Cayman Islands...

[BartBe]

Hi everybody...

I'm new... New to the forum... New to Diving... still wet and green behind the ears...ut:

First of all i want to thank everyone on the forum for tons of reading pleasure and info... As i'm not diving yet and this is probably the closest i can get at the moment

Next week i finally start my PADI OW and I can't wait !!
With all the stuff I learned from you guys I get the impression that it will take me about 10mins to get hooked (if i'm not hooked yet).

In Januari i'll be going to the Cayman Islands for two weeks and i obviously plan on doing some diving overthere. I've read the treads about the caymans and SRC and it all sounds absolutely wonderfull !

I would like to ask if anyone has some more advice for me as I will be a 'NEWBIE' diver when i get there.
How do i choose a good diveshop ?
Does anyone know of any good (and patient) DC's with good guidance for newbies ?
Are there any divesites that are better left to the more experienced diver ?
What NOT to do in the Cayman Islands ?

I'm really looking forward to my holliday (i guess that is understandable) and i want to make the most of it as this is not the kind of holliday your doing every year...

Looking forward for some board advice...

 

[Zippsy]

Two years ago, I took my 13 year old son to get certified on Grang Cayman. We dove with a large operator first, to get him certified, then a smaller one. While both were very good, I'd recommend the smaller one for new people. They take out fewer divers so asking for "newbie" dives was not an issue. They really tried to tailor the trips for us. Try Keith and Casey from Neptunes Divers @ http://www.neptunesdivers.com/. If you want to check around, try this site: http://www.divecayman.ky/islands/caymanislands_ky.asp

 

[TedJ]

IMHO,
Contact Ocean Frontiers out on the East End and tell them you are a new diver. don't be embarressed, everyone starts somewhere. And follow that up with telling the Divemasters on whatever boat you go on that you are a new diver. I've rarely met anyone who wouldn't help out a beginner.
TedJ

 

[BartBe]

Thanks for the advice...

Other question... Is there a posibility to book some sort of package deal for multiple dives and does that come cheaper than taking seperate dives. Anyone knows of any DS's that do this kind of deal on Grand Cayman ?

Tnx...

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Many dive centres offer package deals for multiple dives.

Wait until you are done with your certification class to be certain that you will be able to dive once here. Strange things happen, and occasionally someone ends up needing to do certification dives here due to problems at home.

January can be a good time to visit. Crowds will be much smaller after the Christmas rush. Weather will have potential for some Nor'westers which could make things interesting.

Leave the deep wall dives until later. Most deep dives in Cayman are along the Cayman Wall (which surrounds the island), and while beautiful, it does require a bit of experience.

There are many dive ops on the west side. On East End (where the coral is generally healthier) there are only three.

Do ask around for specific and recent experience on the island. Just this weeks, One oF the East End ops pulled yet another damn foolish stunt. They took a newbie that hadn't been diving in three years on a 100' wall dive as a refresher. The instructor actually told this new diver to stay at 70' without a buddy and to follow the group that was diving at 100'. The newbie was trained well, and aborted that dive and cancelled the remaining diving with that op.

 

[BartBe]

Drew Sailbum once bubbled...

Wait until you are done with your certification class to be certain that you will be able to dive once here. Strange things happen, and occasionally someone ends up needing to do certification dives here due to problems at home.

What do you mean by this (sorry) ??

 

[Washy]

TedJ once bubbled...
IMHO,
Contact Ocean Frontiers out on the East End TedJ

I'll second that - great dive outfit and the East side has some excellent sites.

The thing with choosing a dive operator is personal preference. I like the more personal touch so I'd rather not be diver#30 on a boat of 40...

Some of the West end dive outfits also guarantee smaller group on their boats - it makes for a better experience...

 

[Washy]

Drew Sailbum once bubbled...


One oF the East End ops pulled yet another damn foolish stunt. They took a newbie that hadn't been diving in three years on a 100' wall dive as a refresher. The instructor actually told this new diver to stay at 70' without a buddy and to follow the group that was diving at 100'.

Drew are you allowed to name and shame on this one?

Washy.

 

[rjdiver]

That is ridiculous that any operation would tell someone to stay by themselves 30' above the rest of the group, especially a newbie. I would be interested in knowing who that was, also.

 

[BartBe]

If you can let me know...
That's NOT the kind of DS i want to sail with ???