North Wall conditions in Nov/Dec?

[navi_jen]

Hi SB folks....

I want to return to GC after a fabulous SMB trip last March. I really liked the diving, but wanted to try the North Wall (and to stay in the East End). I have an opportunity to get a good deal on a condo at the Reef between Mid Sep and mid Dec.

So, my question is, what time is best to go? I'm assuming late Nov or Dec to get past the fall storm season. Is that correct? Any suggestions?

My friend and I are aggressive non-tech divers...cave diving, 90-100 feet is what we like. I dove with Neptune's Divers on the SMB side last trip, and I would like sites that are a bit more challenging.

Thanks in advance....

Jen

 

[CJ's]

If you really want to dive the North wall then the best time to come is the summer months (May through mid October) and the best place to stay would be the West side. Typically in November/December we get stronger winds out of the Northeast which make North wall diving difficult.
We dive the North side as much as the conditions permit but in November on average we will dive 7-10 days a month there and less in December. From May to October we are able to dive the North wall most days...probably 25 days a month.
If you stay and dive on the East End you will not really dive the North wall proper even if conditions permit. There are some fabulous North side dives on east End (Babylon probably being the most notable) but the best of the North wall is more accessible from the 7 Mile Beach area.
What are you looking for to challenge you in your dives? Depth? Caves? Bottom time?

 

[navi_jen]

Hi...

Thanks for your advice. The only 'non changeable' item (if we choose GC) is staying at The Reef. We can go from mid Sep to mid Dec, though later is better for my schedule. I'm a newish-diver (20 dives under my belt) but a former collegiate swimmer. So a mix of maxing bottom time and cool sealife views are probably my priority.

What kind of diving is available from this area this time of year? I'd prefer not to spend an hour driving to dive ops each day or because we're not staying close to the dive sites, risking missing out on great sites (since I know each site is a single anchorage).

Sounds like, in the late fall, the winds can make this a chancy area to stay (if we want to focus on scuba)? My other option is to go to another island for this fall...then come back to GC when we can stay at a different place or come at a different time.

Any and all advice is appreciated!!!!

Thanks again, Jen

 

[Drew Sailbum]

There is fabulous diving available on Grand Cayman's East End. Ocean Frontiers or Tortuga Divers cover the area and choose their sites each day based upon weather (mostly wind direction and wave conditions).

Tortuga Divers departs from Morritts Tortuga Club which is right next door to The Reef. Ocean Frontiers departs from theri sho a short four minute drive away (and they will pick you up).

Though these East End operators dive around the north, east, and south shores of the island, their north dives are not what is normally referred to as the "North Wall". Still, there are sharp soaring wall drop offs both north and south.

 

[navi_jen]

Drew and CJ...

Thanks for the comments...Given the volatility of the weather (and the winds) in late November/early Dec are we going to have good visibility to dive the East End for the entire week? I assume we'll dive 4 to 5 of 7 days, most days probably 2 tank days.

On first go-round to an area, I prefer not to duplicate dives...and I definately don't want to stay (or dive) on SMB again.

Welcome your thoughts...

Jen

If it helps, looking at Grenada and Eleleuthra as backup vacation sites....if it doesn't seem likely we'll get a solid week of diving out of the East End during our timeperiod...

 

[DiveDocMD]

You say you want to dive the North Wall sites but you want good viz and conditions. The East End offers the opportunity to dive the best conditions available by going north, east or south. Ocean Frontiers and Tortuga Divers are top dive ops. Their crews and captains make a point to find the best conditions for their customers. Often if the north is blown out you will have great conditions going south or vice versa. The typical 2-tank profile is for a deep dive over the wall followed by a shallow site. I would not be worried about staying and diving the East End any time of year. I've been there more than a dozen times. I've taken my family there for their certification (and we stayed at The Reef Resort). I know you'll have a great time.

 

[navi_jen]

Dave,

Thanks for the feedback...In case it wasn't clear in my earlier posts, diving the North Wall isn't an absolute, particularly on this trip (since I'm hemmed in by timing and location). I had heard from other divers that the North Wall is great spot, but I do remember them saying summer trips were best.

My biggest concern is weather & winds that time of year (Oct to mid Dec). I'm happy to dive Eastside if the weather cooperates & we can get good variety of dive sites.

Were some/all of the trips you're referring to done during this time period?

Reason I ask is that someone at work mentioned they've stayed on the East End during the Fall, but they've had to abandon whole days of diving due to windy conditions or been 'blown south'....requiring repeat dive sites during their week vacation because they had to motor farther than anticipated to find a suitable, unclaimed site.

Not questioning anyone's trip experiences, just want to make sure I'm comparing apples to apples, as I need to manage expections within my travel group (since I'm the trip research guru)...

Thanks in advance...and keep the comments coming!

Jen

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Visibilty really does not change too much throughout the year. Cayman does not have any rivers so there is relatively low nutrient run off to feed algae blooms. Expect a minimum of 80ft visibility at any time. In 4.5 years of regulary guiding dives on East End I only had two "bad" visibilty dives and one of those was on the North Wall on the other end of the island.

East End dives are rarely blown out - maybe one or two days per year - unless there is a hurricane. The ops move north or south as the wind and waves require. If it blows really hard from just the wrong direction then high seas sweep down both the north and south shores of East End, but this does not often happen.

As to finding unclaimed sites... OF and TD are the only dive operators regularly diving East End with a max of four boats out at the same time between them. The Cayman Aggressor occasionally shows up making for theoretical max of 5. There are about 55 dive sites in East End for them to spread out amongst so even if half are blown out all week that still leaves plenty of options to dive without duplicating sites.

Average winds do tend to make diving south more likely during November and December. That is NOT a bad thing. The south shore wall dives include stunning sites like Jack McKenney's Canyons, The Maze, River of Sand, Kangaroo Gorge and there are many more. The shallow sites are even better IMHO, particularly those that require a bit longer boat ride like Ironshore Gardens, Maggies Maze, and Kelly's Caverns.

But don't be disappointed if your boat rides are short. Grouper Grotto, Snapper Hole, Dragon's Lair, Chubb Hole, and Cinderellas Castle are some of the sites closest to the dive shops and they rank high amongst the personal favorites of the dive staff. All are great shallow sites and prime choices on those rare days that the staff get to sneak off and do a non-working dive! (Uh, really.... we're taking the boat out for maintainence. Going to check the props. Really )

 

[navi_jen]

Drew,

Thanks for the note. I'd forgotten (until I dragged out my Franko's map) just how many sites there are on the East/South wall. Particularly since we'll be traveling during a non-holiday week, sheer mathematics make it unlikely that we'll have to double up.

One final question...is there any scuttlebutt on the island about how the Gulf Oil Spill might impact diving on GC? One concern my dad brought up is hurricane winds (and currents) dispersing the suspended Gulf oil far and wide....

 

[Testudo]

Wouldn't worry too much about the Gulf Oil spill affecting a diving trip to the Caribbean, even following a hurricane. But just in case, you can follow the spill field on Storm Pulse
Stormpulse / Hurricanes, severe weather, tracking, mapping.
Just click "more" under the radio button panel on the right-hand side for the "Oil Spill Forecast" option.