry trying to avoid the sea urchins and no "pool" area. Honestly not sure if it was worth the effort. The other site's easy entry really spoiled me. Didn't see any flying gurnard - if I did maybe I would have changed my mind!
2. Captain Keith Tibbet's wreck - long swim out but it is a very impressive wreck with lots of sea life. Much better than Kittiwake!
3. Charlie's Reef (I think) - we found several tarpons hanging out in the entry area. Super easy entry and lots of dive spots to choose from. We just dived the nearby coral heads where we saw an eagle ray hunting for food in the sand and lobster taking a walk. Overall easy fun dive.
4. Handcuff Reef - another easy entry
5. Radar Reef - enjoyed it and dove it twice.
6. Silvia's Reef - entry is easy but the water at the entry is stagnant and a bit smelly.
7. A random spot near Lynn's Reef - we couldn't find a nice entry spot and went in where we thought would be easier but found it difficult to navigate the shallow water. This was also probably the most mediocre dive. Another lesson for us to stick to the easy entry sites.
There were several spots to hook SMB as marker near the entry of all "easy entry" dive sites. We didn't see or hear any boats other than the day when we dove the wreck. The receptionist at the hotel told us that without divers sharks are getting closer to the shore and have even been spotted on the north shore.
We then travelled to Little Cayman and spent 3 days diving staying at Southern Cross. The room is beautiful as well as the dining area. Food is mediocre. Diving has been pretty good with a couple of large tame hawksbill turtles. At Jackson's Bight a couple of small sharks are hanging around. If you want shark action though, Ocean Frontier in GC is a better bet with more and bigger sharks. I was told that for the last few years sharks were rarely seen in Little Cayman but seems to have come back now that the water is quieter.
The wall and the colour of the reef is amazing in Little Cayman. I do find the walls a bit repetitive however without the larger animals. I've had some nice dives in GC in the north wall with sharks, eagle rays and one dive where I spotted 4 turtles - though most of the time the diving is mediocre with low fish density. I also feel that there is more chance of interesting macro finds in the shore diving in GC and Brac. We are planning a return weekend trip in November and I'd like to see how much the visibility improves and whether that changes the diving experience significantly before comparing it to GC and Brac.
Unfortunately due to Covid, both islands are doing minimum amount of business. In Brac we stayed at Brac Reef Beach Resort on room only basis. The only option to dive was to rent tank from Brac Scuba Shack and do shore diving. We did enjoy the shore diving in Brac - we saw eagle rays, turtles, tarpons, lemon rays and sting rays as well as macros such as juvenile drums and sailfin blennies. The reef is very healthy. We enjoyed very calm water with no current, though visibility was relatively low at probably 60-70 ft. The eastern end offered more dramatic landscape. We didn't dive south shore though it was probably calm enough to do it.
I found this website to be most helpful.
Shore Diving | BracBeachHouse.com | Rosanna Sickels
We dove
1. Bert Brothers - it was a tougher entry trying to avoid the sea urchins and no "pool" area. Honestly not sure if it was worth the effort. The other site's easy entry really spoiled me. Didn't see any flying gurnard - if I did maybe I would have changed my mind!
2. Captain Keith Tibbet's wreck - long swim out but it is a very impressive wreck with lots of sea life. Much better than Kittiwake!
3. Charlie's Reef (I think) - we found several tarpons hanging out in the entry area. Super easy entry and lots of dive spots to choose from. We just dived the nearby coral heads where we saw an eagle ray hunting for food in the sand and lobster taking a walk. Overall easy fun dive.
4. Handcuff Reef - another easy entry
5. Radar Reef - enjoyed it and dove it twice.
6. Silvia's Reef - entry is easy but the water at the entry is stagnant and a bit smelly.
7. A random spot near Lynn's Reef - we couldn't find a nice entry spot and went in where we thought would be easier but found it difficult to navigate the shallow water. This was also probably the most mediocre dive. Another lesson for us to stick to the easy entry sites.
There were several spots to hook SMB as marker near the entry of all "easy entry" dive sites. We didn't see or hear any boats other than the day when we dove the wreck. The receptionist at the hotel told us that without divers sharks are getting closer to the shore and have even been spotted on the north shore.
We then travelled to Little Cayman and spent 3 days diving staying at Southern Cross. The room is beautiful as well as the dining area. Food is mediocre. Diving has been pretty good with a couple of large tame hawksbill turtles. At Jackson's Bight a couple of small sharks are hanging around. If you want shark action though, Ocean Frontier in GC is a better bet with more and bigger sharks. I was told that for the last few years sharks were rarely seen in Little Cayman but seems to have come back now that the water is quieter.
The wall and the colour of the reef is amazing in Little Cayman. I do find the walls a bit repetitive however without the larger animals. I've had some nice dives in GC in the north wall with sharks, eagle rays and one dive where I spotted 4 turtles - though most of the time the diving is mediocre with low fish density. I also feel that there is more chance of interesting macro finds in the shore diving in GC and Brac. We are planning a return weekend trip in November and I'd like to see how much the visibility improves and whether that changes the diving experience significantly before comparing it to GC and Brac.