Little Cayman Water Temp??

[JW13]

Headed to Little Cayman Beach Resort for a week starting April 19th and trying to figure out which wetsuit I will need to pack (weight is likely to be a challenge when packing).

So.... ......... does anyone know the water temp right now and / or what it is likely to be by April 19th?

 

[zf2nt]

I was diving Little Cayman mid-December to mid-January, and it was a constant 79F. But by April you should see 81F. For about 8 years I spent Oct-May on Little Cayman and went out diving every day. I logged all the dives, along with the temperature. So I would be willing to place a fair bet on that 81F prediction!

You should still pack a 3mm suit. In fact, I would go for a full suit rather than a shortie. Even going off the LCBR's boats, you should be able to get an hour of bottom time each dive without their scolding you too terribly bad, and by the third dive you can definitely get chilled in 81F water if you don't have a wetsuit on.

 

[keyshunter]

Currently, 79-80.

 

[-hh]

Headed to Little Cayman Beach Resort for a week starting April 19th and trying to figure out which wetsuit I will need to pack (weight is likely to be a challenge when packing).

Naturally, it depends upon your personal preference and comfort levels. I took my full 3mm. to the Brac last April, and since the water's cooler on springtime trips than fall trips, I did start to get a bit 'chilly' at around the 50 minute mark, whereas when it is 83+F in the fall, I can comfortably go 75+ minutes (diveboat permitting).

So.... ......... does anyone know the water temp right now and / or what it is likely to be by April 19th?

Weather station LCIY2 at the Little Cayman Research Center is what you want to look at, as it has a real time feed on meterologicals, including water temperature.

It is currently registering 78.3 °F and it measures its Sea temperature at a depth of 4.6 m below site elevation, which would be 15fsw...which is deep enough to minimize any artificially high temperature reading due to a warmed surface layer.

Similarly, in looking at its Google Map's location on Satellite view here, we can see that its location is ~500ft inside of the main wall drop-off, and just inside the spur/groove reef formation. As such, its location isn't going to be particularly susceptible to transient coldwater upwellings from off the wall, which are similarly weather-dependent.

If you're really concerned about weight on Cayman Airways Express, if the wetsuit is sufficiently comfortable, just wear it on the flight .. they don't weight the passengers flying to Little Cayman anymore.


-hh


PS: I can't say why, but I'm under the "recollection" that the Little Cayman Research Center's water temperature gage seems to read lower than most other sources of Cayman temperatures. I'm determined to not forget to pack my Sensus datalogger this year, so I should have some info for a fairly direct comparison soon. However, that doesn't mean that my little gage is any better calibrated ... just one that I have more personal datapoints on for what I find comfortable (or not).

 

[JW13]

Excellent information from all and thanks for the link to the NOAA LCIY2 station. I'll be checking it regularly for the next month or so.

For me, 81 degrees is right on the border between a shortie and a full 3mm. The shortie will pack better....hhmmmm......

I wonder if my wife would sit next to me on the plane if I wore the shortie on the Cayman Air flight over to the island?

 

[dwilli10]

Excellent information from all and thanks for the link to the NOAA LCIY2 station. I'll be checking it regularly for the next month or so.

For me, 81 degrees is right on the border between a shortie and a full 3mm. The shortie will pack better....hhmmmm......

I wonder if my wife would sit next to me on the plane if I wore the shortie on the Cayman Air flight over to the island?

No, she will not.

 

[Doctorfish]

I'll be there that week as well, and from past experience have learned to pack a 5mm. By the third dive, it gets cold even at 81 water temp. Other than dive gear, shorts and a few tee shirts, you don't need much else on LC so packing a full suit should not pose a problem. You are really going to love LCBR and the diving on LC.

 

[JW13]

Well, I ended up taking my 3 mm shortie...........my computer said it was 81 degrees all week at max depth (but I did notice a few 79 degree readings as well). I got a little cool occasionally, but never cold. Next time I think I will take a shortie and a full length suit. That way I will have the option of switching during the week.

BTW, Little Cayman Beach Resort was fabulous and the diving was terrific. I think it will be hard for me to do better on this side of the ocean.

Nice meeting and diving with you last week Doctorfish (and Susan). It's a small world so maybe we'll run into you again on another trip.

 

[Doctorfish]

JW, I told you to take the full suit.

I agree that LCBR is hard to beat. Great dive op, fabulous wall diving, good food and beautiful resort. It was nice diving with you and Deb as well.


Doctorfish