Little Cayman Beach Resort - Trip Report - Sep 2019

[KathyV]

About a week ago the West Bay area of Grand Cayman was also hit hard with a heavy sargassum influx that included the West Bay Dock that is used by many of the local dive ops.

The nasty gunk also hit Cemetery Beach which is a popular snorkeling spot on Seven Mile Beach; see the video at the link below:

 

[tridacna]

Talking of Eagle Rays, we had an incredible interaction with one at Mixing Bowl. We spotted one approaching us and everyone froze expecting the fish to swim away. Instead, the ray swam up to us, stopped then came closer to about 10 feet from me. It continued to within 5 feet of my buddy, then swam away and circled back toward us before dropping to the sand and hunted for about a minute in front of us. It was accompanied by the usual entourage of Horse-eyed jacks and grunts. Quite a special moment for such a usually shy creature.

 

[AggieDiver]

We had one do that last year on Jackson’s I believe. If everybody settles down low and move slow, they don’t seem to be as afraid as they used to be. There always seems to be that one person that wants to charge off and chase them though.

 

[tridacna]

It took a trip to LCBR to finally understand @KathyV ’s enthusiasm for the Caymans. As far as the Caribbean goes, it’s phenomenal. I’m already planning another trip with CC for next year!

 

[BDSC]

Talking of Eagle Rays, we had an incredible interaction with one at Mixing Bowl. We spotted one approaching us and everyone froze expecting the fish to swim away. Instead, the ray swam up to us, stopped then came closer to about 10 feet from me. It continued to within 5 feet of my buddy, then swam away and circled back toward us before dropping to the sand and hunted for about a minute in front of us. It was accompanied by the usual entourage of Horse-eyed jacks and grunts. Quite a special moment for such a usually shy creature.

Same thing happened with our group in August. We have been to LCBR numerous times and we would typically see maybe 2 or 3 eagle rays for the week. This past trip in August we were seeing them everyday. They got really close to us. We also saw more sharks than in the past. Especially some large reef sharks.

 

[tridacna]

We saw a lot of reef sharks too. Also quite a few free swimming nurse sharks on most of the reefs.

 

[KathyV]

Same thing happened with our group in August. We have been to LCBR numerous times and we would typically see maybe 2 or 3 eagle rays for the week. This past trip in August we were seeing them everyday. They got really close to us. We also saw more sharks than in the past. Especially some large reef sharks.

We saw a lot of reef sharks too. Also quite a few free swimming nurse sharks on most of the reefs.

Cayman’s decade of shark conservation : Grand Cayman Department of Environment

 

[KathyV]

It took a trip to LCBR to finally understand @KathyV ’s enthusiasm for the Caymans. As far as the Caribbean goes, it’s phenomenal. I’m already planning another trip with CC for next year!

I really do like Caymans, there's a lot of positive things about them. Easy for us to get there and the islands are clean, safe, offer a wide variety of topside options, and provide quality medical care. There are no concerns about tropical diseases and you can drink the water and eat the food without worry, and there have quality dive ops and excellent Caribbean diving, so it is a good fit for us.

The downside is that Cayman is expensive, but there are options and ranges and sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

Thanks again for the trip report - I am glad that you had a good trip!

 

[DreadnoughtNH]

Thanks for this report! I'm heading to LCBR solo in mid-October and really looking forward to a week of diving. Your tips are incredibly useful!

 

[tridacna]

Thanks for this report! I'm heading to LCBR solo in mid-October and really looking forward to a week of diving. Your tips are incredibly useful!

Here’s a good tip: Bring a reusable water bottle for use on the boat. Fill it on the boat. If you don’t, you’ll get issued with a tiny paper cup and you have to use that instead.