Grand Cayman Shore Diving Conditions

[caydiver]

We are bringing our boat South this morning. Have a couple of long time friends who work on EE on they are super busy. Definitely book your dives so you are not disappointed. More expansion out that way and only two ops has kept them on their toes! Good luck and as Tony said the Christmas rush is dropping off so getting on a boat shouldn’t be a big deal. I am looking forward to diving South this morning. Haven’t been for a while.

 

[howswedeofme]

@caydiver thanks for the suggestion - we are booked for a full day (both AM and PM 2-tanks) with OF next week and really looking forward to it! Hopefully its good diving for you guys going South today. I don't think we've done much if any South diving during our trips so maybe the weather pushing us out of our NW Point/West Bay comfort zone might not be a bad thing.

 

[caydiver]

Two awesome dives. Eagle Ray Pass on the way around and then a random pick heading toward the cut. The conditions were a bit hairy once we were around the point. Incredible the difference from the surface to 30 feet. If you have a chance to head south do it. It is like the forgotten child as usually ops only go when conditions are crapped out in other spots as it is time consuming to bring guests etc. The corals were so healthy. I guess the underusage is a good thing. Oceanic triggers just moving in. Some really good sized ones! Happy diving.

 

[Divetech Cayman]

Thanks @Divetech Cayman! We land tomorrow at noon and are trying to get an evening dive in at Macabuca while (if) we can and will likely stop in to try to dive Lighthouse Point on Sunday, then. Bummer about the rest of the week. Last time we visited in early January we were able to shore dive the whole week around the Northwest Point and got a day in up on the North Wall, so maybe we used up our luck. We also had monsoons an entire week on the Brac in May when we thought we'd get great weather, so maybe we earned back our luck! I guess I'll see next week. We are heading out for AM and PM boats on the East End for one day so fingers crossed at least one side of the island gives us some good diving.

That's the winter weather for you. September is the time! I'm on a mission to raise awareness about how awesome the conditions are here then. They normally roll up the sidewalks here September and October. Tourism drops off the map then, and I've never figured out why, since the ocean is usually dead calm.

 

[caydiver]

The drop of in tourism is a natural offset to Back to school for American school kids and all hands on deck for many businesses heading into the last quarter of the year. Sleepy time on the island is great but the hotels, restaurants and condos have been busy the last two years. Corporate group travel is still going strong. Sure that will dissipate as other destinations get back on track. There are several people in F&B and lodging that have been working the last 20 days some on split shifts with no breaks. — They need October to recharge. Agree it’s great diving time, but not that many can take advantage of the prices and some don’t want to travel when restaurants etc are closed and renovations and repairs are in full swing. As a dive op I would love to see a full boat, but the poor guys deserve a break too.

 

[KathyV]

That's the winter weather for you. September is the time! I'm on a mission to raise awareness about how awesome the conditions are here then. They normally roll up the sidewalks here September and October. Tourism drops off the map then, and I've never figured out why, since the ocean is usually dead calm.

View attachment 559033
View attachment 559034 View attachment 559035

I'm with you! We love traveling to Cayman in the fall. Things are quieter and less crowded, there aren't a lot of families and kids, things are cheaper and more available, and we've had good luck with the weather and diving. Plus the water is warm and the air temps are mild.

Sometimes it's rainy, but it usually rains for a short while and then clears up. During our recent 2 weeks in Cayman in late Oct and early Nov we had perfect weather and diving conditions - except for one bad day when it stormed - unfortunately it was the day we were flying to Little Cayman, but these things happen.

And of course there is that whole "increased risk of Hurricanes" issue which would be very bad, but I'd be very disappointed to run into bad weather during the peak season, when prices are highest and availability is limited.

I hope that some recent and upcoming SB visitors, like @Redfoot at Brac and the SB Little Cayman Surge group have good weather.

But I also hope that Cayman in the fall continues to be a quiet, pleasant time of year!

 

[Divetech Cayman]

The drop of in tourism is a natural offset to Back to school for American school kids and all hands on deck for many businesses heading into the last quarter of the year. Sleepy time on the island is great but the hotels, restaurants and condos have been busy the last two years. Corporate group travel is still going strong. Sure that will dissipate as other destinations get back on track. There are several people in F&B and lodging that have been working the last 20 days some on split shifts with no breaks. — They need October to recharge. Agree it’s great diving time, but not that many can take advantage of the prices and some don’t want to travel when restaurants etc are closed and renovations and repairs are in full swing. As a dive op I would love to see a full boat, but the poor guys deserve a break too.

95% of our customers do not travel with children. And as far as the breaks go, our employees each get 2 days off every week, even in high seasons. The only week a year they may have to give up one of their days off, is our Innerspace event, which is an all-hands sort of week. They also get up to 8 weeks paid time off, depending on how they use their lieu and holiday time.

Tony

 

[caydiver]

We can do the same but it is different for hotel/condo staff and restaurant staff. Even when we had a vacation home on the EE of Long Island, NY there was a definite low season. We loved it then and lots of fishermen came out through the period, but many restaurants were closed and only a few motels were open. I guess it is just the nature of those businesses.

 

[howswedeofme]

We got a dive in at Macabuca yesterday afternoon just before they pulled the ladder! Shore diving is all washed out today, even sunset house. Anyone know of ops with an afternoon boat? I figure it’s unlikely on a Sunday but thought I’d check.

 

[Joneill]

Thanks! I've been checking the webcam (and check it often when I'm feeling particularly cold in the frigid Midwest winter) but was hoping from some below-the-surface recon if I can get it.

If the webcam shows it’s rough on the surface (as it appear to be today), then the viz will not be good. They also pull the ladder at Macabuca.

edit - I see I responded late to the party. Glad to hear you are getting some diving in. Check with Don Fosters - they usually run an afternoon 1 tank (not sure about Sunday’s though?).