Grand Cayman recommendations

[caydiver]

You are 100% correct. You can be more independent off the boat because they will have a staff member in the water shadowing you so you have a buddy even though you are not joined at the hip. OF do rent tanks to take off property depending on how busy they are. One tank per certified diver with a minimum of two tanks which equals two divers which equals buddies! Is the self reliant diver course meant to allow a diver to ne more self reliant perhaps diving with unknown buddies or to be able to solo dive? I thought it was the former.

 

[diversteve]

"Self Reliant' is PADI's way of saying solo diver without using the word solo.
I'm pretty sure a friend is one and he's only PADI certified

It may be a Specialty also since it doesn't seem to be in the catalog.

 

[drrich2]

That issue has been brought up before; is PADI's Self-Reliant Diver course a solo diving course, or a 'more self-sufficient but not solo course.' Long story short, the consensus impression has been the former. IIRC, some PADI big shot has dissed solo in the past, so an about-face would've had PADI eating crow or talking out both sides of its mouth, so to speak. But SDI offered a Solo course, and people (including me) who'd historically ignored or been unaware of it were 'leaving the PADI reservation' to take the SDI Solo course. And while we were there, we might look around & see something else we liked...

For practical purposes, they appear to be equivalent.

Richard.

 

[deaf diver]

Are you planning a dive trip where you want to get in a lot of diving everyday or a trip where you want to do some diving?

Lots of diving. 4 everyday plus one with a night dive and 2 on my final day as I dont leave till late afternoon.

 

[tkaelin]

Solo diving in Cayman is a no no. The government does not allow any solo diving and does not recognize licenses that permit solo diving. I am not sure if CITA (of which I a member) made the regulation or another agency but was confirmed about two minutes ago by the CITA Waterports Representative.

Unless you or the people you talked with can provide us with a reference to the specific rule or regulation, I would suggest you are providing and being told inaccurate information. I am ready to be corrected but I have seen this issue come up way too often.

Again dive ops may chose to adopt a practice for their own business regarding solo diving but I am tired of hearing the excuses that the government or CITA by regulation or guideline prohibits them from allowing solo divingt. When questioned on this I am always referred to CITA regulations or guidelines. When a review of the regulations reveal no such policy the answer then is always well that's what we do. So I think the accurate answer is most dive ops on GCM chose to prohibit solo diving which is fine but it is a choice not a mandate.

I make this point again and again because if it is a choice, a choice can be made on a shop by shop basis to change their policy. This is in fact the trend on other islands (BON and CUR come to mind) where shops are now recognizing the growing number of solo divers, the certifications that are now available and permitting solo diving by specific policy.

This reminds me of an argument many years ago I had with the owner of a dive op in the keys about the depth a jr. cert could dive. We booked a trip specifically telling the op we had a jr. cert. diver. When we arrived on the boat they would not let my son on because they said he could not dive below x even though his card said he could with an adult. We all ended up getting off the boat. The discussion continued with the owner in the shop. He pulled out a Padi manual. We quickly saw that he was misreading the manual as the depth limitation he was thinking of was for training, not for a certified diver, even for a jr. When the error was pointed out, his response was yeah your are correct but it is our shop policy so there.

The moral of the story at least with solo diving in GCM, if the policy is not one mandated or required in the CITA guidelines, shops are free to adopt their own policy which could be to ban it but they are also free to permit solo shore diving under circumstances they feel reasonable. That is a direction I would like to see more ops take.

Sorry for the digression from the main topic.

 

[tkaelin]

Lots of diving. 4 everyday plus one with a night dive and 2 on my final day as I dont leave till late afternoon.

I think Compass Point/Oceanfrontiers would be ideal. OF is a terrific op. They run two tanks am and pm enabling you to get 4 dives a day. They have nice units on the property and a grill/restaurant where breakfast is included and you can grab before heading out in the AM. It is a convenient place to grab lunch between am and pm dives and I think you can even place an order for lunch from the boat.

They are also a great op to dive with if solo. You can pick a buddy if you want or just let the DM know you are solo and will follow/buddy with them. Once they see you know what you are doing you will be given a great deal of freedom during your dives if that is what you choose. Once comfortable with you the dive op is comfortable with you being on your own as long as you are in view of the group and generally at the group's depth. Once back to the boat at the end of the dive, the DM will typically make sure you see the boat and then leave you with the rest to finish out your dive.

I

 

[tkaelin]

Sorry .. . more. So I undertand that a couple of SB members who frequent this forum own or work for a dive op on GCM, below is the excerpt from CITA re Safe Diving Standards. Again if this has changed recently someone jump in and show me the new standards.

The relevant section provides regarding dive supervision
Divemaster/Customer Ratio –

1. Supervised Wall Dives from boats: The required maximum in-water Divemaster/Customer Ratio is 1 Divemaster to 12 Certified Divers however; recommended ratio is 1:10.
2. Unguided Wall Dives –From Boats: Operators may elect to allow customers to do unsupervised wall dives with their buddies. It is recommended they meet the following criteria:
   1. The divers must show proficiency at the member’s discretion.
   2. The divers must dive in a buddy team and each member of the team must have a computer and understand computer diving techniques.
   3. The divers must agree to adhere to depth/certification limitations established by the CITA.
   4. The ratios for working crew on any vessel offering scuba diving must still be one Divemaster for each 12 certified divers on board.
3. Supervised shallow dives from boats: supervision is at the discretion of the individual member.
4. Unguided shallow dives from boats: supervision is at the discretion of the individual member.
5. Instructional dives from boats: The ratios for working crew on any vessel offering scuba diving, where there are students engaged in scuba, the Ratio should reflect the student to instructor ratio as required by the Training Agency being taught.
6. Supervised Snorkelers – from boats: recommended limit of divemasters / lifeguard to snorkelers 1:30 in water too deep to stand up in and 1:40 in water shallow enough to stand up in.
7. Shore Diving/Snorkeling: supervision is at the discretion of the individual member.

There is nothing in the CITA Safe Diving Standards specifically addressing solo diving. The closest thing to it comes under "Unguided Wall Dives - From boats" which specifically states that ops may permit unsupervised wall diving from their boats for customers with their buddies. As to shallow dives from boats and shore diving no such language referring to diving with buddies appears. The only rule is that supervision is at the discretion of the individual member which I think clearly supports my argument that at least as to shallow boat and shore diving, what the op will require is at their discretion. They can chose to prohibit solo diving but they also could chose to permit it under circumstances they decide is reasonable. The government through CITA has not prohibited solo diving and there is no rule preventing an op chosing to permit it for shallow boat and shore diving.

Again if someone can point me to something else I am happy to review it.

 

[caydiver]

You raise an excellent point. I have just requested a copy of the regulation regarding solo diving. Ironically when I said what I was calling about the response was that it is not allowed. I said I know but where is it written. They aren’t sure and to be fair the lady in the office is probably not involved in diving. She has promised to send me a link when she finds the regulation and if that actually happens I will gladly share it. No wonder there is confusion.

 

[KathyV]

Lots of diving. 4 everyday plus one with a night dive and 2 on my final day as I dont leave till late afternoon.

If you want to do a lot of diving you might also look at the Cayman Aggressor liveaboard. You can do 4-5 dives per day including several night dives, and your food, lodging, and diving is all included.

If the weather is calm (around 75% - 80% of the time) they will make the crossing over to the sister islands and you will have the chance to dive the best sites around all 3 Cayman islands, including Little Cayman's Bloody Bay Wall and Jackson's Bight; some of the best diving in the Caribbean IMO.

See below for @drrich2's report about his Cayman Aggressor trip as a single diver. Even if you are not interested in a LOB, there there's a lot of great info in that thread about Cayman as a dive vacation destination.
Cayman Aggressor IV Trip May 2016

 

[tkaelin]

Unless you want to dive brac and lc I see no benefit of the aggressor. If you want to see and dive gcm, stay on the island. If you want to spend an entire week on a boat, well then stay on a boat.