Innerspace 2019 has kicked off - rebreather diving in Little Cayman!

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Divetech Cayman

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Grand Cayman
The annual Innerspace week organized by Divetech Grand Cayman is one of the world’s longest running and most popular rebreather-only diving events. Innerspace attracts rebreather divers from all experience levels, and from all over the world as far as Australia. It is a week of silent diving in one of the best dive destinations in the world, a chance to catch up with old friends in this close-knit community, or meet new dive buddies.

2019 is the 15th continuous year of Innerspace. For this special anniversary edition Divetech decided to go ‘on the road’ and visit the sister island of Little Cayman. With the island’s reefs including world famous Bloody Bay Wall virtually undiscovered territory below the recreational limit of 130 ft, some true exploration diving is on offer this year.
As Little Cayman offers no technical or rebreather diving facilities Divetech has been preparing for almost a year in planning and shipping all the required support to the island.

Today all the hard work came to fruition as almost 40 eager rebreather divers arrived on the small island of Little Cayman. A week of awesome diving and a lot of fun is getting underway!

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Onboard and balilout tanks waiting for the eager divers.

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With no technical diving support on Little Cayman Divetech shipped in all supplies; oxygen, helium, scrubber, tanks.

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The Divetech team arriving on Little Cayman.

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Divetech staff giving instructions to the local boat crew in setting up decompression stations.

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Baskets for both used and refilled oxygen and dil tanks.

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The Divetech guides went out for a last check-out dive before the divers arrived.

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Friday night most of the divers already arrived on Grand Cayman before continuing to Little Cayman on Saturday. A great chance to catch up with old friends and dive buddies.

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Time for the trusty Twin Otter to Little Cayman.

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Twin Otters filled with happy rebreather divers.

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Some last arrivals just before the Liitle Cayman airfield closed for the night.

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Perfect base for a week of rebreather diving!

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The rebreather room for the coming week at Little Cayman Beach Resort.

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Setting up the units.

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A nice collection of rebreathers.

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Some are very happy to get their units wet again!

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While others took a bicycle out to explore the island.

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By the day’s end time for some sunset drinks.

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Pretty clear who is in town!

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After dinner it was time to kick off the week with the opening!

Menno
 
Some updates!
Photo credit for all the underwater photos goes to Douglas Ebersole.

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The ‘official’ group picture of the participants.

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We made the local paper!

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The group also visited the Tibbets wreck in Brac.

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Here's a news article about the event, it looks like a wonderful experience, congratulations!

Little Cayman giants abound in ‘Sponge Belt’ | Cayman Compass

I don't see many Lionfish in the photos, and I know that they do culls within recreational limits around LC, but I've always wondered if massive hordes of Lionfish were living comfortably in the depths - what are your opinions of the Lionfish population around LC?
 
Lion fish were hardly seen. They have done a great job if they are culling. I saw a few tiny lionfish on the shallow reef. Nothing from 70-150’ a few big ones from 200-300’. In the week I saw 6 in LC. On cayman brac I saw 6 in one dive.

Awesome week! Thanks again Divetech!

John
 
Here's a news article about the event, it looks like a wonderful experience, congratulations!

Little Cayman giants abound in ‘Sponge Belt’ | Cayman Compass

I don't see many Lionfish in the photos, and I know that they do culls within recreational limits around LC, but I've always wondered if massive hordes of Lionfish were living comfortably in the depths - what are your opinions of the Lionfish population around LC?

Hi Kathy

I was the deep guide on the event and as I'm an avid lionfish culler I was keeping an eye out for them. in honesty we really didn't see very many throughout the whole week, literally just a handful.

Numbers of lionfish have for some reason decreased dramatically over the last couple of years in the Cayman Islands and no one really knows why. The culling activities will have helped but I don't think divers can take all the credit. Anecdotal accounts of predation seem to have increased so maybe that's it, also we were starting to find quite a few diseased lionfish so maybe that is it. I'd speculate it is most likely a combination of these three factors and most likely a little of something else we just don't know about.

There has always been speculation that lionfish populations abound in the depths but I have never seen evidence to support this, I have always found their numbers to be far greater in the 30-150 foot zone.

Hopefully something is controlling their numbers here but in either case, there certainly are not many of them down to the depths of 330 feet on Little Cayman

Regards

Drew
 
I have witnessed groupers on LC "pointing" at Lionfish for lack of a better term. It used to not be uncommon to find one or more huddled around a coral head with a scared squirrelfish huddled in a crevice. In the last couple of trips to LC, I have more than once come across a grouper hanging still in the water faced into a crevice and found a lionfish in the crevice when I went to look. I know cullers are no longer allowed to feed the lionfish to the native wildlife, but it seems that at least some of the groupers have learned to see them as potential meals, and I wonder how long the step is from that to them learning how to safely attack them.
 

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