Is this possible

[Kharon]

To me, a "solo" dive means that no other diver is within visual range throughout the dive.

Exactly that. My checkout dives on Bonaire have always been solo (and they gave me the STINAPA tag before I took it). The checkout dive is not for them to check you out - it's for you to check out your equipment and satisfy yourself that everything is working properly, hasn't been damaged during the trip, and that you are satisfied with your buoyancy. In other words your kit checks out. Might be different for someone who walks in and obviously dooesn't have a clue.

All my dives on Bonaire have been solo. A few times I noticed divers off in the distance but not close enough to even see if I happened to be in trouble. Most dives I never saw another diver at all.

---------- Post added December 10th, 2013 at 08:45 AM ----------

Why are you planning the GC trip to just solo shore dive? Have you been to GC before?

Second question first. Never been to GC. Picked GC because I heard the shore diving was good and wanted a change from Bonaire. As far as why solo - tons of reasons. I'm safer ( I can supply the essay I wrote on why this is true), I'm free to dive my own plan and style and modify at the drop of a hat, I'm not terribly socially oriented, I have no desire to babysit, I crave solitude, I don't have to worry about or please anyone but myself, solo is the way I have snorkeled and dove from day one, I am completely equipped and skilled for solo diving, etc. ...

I might consider a boat dive to Bloody but shore diving is vastly cheaper at $160/week for unlimited air VS $110/2 tank boat dive. I can dive my bippy off for $320 over two weeks - that wouldn't cover 3 days of boat dives (when you consider tips etc.). Also shore dives don't involve arrival times, releases, people messing with your kit, schedules, sitting on a deck for the surface interval. None of which I find the least bit enjoyable.

 

[diversteve]

Turtle Reef at night might be an option. After Olin at Sundivers goes home. The stairs are still accessible thru the restaurant's deck. The picture of the blue umbrellas near the flags show it: Cracked Conch Grand Cayman Ocean Front Seafood Restaurant and Tiki Bar - Gallery
Cracked Conch Grand Cayman Ocean Front Seafood Restaurant and Tiki Bar - Diving Turtle Reef

Bloody Bay wall is off Little Cayman. That's a plane ride in addition to a boat dive.

 

[tkaelin]

Thanks Kharon, I love solo diving in Bon but have not solo dived in GC, primarily because most ops don't permit it and it is not quite as easy as in Bon but that I'll defer to others who have more shore diving experience in GC. Shore diving spots with ops (turtle reefs, lighthouse point and eden rock) will likely not let you go solo but worth checking with them directly. . These are all easy sites that would be perfect for solo if permitted. I have rented tanks at divers supply and that is the only place I know of where you can rent tanks and take them offsite. Not sure what they would say if you walked in by yourself and tried to rent a couple tanks. I would consider a boat trip, at least to try sites on the North or East, just to get out to the wall and experience the diving. Ops like Ocean Frontiers (East End) and Divetech (North and West) are well run and if you let them know that you are a single diver and experienced they will let you buddy up with the DM as opposed to a random person and you can keep some greater distance between you and the DM than you would say with a randomly assigned buddy. You will need to be within sight of the dm but depending on the dm, you can kind of do your own thing with relative freedom so long as you are within eyesight of the DM. I did this a couple trips back with Divetech and it worked out well and much better than the random buddy assignment. Diving in GC is different that Bon in many ways, the topography being the biggest with GC having dives with sheer walls, caves, swim throughs, tunnels etc where the topography on Bon is mostly the same sloping reef down to depth. I like the concentration and diversity of marine life in both but think it is better in Bon. Have fun and enjoy the trip.

 

[nipi]

Thanks Kharon, I love solo diving in Bon but have not solo dived in GC, primarily because most ops don't permit it and it is not quite as easy as in Bon but that I'll defer to others who have more shore diving experience in GC. Shore diving spots with ops (turtle reefs, lighthouse point and eden rock) will likely not let you go solo but worth checking with them directly. . These are all easy sites that would be perfect for solo if permitted. I have rented tanks at divers supply and that is the only place I know of where you can rent tanks and take them offsite. Not sure what they would say if you walked in by yourself and tried to rent a couple tanks. I would consider a boat trip, at least to try sites on the North or East, just to get out to the wall and experience the diving. Ops like Ocean Frontiers (East End) and Divetech (North and West) are well run and if you let them know that you are a single diver and experienced they will let you buddy up with the DM as opposed to a random person and you can keep some greater distance between you and the DM than you would say with a randomly assigned buddy. You will need to be within sight of the dm but depending on the dm, you can kind of do your own thing with relative freedom so long as you are within eyesight of the DM. I did this a couple trips back with Divetech and it worked out well and much better than the random buddy assignment. Diving in GC is different that Bon in many ways, the topography being the biggest with GC having dives with sheer walls, caves, swim throughs, tunnels etc where the topography on Bon is mostly the same sloping reef down to depth. I like the concentration and diversity of marine life in both but think it is better in Bon. Have fun and enjoy the trip.

I believe you need 1 Ccard per tank rented at Divers Supply & Eden Rock (& quite possibly 1 physical person present per tank rented). You could also try Don Fosters to rent a tank to take offsite. Once offsite nobody cares whether you are solo or not. Except that at those shore dive sites with operators attached already mentioned you aren't supposed to use tanks other than theirs & you will probably have difficulty if there's only one of you going solo.

Perhaps you should buy a tank from Divers Supply, get it filled at Pure Air to your heart's content during your stay & then sell it on ecayonline when you leave ...

 

[Doctorfish]

I agree with Tkaelin, that once you are in GC, you should try to experince the wall diving North or East End, it is different from anything on Bonaire and the wall is awe inspiring. If you do go out boat diving, most DMs will be happy to let you maintain some distance after they have watched you do a dive to make sure that you seem competent. The DMs usually end their dive earlier than the guests so if you want to stay in the water, you will still end up paired up with a buddy at that point in the dive. If you go out with an operator like Wall to Wall, DNS, OF or Divetech, they tend to have experienced divers on their boats to buddy up with. No operator is going to let you go off completely on your own on a wall dive. Cayman Watersports Association has rules and all the member operators are obliged to follow them.

 

[Alex777]

No operator is going to let you go off completely on your own on a wall dive.

Not correct. Many dive ops will allow precisely that. I do it regularly when boat diving with dive ops - 2 or 3 times a month, and have done for years.

To ensure a good reception from the DMs, I suggest you bring your own pony bottle (not Spare Air) with its own fully redundant reg & SPG. Also, don't make solo diving a topic of discussion on the boat. Your pony bottle says "I'm diving solo", so no need to discuss it. Just hop in, go wherever, and be back in one hour. It helps if you are not navigationally challenged.

 

[Doctorfish]

Alex, what dive ops allow this? I am curious.

 

[Alex777]

Alex, what dive ops allow this? I am curious.

PM sent.

 

[Kharon]

To ensure a good reception from the DMs, I suggest you bring your own pony bottle (not Spare Air) with its own fully redundant reg & SPG. Also, don't make solo diving a topic of discussion on the boat. Your pony bottle says "I'm diving solo", so no need to discuss it.

I never dive anywhere, at any depth without my pony. Same kit every dive - and practice regularly. Also, I always have all the redundant equipment (2 cutting tools stowed in different locations, 2 surface markers, etc.). I solo dive smart, skilled and prepared. That's not to say I might not die down there but it won't be from lack of skill, preparation, or equipment - though it could easily be from being paired with a "buddy" who panics and kills us both - LOL. It also won't be from over confidence, lack of planning the dive, failing to be aware or any of the other pitfalls of pride. I'm kind of anal about my solo diving. Same routine/checklist gearing up (no one "help" me - thank you very much anyway) and if I forget the smallest thing I cancel the dive because I didn't pay strict enough attention.

All that said, I don't think I'll be going to Grand Cayman. I'm not going to sneak around trying to avoid detection so I can dive the way I want to and quite possibly not be able to. I'm also not going to pay $110 or more for two dives from a boat every day I'm there. Way to spendy for my blood. Guess I'll have to keep looking.

 

[Alex777]

Perhaps you should buy a tank from Divers Supply, get it filled at Pure Air to your heart's content during your stay & then sell it on ecayonline when you leave ...

Why not take nipi's suggestion? Anyway, you can solo dive all you want, any time you want, except at a small handful of locations where the entry point is controlled by a dive op.