Question Sargassum Report?

[tomh1972]

Good morning all,

Just wondering if anyone has been on-island recently to give a sargassum report for SMB and the usual shore dive spots?

thanks
Tom

 

[Doctorfish]

I was on the Brac in April and there was some Sargassum piling up in the inlets making entry messy at places like Radar Reef. I just looked at the live webcam from Macabuca and no Sargassum in sight in the cut or off shore.

 

[Alucard]

On island right now. SMB is completely clear of it. I have been to Sunset House, and Macabuca for shore diving and they also are clear. Did a boat dive out on the north wall this noontime and there were some mats floating out there but it didn't spoil the dive - in fact there were about 50 Black Durgon hanging out under one mat on the safety stop which was an awesome sight!

The south shore is a different story, I'm afraid. Bodden Town beach was feet-deep in it. Spotts Beach had less than Bodden Town, but still enough to make it unpleasant to get in and out of the water. Haven't been out to the East End yet and, given the wind direction for the past week, I'm not inclined to....

 

[tomh1972]

Thanks folks. Sounds like mostly good news thus far.

 

[BrackaFish]

Thanks folks. Sounds like mostly good news thus far.

I find Good news is relative. This is from Cayman Brac, Public Beach, south side. For reference my son is 5 ft. 7inches. They appeared to be using mechanical devices to try and clear the beaches, but we noticed quite a few large patches floating on the surface when we flew in

 

[Alucard]

Yikes! That is going to be stinky!

 

[azstinger11]

Didn’t notice much on the west side at all, east side was stinky! We just got back Saturday June 18th for reference.

 

[BrackaFish]

My son took me on a belated Fathers Day Dive yesterday at Scott’s Dock, Cayman Brac, north side. Surface was clear of Sargassum, but we did notice that there was quite a bit of decayed Sargassum laying on the sand between some of the coral fingers. While a nice storm might scour that away, it would most likely just add fresh patches to replace the old stuff.

 

[tomh1972]

Back from GC - no problems with sargassum on the big island that we saw, but didn’t go to the north or east. Beach erosion on SMB, though, is significant.

 

[Alucard]

Which part of SMB were you at? I do find it varies along the length quite a bit.