East End dive ops

[jchapman3]

Let me whip out my trusty, but not dusty log book...

2 Years ago we picked up a dive guide at the airport on our way home that had some awsome sites listed in it..that guide got "wet" last summer (after my dive buddy put it at the bottom of the "wet bag"...) so I replaced it with a better one on my way home last October: This is well put together and includes locations, difficulty ratings, access type, depth, key points, and excellent discussions (and lots of pretty glossy pictures!). The book is The Cayman Islands Dive Guide by Lawson Wood (New Holland Press). ISBN: 978-1-84330-556-9. It was this guide that got me around the island.




Ok... back to my dive log. Last Sept we dove on 5 sites: (All of the sites I'm listing here have a dive shack and supply air and weight. They all probably rent gear, but if you need gear, you might want to find out before you go ... I'm funny about "my" gear and have all but air and weight with me...so I can't confirm they can fit you out.)

1. Eden Rock; it's bit of a tea-cup ride, but it's still a fun dive and we saw some awsome schools of fish there; super easy access, the folks there at the shop are awsome and will give you a thorough briefing of the site if you've never been there. It's a good first dive site to work out weight, bouyancy and aclimation. (It's also an easy site to practice navigation...just say out of the cruise ship channel... :-D) And...when you get out, you're right there in Georgetown to do the touristy stuff. Stop over at Hammerheads and tell the gang I said hello. On your way out, stop at the table the fishermen have set up and get a pound of the days catch; take it back to the east end, swing by the grocery store, pick up some rice, coconut milk, peppers and onions, and saute that up...YUM. If you've never done a "self paced" shore dive, this is the place to start. I have my max depth on this dive at 48 ft. On Sept 14, water temps were 86F on the surface, 84F at depth. At 45' we could make out that the snorkeler above us was our bartender from Breezes... yeah vis was that good.
2. Turtle Reef. It's on the West End in a place called Macabuca. (Our pals at Ocean Frontier turned us on to this one.) There is an AWSOME little restaraunt there called Cracked Conch (full of great people and a friendly dog in the scuba shop). There are actually 2 dive sites here. You have a short surface swim out to the reef along a short wall dive (70'). On your first dive, follow the wall to the north, come backup over the wall for the trip back (and your deco)...you'll see as much on top of the wall as you'll see on it. On your 2nd dive, go the other way. There is usually a large school of Tarpon that hang out under a shelf there... don't be suprised if you run into a turtle or two. I have my max depth on these dives @ 70' with temps @ 90/86. I recorded vis at 50'+++. I also recorded a slight current from the north on the surface, but not noticable at depth. On my first dive, I swam against the current, then drifted back to the mooring pin. This might be my favorite shore dive site... Have lunch @ Cracked Conch before you head back.
3. Cobalt Coast; this is just up past Turtle Reef, on the West side of the island. There were new condos/resorts just in the early stages of build out when we were there last...similar to Turtle Reef, there were a lot more Fans and Sponges over there; and a grumpy spotted eel we affectionaly named "grumpy". Another nice shop there, and a short surface swim to a shallow wall that drops you into a nice little valley. (Guides are available here if you want one...I suspect the same is true at Turtle reef; but we didn't partake...it's such an easy dive if you have reasonable boyancy control.)
4. Sunset House; just east of Georgetown...if you're not watching for it you'll miss it. If you didn't KNOW there was a dive site there, you wouldn't even think about it and assume it was just more Condos. Even if you're into boat dives, you have to make this one. Submerged about 200' out (maybe not that far) is a life sized bronze Mermaid...and when you come over the reef and "find it"; it's something you won't ever forget. Take a course from there out to "deep" water and you'll find a sunken WWII landing craft (about 700' from shore... easy out and back dive if you can use a compass. This is a favorite cruising spot for the Atlantis Submarine; don't worry...you can hear it coming; if the sub is operating, you'll hear it as soon as you put your face in the water. My ears are STILL ringing. Be sure and pose nice and pretty for the folks trapped inside the sub; you can hear the flashes of their cameras. There is a small shop there that will give you the nav points to get out and back, as well as latest conditions. I have vis at 50'++ and temps at 86/85. Max depth (@ the landing craft was 64')...I think the mermaid is around 35. There is also another open air restaraunt here, perfect for your surface interval and post dive munchies. Cathy Church's Underwater Photography center is here also, nice gallery, super nice people, and all the underwater photography accessories you could EVER need.
5. Although not a shore dive, the OF guys took us to Sunset Reef for a night dive; it was an awsome shallow dive @ 22'. I hope to get back to that one this summer.
6. Don't forget the Sting Ray City DIVE (not snorkel trip); that is where I got the inspiration for "Sunny", my celtic sea-glass stingray on my left arm. We booked ours with Divers Down on the other end of 7 Mile.

There are more shore dive sites listed in the book I mentioned previously, all of these are easy to get to and don't have marathon surface swims to get to; we'll be venturing out and hitting more this September. We haven't done any shore dives on the North or East sides. One thing I DIDN'T do, shamefully, was record the names of the folks at the shops we met... I won't make that mistake this year.

I'd love to hear any feedback or alternate sites anyone else knows about...

 

[jchapman3]

This is well put together and includes locations, difficulty ratings, access type, depth, key points, and excellent discussions (and lots of pretty glossy pictures!). The book is The Cayman Islands Dive Guide by Lawson Wood (New Holland Press). ISBN: 978-1-84330-556-9.

Here is a link to the book I have:
The Dive Sites of the Cayman Islands, Second Edition, Lawson Wood, Book - Barnes & Noble

And it appears there is a newer edition (with a publish date of 8/2007):
Dive the Cayman Islands, Dive Ser., Lawson Wood, Book - Barnes & Noble

 

[divesergeant]

jchapman3,

Good review of shore diving! The Turtle Reef dive with www.Sundivers.ky rocks and the lunch afterward at Macabuca is pretty darn good, too.

And yes, the SRC dive is the best way to do that. I usually add a few extra pounds to help stay on the bottom of the shallow dive.

Thanks again for the comprehensive shore review!
DS

 

[txteachers]

The OF folks are simply AWSOME; and they have a shop in the building just to the north of Morritts where you can talk to folks, although you have to cruize back towards town for to catch the dive boats.

Ocean Frontiers no longer has the shop at The Reef...not enough business. But it is only 3 miles to their shop.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Ocean Frontiers no longer has the shop at The Reef...not enough business. But it is only 3 miles to their shop.

Is that the reason you were told!?

Well, it is true that OF no longer has a dive/retail shop at The Reef Resort. They have also moved their liquor store across the road into the same complex where the Foster's grocery is located.

 

[divesergeant]

Hey, Drew,

So, then what's the real reason for closing the Reef location!

DS