Grand Cayman shore diving question

[choiahoy]

My wife and I will be staying on Grand Cayman for three nights on our way to a week on Little Cayman. A few shore diving questions -

- I'm used to shore diving from a truck, but I'm assuming that wouldn't be ideal there. In general, how do you shore dive there without ruining your rental car? I'm thinking garbage bags and towels, but I imagine there's a better way...

- Regarding your parking your car, do you generally do it Bonaire style - don't lock the doors and roll down your windows?

 

[Tienuts]

Dive, rinse your gear, let it dry while you have lunch.

Do not leave your car unlocked. Lock it up and leave your keys in the dive shop.

 

[KathyV]

Most of the shore dives have onsite dive ops and restaurants onsite or nearby, our favorite is Turtle Reef at Macabuca and we follow the recommendations given by Tienuts above

 

[choiahoy]

Thanks for the info. What about when doing sites like Smith's Cove where there is no dive op on site?

 

[KathyV]

Thanks for the info. What about when doing sites like Smith's Cove where there is no dive op on site?

I have only snorkeled at Smith's cove. The shore dive sites I am familiar with are: Turtle Reef, Lighthouse Point, Cobalt Coast, Eden Rock (damaged), Devil's Grotto, and Sunset House. @EastEndDiver owns property on the island so he can give you more information.

 

[diversteve]

In general, how do you shore dive there without ruining your rental car? I'm thinking garbage bags and towels, but I imagine there's a better way...

we rented a truck..or a small SUV - although I think it was a truck. Left hand drive (they rent both) so that made for some interesting adventures at the rotaries. Check prices at Andy's they have a location at the airport and another on Seven Mile Beach.

I let everything air dry till we moved. Big mesh bag on the backseat after that. Not the first time the seat has been damp.

Plan to eat lunch at most sites. My Bar at Sunset House is the "divers bar" plus get a picture with the Mermaid at 55'. Cathy Church's photo gallery/shop is there also.

On the northisde, Macabuca Tiki Bar at Turtle Reef is 50' from the dive steps. Someone posted there's a restaurant at Lighthouse Pt. now also. At Cobalt Coast also. All have outdoor dining so you don't drip on the rug/tile.

Eden Rock/Devils Grotto are basically downtown should you do either of those - personally I wouldn't bother. You have to deal with 4-5 cruise ship's pax offloading 500' away and they haven't done the reef much good. I can't tell you the number of times someone stepped off the curb in front of us after looking the wrong way. You'd think all the cars parked facing you would be a clue...

Also a container ship recently scraped 150' of reef flat and collapsed one of Eden Rock's caves. Last I heard they were assessing if it would be safe to let divers back in.

Any of fhe other sites Kathy named are better dives. I'm thinking we locked everywhere also. At most you have a short carry from the parking lot to dive dock so we just left our bags there while diving. I carry c-card, $20, credit card and car keys in a Witz case on a lanyard around my neck and leave everything else at the condo.

Thanks for the info. What about when doing sites like Smith's Cove where there is no dive op on site?

Get tanks at Eden Rock or Diver's Supply - probably the only two places with off-site rentals.

 

[divesergeant]

At shore dives like Smith's Cove, Babylon, etc where no dive ops are onsite we take all stuff with us on the dive and leave the Jeep unlocked. An unused dive camera case works well for holding stuff like car keys and such.

We carry large garbage bags to put on the seats afterwards to save the seats from salt stains.

 

[Alucard]

I have done shore dives from all of the named locations that have a dive shop associated with them, but apart from one shore dive off a property I was staying at, have never done one from any other location.

I have, for example, never heard of anything really worth seeing off Smith Cove. Can anyone who has done some of these locations give a bit of a review as to whether it's worthwhile?

 

[diversteve]

I haven't either but it looks pretty shallow. Kind of looks like the shallow part of Eden Rock - patchy reef with sand in between.

 

[choiahoy]

Thanks for the video diversteve!

We'll be boat diving in the mornings, so we'll only have time for two or three shore dives. We're definitely going to dive Turtle Reef. We have Smith's Cove stuck in our heads because we did most of our snorkeling there on our last visit in 2012. On our last day, we saw some divers exiting the water, and that was the moment we decided to become certified, so it's more for nostalgic reasons. I'd be curious to hear some feedback on the site from someone who's dove it recently. Worth doing?