Hey Surgers - I'm sitting here at the CBBR bar with Andora and have a few hours to kill before our outbound flight leaves so I can give you my (our) take on our week here. We did 18 tanks out of a possible 20 (passed on our last afternoon trip to tour the island with one of the two local cabbies and though we signed up for the Thursday night dive, there wasn't enough interest from the rest of the divers to meet the minimum 8 - we tried but I'm sure you guys will be a bit more committed). You'll see the octopus and channel crabs then. Concerning the local tour - stopping in to see inside the Windmill House was a blast - you will see it from the dive boat depending on the wind and which side you can dive on. Foots is quite the eclectic character (google Foots Cayman Brac for further info) The tour of the property is a hoot.
Facility and grounds are brand new - we had no issues with any of accommodations though the sonic insulation of the walls seemed minimal at times - be courteous to your neighbor and there won't be an issue. Ear plugs worked for us when we needed to repose early. Also not all rooms have a mini fridge or a safe - we needed neither but they can be provided if requested. Again, not an issue for us. Food was good - no complaints all around. Coffee service was provided at 0630 before the main dining area was opened (kudos to the wait staff for that). There's an omelette/waffle station along with fruits, juices, cereal (cold & hot), and cooked meats available. We did lunch at the bar on our SI after the morning dives as we didn't get that on the meal plan. We can recommend the grilled fish tacos though it seemed the burgers were another popular order. Dinner entrees were very good, again with a decent variety to satisfy carnivores and vegans alike. All meals are buffet style unless you order from the bar menu - can't say that is included on the meal plan so won't guess.
Ok, so for the important part: diving. Water temps were 78-80 F with, as you'd guess 79 being the typical. I wore a 3mm full w/ a beanie and was cool but comfortable. There seems to always be a NE breeze so if you get cold easily, a boat coat wouldn't be out of the question. SI is 40 minutes minimum - we did nitrox so this wasn't ever an issue for us. Profiles don't demand nitrox but 50-90' was typical and you will run into your NDL before you run out of gas if on air. Tanks are all AL80s - didn't see anything larger. Depths varied with a few down to 105 (swim through exiting at 105) but you can venture where you feel comfortable - there are more than a few walls that disappear. I think there was only one dive that started deep and didn't end up "on-top" but finished 50-70. Most first dives were 85ish and finished 30ish or shallower, 2nd dives 40-60ish and again finishing on top. It was typically a wall then a patch reef. No appreciable currents but a few of the shallower sites had some surge. The only time we didn't dive on a site was due to current - the dive op tends to avoid it as they tie to a mooring ball. Vis was very good - think the worst we saw was maybe 40+ and that was due to surge stirring things up. 60-80+ was typical. DM's will carry a pair of polespears to dispatch lionfish - the Nassau groupers know this. You can expect to find their nose stuck into the same hole you are trying to photograph with those carrying muck sticks or gopro poles garnering attention whenever it is extended towards the reef. AFA the pole spears - they are gov't issued and licensed so leave them at home - you wont be needing your gloves either. Bring your muckstick instead.
