GC Shore dives & shallow boat dives

[ianr33]

My friend wrote a rather detailed shore diving guide to GC and sells it in CD format but I can't find the web page. I'll keep looking. I dove with him there for a few days and he took me to some areas that were safe but that I NEVER would have known about unless he was with me. He was a DM there for several years. We even dove Hepp's Pipeline from shore. I'll keep looking...be back when I find it!

Is this the CD you mentioned?

http://www.comdive.com/gc.htm

Nipi,how far is the swim to Ghost Mountain? I am heading to Cayman later this month,staying near Divetech at the Turtle Farm. Ghost Mountain is a site I would love to do.Is the swim a lot further than ,say,Babylon?

 

[padiscubapro]

I'm more concerned about my daughter equalizing than the 60'. Since she is the main reason for this trip, I want it to be enjoyable for her; I'll have a great time at 30' if she's with me. Someone suggested she take Sudafed to help. Does that work? If she does well, we'd do some deeper dives. Misty is correct about the over 60'/DM.

It's too bad she has the equalization problems, she's a natural otherwise. Last year we did the Keys. Her very first ocean dive, I came up with 400lb, she with 2.100! I think she has gills or something.

The depth limit in cayman is a factor of two things, first the divers certifications and secondly the certifications teh shops instructors hold.. If the shop has a tech staff, dives well beyond recreational ratings are available..

Once or twice a year I go down to cayman to run some technical training programs where depths are frequently around 300fsw with the full support of the facility.. (these are usualy run as shore dives)

 

[nipi]

The swim to Ghost Mountain is further than Babylon. Enter by parking just before Papagallos Condos, walk across the empty lot to the beach & along to the end of the Papagallo dock or what's left of it. You will need to get through some fringing reef so this is not ideal when winds are from the north.

Heading west from there the next shore diving entry spots are are:-

- track to the east of the wall at Conch Pointe (entry v. urchiny - need hard boots)
- Spanish Bay Reef resort (expensive tanks)
- track opp. Caribbean Lane
- track just after Ocean Pointe Villas
- Cobalt Coast
- beach at end of King St.
- Dive Dump at the end of Duxie's Lane
- Hepp's Wall/Pipeline
- Divetech

etc

 

[bradsab]

Hey guys, you've been most helpful!
There's some shore dives described at this site http://caymanislandsdiscounts.com/offshore_diving.htm
Would any of you be familiar with the less traveled sites listed here?
Also this site http://caymanislandsdiscounts.com/OffshoreSnorkeling.htm is for snorkeling locations, but some look like we could dive them while my wife snorkeled.

Does anyone know of a dive shop near Boddentown that would let us take tanks off site? Thanks for all your help.

 

[nipi]

Nearest is Ocean Frontiers at East End - not sure bout their renting policy.

BTW - when staying in Bodden Town be sure to visit the Everglo - a fine spot to decompress nearby ...

 

[djac5700]

Sorry for the slight tangent... Someone mentioned not driving during rush hour. I'm leaving tomorrow for GC, staying on 7 mile beach for a week, and my friends and I plan to do a few shore dives while we're there. I know that island time can be a little different from here in the states, so what times are best to avoid driving because of the worst traffic?

Thanks and my apologies for the thread hijack...

 

[nipi]

Weekdays 7.30 - 9 & 4.30 - 6.

 

[Mantasscareme]

I spent four days diving with Ocean Frontiers. I personally prefer shallower depths, so I made prior arrangements that I would seperate from the group when they went deeper. My deepest dive was 65 ft, I honestly feel that there's more to see on top of the wall than down the face (on one dive, I saw a reef shark and a monster 6ft. grouper on top of the wall. Everyone else went deeper and missed both). Talk to Ocean Frontiers about paying extra for a private DM so that you could have a different dive profile from the group, and still have the added safety of a guided dive. There are shore dives on the East End, but they're all a heck of a long swim, I didn't partake.

 

[Pickled]

Nearest is Ocean Frontiers at East End - not sure bout their renting policy.

It has been a couple of years, but I used to rent tanks from them all the time.