Currents in the Caymans?

[scubasaurus94]

I'm looking to go to the Caymans with my family in March. They're not very experienced divers and have expressed an aversion to strong currents. I know that currents are a natural part of the ocean, but they're not very strong in the Caymans, right? Do currents vary during different times of the year or between GC, LC, and Brac?

 

[Drew Sailbum]

There is typically very little current around all of the Cayman Islands except in a few specific spots.

Off the east tip of Grand Cayman and inside the protective reef (in a popular snorkeling area which is much too shallow to scuba dive) there is a constant current from south to north.

Occasionally there are some currents in the Northwest Point area. This is a popular area on the west side of Grand Cayman. These currents can affect several dive sties.

In leading more than 3000 dives, mostly around the East End of Grand Cayman, I only once conducted a drift dive. Normally dive operators simply move to another site if there is any significant current at the first choice site.

 

[AggieDiver]

The currents are generally VERY light to non-existent on LC and CB except when the wind is blowing strongly, and then they just dive the leeward side. On LC and Brac, the boat captain and DM will check the current at the site before setting up for the dive and if it is even moderate, they will usually move to another location. I have never done a drift dive on LC or CB in 5 trips there.

 

[Howard Kaiser]

I've been diving East End and Grand Cayman in general for years. We're owners at Compass Pointe and I concur with Drew- very little current here and I think I can only recall one drift dive with Ocean Frontiers-over 12 years- and that only went from one buoy to the one over from the next..saw more fish on that drift than I'd seen in years. Take your family and do a shore dive at Cobalt Coast or at the Cracked Conch spot. Easiest dive ever! Took my two boys when they first got certified and had a blast just diving shore dives for the week. Guaranteed turtles ( it's next to the Turtle Farm!) and tarpon. We also saw octopus, lots of spotted and moray eels etc, If you're comfortable, head out to the wall- about 200 yds out...we'll be on the East End March 5th..have fun!

 

[-hh]

The simple summary is that the Caymans aren't Cozumel.

The currents are generally VERY light to non-existent on LC and CB except when the wind is blowing strongly, and then they just dive the leeward side. On LC and Brac, the boat captain and DM will check the current at the site before setting up for the dive and if it is even moderate, they will usually move to another location. I have never done a drift dive on LC or CB in 5 trips there.

I've had perhaps 3-4 drifts over the past 20 years; figure it to be <1% of my Cayman dives. However, this is not to say that there's never been any current.

A lot of this question depends on how strong/weak a current has to be until there's a problem. In 500+ dives in the Caymans, I've never been blown downcurrent, but I have seen a few divers who have. In general, I'd say that there's been two basic reasons why.

The first is navigation/dive planning ... they got lost, and too far downcurrent to be able to swim back without going OOA, so they surface downcurrent (and get picked up). Novices tend to stay close and verify where the diveboat is well before they're low on air, so this usually befalls Intermediate divers.

The second one happens usually just on wall dives ... there's a surface current, which doesn't become particularly evident until ascent to the safety stop. If you can't make it to the mooring line to hold on, you can get blown downcurrent. IMO, it's usually the Intermediate divers (again) who get hit with this one, since Novices will usually prefer to come up the mooring line, and Advanced divers who would otherwise do a midwater stop tend to "notice" earlier, so they'll dip back down to the bottom to get out of the current to swim in before ascending.


-hh

 

[Insta-Gator]

+1 for Turtle Reef (Cracked Conch) and Cobalt Coast. There are times when the winds will have some good size waves coming in at Cobalt, which makes for interesting swim out and exit up the ladder. Turtle is a excellent spot for new divers. I love the Cayman Islands.
Learn the shore dive sites. You'll have a ball. But don't miss a few boat dives either.

 

[PatW]

I have been to Little Cayman twice and done around 30 dives. There can be some light current which will factor into the dive plan.

Here in Florida, we often get brisk currents which mean you need to descend on a line or do a drift dive. I haven't seen anything like that in Little Cayman.

The north side of Little Cayman is really easy diving. Little or no current. Good to excellent visibility. Also most of the time, the boat is moored in shallow enough water that you can do you safety stop while gawking at coral heads.

 

[keyshunter]

The currents are generally VERY light to non-existent on LC and CB except when the wind is blowing strongly, and then they just dive the leeward side. On LC and Brac, the boat captain and DM will check the current at the site before setting up for the dive and if it is even moderate, they will usually move to another location. I have never done a drift dive on LC or CB in 5 trips there.

AggieDiver,
Currents are not caused by winds. Sea state is controlled by an interaction of winds and currents, but that is at the surface. There can be substantial current present with flat calm seas--0 wind speed. Boat crews select which side of the island to dive based upon sea state, but, having done that, the individual dive site is often selected BECAUSE of lack of current. Thus, few divers will see any amount of current.

 

[Bob Evans]

Hello, looking at current rates for power.around Cayman Islands. Sounds like east tip and flowing south to north. Any idea on rate? Thanks.

 

[Divetech Cayman]

Hello, looking at current rates for power.around Cayman Islands. Sounds like east tip and flowing south to north. Any idea on rate? Thanks.

A very old thread to resurrect, but currents change very rapidly here, and are wildly unpredictable. Some spots are known to have a higher likelihood of current than others - the Northwest Point (Orange Canyon, Big Tunnels, etc) for example.

That said, current regularly increases and decreases throughout the day depending on the location and time of year. I've even had current change direction mid-dive. At Lighthouse Point, we have one of the pencil markers that define the shore diving site measured. The lower it is in the water, the more current we have. This will rise and fall throughout the day.

Tony