Feedback on Grand Cayman dive sites for new guidebook

[Ian Popple]

Hi everyone. I'm reaching out for a little advice. I work for Reef Smart Guides and we're in the middle of completing a detailed dive and snorkel guide, including 3D site maps, for the Cayman Islands. We've got Little Cayman and Cayman Brac covered, but at present we only have about 10 sites mapped on Grand Cayman and they are all West Coast dives along the Seven Mile Beach area. We're looking to return to Cayman next month to map an additional 5 or 6 sites on the north, east and south coasts. We want some advice on which sites would make the best (and most useful) maps to complete and represent a decent cross-section of the diving there. We can't map every site of course, but we want to get make sure we hit the highlights. Several people had suggested: Babylon, Grouper Grotto, The Maze, Julie's Wall, Fish Tank, Bat Caves, Pedro's, Lighthouse Reef, Tunnel of Love. We're looking for some feedback on what might be considered the best of Grand Cayman's north, south and east coasts. Thanks!

 

[jgttrey]

I would vote to focus on the sites that are accessible as shore dives because

(a) folks almost certainly going to have a guide for their boat dives and therefore have less need of a site map.

(b) there are so many moorings/potential sites for boat diving, which are first come/first serve, that having some small subset for which maps are available isn't as helpful. Unless you had very broad coverage of the sites, or divers are able to get the boat to go to their sites of choice, the odds of being on a site for which you have a map is small.

So, I'd focus on shore dives where maps would be particularly useful to unguided divers: Turtle Reef (from Macabuca), Lighthouse Point, Cobalt Coast, the Hepp's Pipeline area near Coconut Bay Condos.

Don't know shore dives on South and East enough to offer useful help.

 

[diversteve]

Babylon for sure. Not only will the pinnacle make an interesting map - it's also listed on some of the Top Caribbean Dive Sites lists.

Also contact Ocean Frontiers and ask them for suggestions. They did some of the idivecayman reviews for that side.

If you do return to the NW side - Ghost Mountain.

 

[scubadada]

so many good sites, north wall, Ghost Mountain, Black Forest, Princess Penny's Pinnacles, one of the southeast corner sites, Scuba Bowl, Pat's Wall, Jack McKinney's, the Maze

 

[Ian Popple]

I would vote to focus on the sites that are accessible as shore dives because

(a) folks almost certainly going to have a guide for their boat dives and therefore have less need of a site map.

(b) there are so many moorings/potential sites for boat diving, which are first come/first serve, that having some small subset for which maps are available isn't as helpful. Unless you had very broad coverage of the sites, or divers are able to get the boat to go to their sites of choice, the odds of being on a site for which you have a map is small.

So, I'd focus on shore dives where maps would be particularly useful to unguided divers: Turtle Reef (from Macabuca), Lighthouse Point, Cobalt Coast, the Hepp's Pipeline area near Coconut Bay Condos.

Don't know shore dives on South and East enough to offer useful help.

We'll have about 30-35 sites in total by the time we are done, so that should be a decent number for people to use. I agree about ensuring we have some shore sites though. We have already done Devil's Grotto and will be doing Cobalt Coast. If Lighthouse Point is accessible from the shore then that would certainly be a good one to include. I've not hear of Hepp's Pipeline.

 

[scubadada]

We'll have about 30-35 sites in total by the time we are done, so that should be a decent number for people to use. I agree about ensuring we have some shore sites though. We have already done Devil's Grotto and will be doing Cobalt Coast. If Lighthouse Point is accessible from the shore then that would certainly be a good one to include. I've not hear of Hepp's Pipeline.

How about Turtle Reef?

 

[Ian Popple]

Babylon for sure. Not only will the pinnacle make an interesting map - it's also listed on some of the Top Caribbean Dive Sites lists.

Also contact Ocean Frontiers and ask them for suggestions. They did some of the idivecayman reviews for that side.

If you do return to the NW side - Ghost Mountain.

Thanks. Is Pinnacle, Pedro's Pinnacle? Babylon seems to be on everyone's hit-list, so it's good to get that confirmed. We'll look into Ghost Mountain. Will definitely be in touch with Ocean Frontiers. Thanks.

 

[Ian Popple]

How about Turtle Reef?

Where is Turtle Reef?

 

[Ian Popple]

so many good sites, north wall, Ghost Mountain, Black Forest, Princess Penny's Pinnacles, one of the southeast corner sites, Scuba Bowl, Pat's Wall, Jack McKinney's, the Maze

Thanks for this list. Sites that make the best maps are often sites with large structures and features or with interesting sand reef interfaces and with swim throughs. We'll read up on this. Thanks.

 

[scubadada]

Where is Turtle Reef?

Out from the Cracked Conch/Macabuca in the NW, great shore dive