Little Cayman and Nitrox

[scubahiro]

Hi All,

Am thinking of diving in Little Cayman (and perhaps Grand Cayman) in the near future, and wanted to get some thoughts on the availability/practicality of Nitrox there. Generally, I prefer to dive Nitrox exclusively, unless I am in Cozumel where a first dive on a wall could have downswells that push the MOD of even EANx32. Thus, when in Coz, I will dive Nitrox on the second "shallow" dive only.

I know Little Cayman has some deep walls, but do people dive Nitrox there? Are there the same downswell concerns? I know there are fills available, through LCBR (I think). But, I just wanted to get thoughts as to what the Little Caymaniacs do when diving there. Also, do most resorts tend to let you dive the morning if you fly out the next day?

Thanks,

scubahiro

 

[H2Andy]

during my last stay at Grand Cayman (2002), Nitrox was still exceedingly rare.

unless things have changed, i wouldn't count on being able to find it easily.

i've never been to Little Cayman, so don't know.

 

[zf2nt]

Hi All,

Am thinking of diving in Little Cayman (and perhaps Grand Cayman) in the near future, and wanted to get some thoughts on the availability/practicality of Nitrox there. Generally, I prefer to dive Nitrox exclusively, unless I am in Cozumel where a first dive on a wall could have downswells that push the MOD of even EANx32. Thus, when in Coz, I will dive Nitrox on the second "shallow" dive only.

I know Little Cayman has some deep walls, but do people dive Nitrox there? Are there the same downswell concerns? I know there are fills available, through LCBR (I think). But, I just wanted to get thoughts as to what the Little Caymaniacs do when diving there. Also, do most resorts tend to let you dive the morning if you fly out the next day?

Thanks,

scubahiro

All of the Nitrox on LC comes from LCBR. You can get it if you're staying at Pirate's Point or Southern Cross, but they just get it from LCBR and mark it up. IMHO, Nitrox can be very important on the two morning dives. It's easy to get through the first dive on air without approaching the NDL, but after only a 45 minute surface interval before the second dive you are likely to have problems with bottom time on the second dive. You can run some sample simulations to see what I mean. On the first dive, you frequently will want to spend 20 minutes or so at 70'-80' and the remainder at ~40'. On the second dive, there are many sites where you need to be down 50'-60'. As I said, just run the simulations and you'll see why Nitrox is a good idea for the two morning dives.

As far as fllying after diving, the only policy I know for certain is at LCBR. There, they will not let you dive in the afternoon if you are flying out the next morning. You can do the morning dives if you are leaving the next day, however.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Nitrox is available at all 3 Cayman Islands since at least July 2000 in our experience.


For Little Cayman, we stayed at LCBR and dove with CCD in November 2003 - had an all-Nitrox package - EAN32, no problems. Membrane system as I recall. Then we stayed a week on Grand Cayman and did our tech training cert checkout dives at Turtle Reef as shore dives - Divetech can blend up anything you want and are certified for. EAN32 is standard 'in the racks' which we used for our recreational dives, but we had mixes from EAN25 to EAN50 available for our tech training, no problems.

In July 2000, we stayed a week on Cayman Brac and again had EAN32 all week as part of our nitrox package - membrane system. We also stayed a week on Grand Cayman then and dove EAN32 all week with Divetech - Cobalt Coast hadn't been built yet, and we stayed at The Breadfruit House (managed by the same folks who manage Cobalt Coast now). There used to be a ANDI fill station on GC back then, but I didn't see signs of it during our next trip in Nov. 2003.

 

[Drew Sailbum]

during my last stay at Grand Cayman (2002), Nitrox was still exceedingly rare.

unless things have changed, ...

Not so much that things have changed, but nitrox is readily available on Grand Cayman and has been since I got here in early 2002. Most shops obtain their nitrox from the commercial gas supplier, Pure Air.

I believe DiveTech has a working blending panel and possibly Ocean Frontiers. The blending panel at Sunset House was damaged by the elements following Hurricane Ivan. Pretty much everyone else will obtain fills from Pure Air, which is 32%ish. Most shops keep a stock on hand, but those deep wall dives are in abundance here too. Occasional downwellings (had a strong one on the North Wall last week) happen here and most folks do not dive nitrox on the wall dives.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Pure Air - that's the fill station on GC I remember from July 2000 - it was associated with ANDI at that time. Divetech no longer uses this in our experience in 11/03, but has their own system for EAN32 ready availability apparently, and Divetech can always partial pressure blend any mix you're certified for - for a price, of course. There was at least one other shop near West End / the harbor area using their own membrane system as well in July 2000, but I don't remember the shop name now.

 

[CJ's]

You'll be thinking of Aqua Air who supply mobile air fills to many of the small group operations and who used to be based in Morgans Harbour in West Bay. Their membrane got trashed by Ivan and the latest news is that they will not replace it, at least not for now. This leaves Pure Air as the main supplier of Nitrox on Grand Cayman, along with the few diveshops that have their own facilities (as mentioned earlier in the thread, Divetech and Ocean Frontiers are the only ones that spring to mind).

Downdrafts/downcurrents do tend to be pretty rare here. Occasionally we will get one on the North wall as the tides drop but I have never experienced one strong enough to deter the use of Nitrox. I guess Drew must have a pretty exceptional dive the other day!!
Drew, did you see any big stuff? We've been getting pretty regular hammerhead sitings between Tarpon Alley and Leslie's Curl these last few weeks and the Eagle Rays are starting to school! Had a group of eight a couple of days ago!

CJ

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Drew, did you see any big stuff? We've been getting pretty regular hammerhead sitings between Tarpon Alley and Leslie's Curl these last few weeks and the Eagle Rays are starting to school! Had a group of eight a couple of days ago!

CJ

Saw nothing out of the ordinary... dozens of tarpon, a few lobsters and a stingray wondering through. Had a group with a specific dive site requested when conditions were (ahem...) less than ideal. Actually it was unusually poor visibility with one impressive downwelling. Quite rare conditions.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

You'll be thinking of Aqua Air who supply mobile air fills to many of the small group operations and who used to be based in Morgans Harbour in West Bay. Their membrane got trashed by Ivan and the latest news is that they will not replace it, at least not for now. This leaves Pure Air as the main supplier of Nitrox on Grand Cayman, along with the few diveshops that have their own facilities (as mentioned earlier in the thread, Divetech and Ocean Frontiers are the only ones that spring to mind).

Downdrafts/downcurrents do tend to be pretty rare here. Occasionally we will get one on the North wall as the tides drop but I have never experienced one strong enough to deter the use of Nitrox. I guess Drew must have a pretty exceptional dive the other day!!
Drew, did you see any big stuff? We've been getting pretty regular hammerhead sitings between Tarpon Alley and Leslie's Curl these last few weeks and the Eagle Rays are starting to school! Had a group of eight a couple of days ago!

CJ

Yeah - Aqua Aire in Morgans Harbor - that's the other one I remember from July 2000. Sorry to hear their system was totaled.