So, DiveTech has moved out of its Turtle Reef location and down the road 1/2 mile towards George Town. Their new location is at "Lighthouse Point". Meanwhile, Sun Divers has taken over the Turtle Reef location. Here's a quick update on the new state of things.
Sun Divers, run by Ollin Miller (with Tom Yeo assisting), has spruced up the Turtle Reef dive site. New buoys, a new (nice and wide) ladder, and a resurfaced rinse tank and gearing up area give the place a little more pizazz. Under water, it's the same old stuff - healthy corals, hard & soft; lots of marine life; benign conditions. If you're coming to Grand Cayman on a dive vacation, you really should set aside some time for this shore dive (day and/or night).
DiveTech's new location is still in a temporary state. The "dive shop" is a trailer and the concrete is not yet all poured.
You descend down a ladder into a tiny cut (about 3' wide) in the iron shore. Less experienced divers should exercise caution here.
Once in the water, you swim out across the hard pan (marked by buoys) to the miniwall, which is pretty mundane (others may disagree). Then, another swim across a beautiful sand flat (with 2 interesting coral pinnacles) brings you to the Main Wall.
The Wall at this location is in excellent condition, with lots of healthy coral. It is cut by a number of sand chutes and grooves at the 80 - 120 ft. level. At 125 ft. there are 2 HUGE barrel sponges, the largest I have ever seen. The Wall is sloping, not sheer, in this area. The swim from the ladder to the wall is probably around 200 yards.
Overall, the new situation is a win/win situation for shore divers: a refurbished Turtle Reef LDS and a brand new shore dive to compensate for the loss of Spanish Bay Reef.
Sun Divers, run by Ollin Miller (with Tom Yeo assisting), has spruced up the Turtle Reef dive site. New buoys, a new (nice and wide) ladder, and a resurfaced rinse tank and gearing up area give the place a little more pizazz. Under water, it's the same old stuff - healthy corals, hard & soft; lots of marine life; benign conditions. If you're coming to Grand Cayman on a dive vacation, you really should set aside some time for this shore dive (day and/or night).
DiveTech's new location is still in a temporary state. The "dive shop" is a trailer and the concrete is not yet all poured.
You descend down a ladder into a tiny cut (about 3' wide) in the iron shore. Less experienced divers should exercise caution here.
Once in the water, you swim out across the hard pan (marked by buoys) to the miniwall, which is pretty mundane (others may disagree). Then, another swim across a beautiful sand flat (with 2 interesting coral pinnacles) brings you to the Main Wall.
The Wall at this location is in excellent condition, with lots of healthy coral. It is cut by a number of sand chutes and grooves at the 80 - 120 ft. level. At 125 ft. there are 2 HUGE barrel sponges, the largest I have ever seen. The Wall is sloping, not sheer, in this area. The swim from the ladder to the wall is probably around 200 yards.
Overall, the new situation is a win/win situation for shore divers: a refurbished Turtle Reef LDS and a brand new shore dive to compensate for the loss of Spanish Bay Reef.
