Overview:
We've been staying at our place on Grand Cayman's East End more and more and when Aggressor offered a $600 discount a while back we thought a week aboard the boat would be a great add-on to one of our trips south. What a great decision! We had a fantastic week, diving sites we haven't done in years, and experienced some of the most phenomenal conditions I've ever seen in the winter in Cayman. This report started out as a daily log that I originally posted on another site, and highlights the key points of the trip.
We typically fly out of Dulles and are fortunate to have both Cayman Airways and United flying non-stop to GCM. We first spent a week diving with Compass Point and then packed up our gear and drove to Georgetown to board the boat last Saturday afternoon. It was a new experience not having to deal with a lot of the normal dive travel logistics before and after the trip since all of my dive and photo gear is in Cayman to begin with, and will be left here when I go north.
Dive Day 1:
We boarded on Saturday afternoon and immediately set off for Little Cayman. The crossing was a breeze and the conditions off Bloody Bay Wall and Jackson Bight are beyond flat. Water temps are 78-79. We did two dives (Randy's Gazebo) this morning and will do one here at Jackson followed by a late afternoon and night dive at a third site. We saw lots of groupers, crabs, turtle, and the usual suspects.
There have been a couple of changes since I was last on the boat, including free wifi. Pretty cool. The chef is from Jamaica and it was clear early on that I was going to have to do a lot of diving over the course of the week given all the terrific food offered.
The boat holds 18 but there are only 12 of us onboard during the week of Presidents Day; great for us, and unusual given that all the surrounding weeks are sold out. Cabins are comfy with individual climate control and TVs with DVDs. There also is an iMac for those who didn't bring his/her own.
One more quick pic: This is what I woke up to this morning ...
The afternoon/evening dives were at The Meadows and 3 Fathom Wall. There were *lots* of sharks at The Meadows, lots of groupers in general, and temps holding at 79.
Dive Day 2:
We started out day #2 at Leah Leahs lookout, a spectacular spot with a really beautiful large pinnacle. Lots of Groupers joined us once again, with one in particular doing his best to point out a small lion fish. It seemed like if he could talk hed be telling me to spear it so he could eat it. In general, the one thing were not seeing a lot of are lion fish, which is a very good sign. We also ran into a friendly and photogenic turtle and a huge lobster that was sitting at the bottom of a big barrel sponge. I always look in the sponges and this time got a surprise! ;-) Also saw my first pygmy octopus on this site - and of course had the wide angle lens on the camera!
The afternoon dives were at Bus Stop, a pretty site with a mini-wall with lots of little critters (blennies, Pederson shrimp, yellow headed jaw fish, etc.) and passages out to the deep wall. There were lots of opportunities for exploring all kinds of nooks and crannies through the wall. A hammerhead was spotted just off the mooring line.
The night dive was over at Cayman Brac so we headed over for the 90 minute run after the last afternoon dive. We dived the Tibbitts wreck as the night dive and first dive the next morning. Water temps still 79, seas flat, great viz out on the walls. All dives were in the 100 foot range; nitrox was 31-21% and $90 for the week for repeat guests ($100 otherwise, which is still an excellent deal).
This shot shows the awesome viz we've been having:
Day 3:
What a difference a day can make! We woke up to large swells off the coast of the Brac due to a front passing through. Things got so rough on the deck that four people lost their fins when they were ripped off the rack overnight. Luckily the boat was stocked with enough spares for everyone. We did one early dive on the Russian destroyer and then got underway quickly to head back over to protected waters on the lee side of Little Cayman. The wreck's mid-section was pretty broken up, with only one end upright - very different from the last time I saw it!
For dive #2 and #3 we moored at Black Holes on the south side of Little Cayman, a very pretty site with chimneys and crevices down to a spectacular wall from a sandy area with patches of coral. Seas are calm once again; not quite as flat as earlier in the week, but not too shabby.
A couple more pics from Little Cayman:
This guy was busy excavating. To his left in the photo, you can see the little puff of sand he had just spit out:
Never had seen a lobster hanging out in a barrel sponge before!
Day 4:
We finished the crossing overnight and woke up at the northwest corner of Grand Cayman to dive at Big Tunnels. The crossing was pretty easy again. Conditions were still pretty flat and the viz was pretty much endless. Big Tunnels is a beautiful site that I hadnt dived in years, with a large pinnacle and canyons with big sea fans. We saw a couple of turtles and yet more big groupers. For a change I had the right lens on the camera. The days agenda included two dives on Big Tunnels, followed by 2 afternoon dives and a night dive on the Kittiwake.
Today also was boutique day, with the Aggressor opening shop to offer a wide variety of shirts, hats, and even handmade Christmas ornaments in manta and eagle ray shapes. The captain, Alan, also made arrangements for those who lost fins to be furnished with replacements. Also, as compensation for the cost, Nitrox for the week provided free of charge. They really didn't have to do this, as it was purely an accidental loss, so it was a particularly generous gesture.
A few shots from today:
We hit the sack relatively early since the next day was set to start with a pre-dawn dive at 5:45 and then 2 'normal' morning dives, 2 afternoon dives, and a night dive, for a total of 6 dives. As they say, "Eat, Sleep, Dive ... Repeat."
Day 5:
We started the day on the Doc Poulson wreck, a 70-foot cable-laying ship sunk in 1981 next to a reef and (relatively) short wall. The wreck is encrusted with brain corals and sea fans and is home to a big green moray, a large Mutton, and a couple of groupers. Between the wreck and the reef and wall are sandy patches with garden eels.
After that we headed up north for a dive at Stingray City followed Trinity Caves and Round Rock, and then wrapped up the day on the Oro Verde. Stingray City was fun for a few photos and the people who had never done it before much appreciated making the stop.
I had forgotten what a fantastic site Trinity Caves was! It has beautiful swim throughs and crystal blue water. We saw several turtles and three huge green morays free swimming - the largest I've ever seen - with two of them in a mating ritual. It was incredible. Seas continued to be flat, water temps were reading at 78, and viz was still terrific.
The Oro Verde was a lot more broken up than I remembered it, but it makes a great home for all kinds of creatures and schools of fish. Temps were the warmest of the trip, reaching 80 degrees.
A few more pics...
Day 6:
For the sixth and last day of diving, we had sites on the itinerary for the morning, Eagle Ray Rock and Devil's Grotto, both very nice dives not too far from the dock. We didn't see any eagle rays at Eagle Ray Rock, but we did see the largest turtle of the trip. The site is very pretty, with long sloping channels of sand surrounded with scenic reef with plenty of fish. It's on the southwest tip of the island, and reminded me of ski slopes.
And after the dives, the boat headed back in to Georgetown for refueling and provisioning, and to get ready for next week's guests and do it all over again!
The Aggressor hosted a cocktail party on the boat on the last evening, followed by dinner in Georgetown. From what I heard, they put out quite a spread on the boat and a great time was had by all - ending a great trip in style! We headed back to our own place on East End in the mid-afternoon, taking lots of great memories with us.
More pics:
Back on East End I wasnt quite ready to end my vacation, so I did two more dives to cap things off. Theres no place like home. J
Summary:
The Aggressor is great for getting Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands all wrapped up in one trip. If you have two weeks, I'd do the Aggressor one week and then East End the second week (or vice versa). The Aggressor doesn't typically do the north, south and east sides of GC. This worked great for us since we didn't dive a single site we've dived in years while we were on the boat. Then we were able to come back to EE and dive our 'home' sites.
We've been staying at our place on Grand Cayman's East End more and more and when Aggressor offered a $600 discount a while back we thought a week aboard the boat would be a great add-on to one of our trips south. What a great decision! We had a fantastic week, diving sites we haven't done in years, and experienced some of the most phenomenal conditions I've ever seen in the winter in Cayman. This report started out as a daily log that I originally posted on another site, and highlights the key points of the trip.
We typically fly out of Dulles and are fortunate to have both Cayman Airways and United flying non-stop to GCM. We first spent a week diving with Compass Point and then packed up our gear and drove to Georgetown to board the boat last Saturday afternoon. It was a new experience not having to deal with a lot of the normal dive travel logistics before and after the trip since all of my dive and photo gear is in Cayman to begin with, and will be left here when I go north.
Dive Day 1:
We boarded on Saturday afternoon and immediately set off for Little Cayman. The crossing was a breeze and the conditions off Bloody Bay Wall and Jackson Bight are beyond flat. Water temps are 78-79. We did two dives (Randy's Gazebo) this morning and will do one here at Jackson followed by a late afternoon and night dive at a third site. We saw lots of groupers, crabs, turtle, and the usual suspects.
There have been a couple of changes since I was last on the boat, including free wifi. Pretty cool. The chef is from Jamaica and it was clear early on that I was going to have to do a lot of diving over the course of the week given all the terrific food offered.
The boat holds 18 but there are only 12 of us onboard during the week of Presidents Day; great for us, and unusual given that all the surrounding weeks are sold out. Cabins are comfy with individual climate control and TVs with DVDs. There also is an iMac for those who didn't bring his/her own.
One more quick pic: This is what I woke up to this morning ...
The afternoon/evening dives were at The Meadows and 3 Fathom Wall. There were *lots* of sharks at The Meadows, lots of groupers in general, and temps holding at 79.
Dive Day 2:
We started out day #2 at Leah Leahs lookout, a spectacular spot with a really beautiful large pinnacle. Lots of Groupers joined us once again, with one in particular doing his best to point out a small lion fish. It seemed like if he could talk hed be telling me to spear it so he could eat it. In general, the one thing were not seeing a lot of are lion fish, which is a very good sign. We also ran into a friendly and photogenic turtle and a huge lobster that was sitting at the bottom of a big barrel sponge. I always look in the sponges and this time got a surprise! ;-) Also saw my first pygmy octopus on this site - and of course had the wide angle lens on the camera!
The afternoon dives were at Bus Stop, a pretty site with a mini-wall with lots of little critters (blennies, Pederson shrimp, yellow headed jaw fish, etc.) and passages out to the deep wall. There were lots of opportunities for exploring all kinds of nooks and crannies through the wall. A hammerhead was spotted just off the mooring line.
The night dive was over at Cayman Brac so we headed over for the 90 minute run after the last afternoon dive. We dived the Tibbitts wreck as the night dive and first dive the next morning. Water temps still 79, seas flat, great viz out on the walls. All dives were in the 100 foot range; nitrox was 31-21% and $90 for the week for repeat guests ($100 otherwise, which is still an excellent deal).
This shot shows the awesome viz we've been having:
Day 3:
What a difference a day can make! We woke up to large swells off the coast of the Brac due to a front passing through. Things got so rough on the deck that four people lost their fins when they were ripped off the rack overnight. Luckily the boat was stocked with enough spares for everyone. We did one early dive on the Russian destroyer and then got underway quickly to head back over to protected waters on the lee side of Little Cayman. The wreck's mid-section was pretty broken up, with only one end upright - very different from the last time I saw it!
For dive #2 and #3 we moored at Black Holes on the south side of Little Cayman, a very pretty site with chimneys and crevices down to a spectacular wall from a sandy area with patches of coral. Seas are calm once again; not quite as flat as earlier in the week, but not too shabby.
A couple more pics from Little Cayman:
This guy was busy excavating. To his left in the photo, you can see the little puff of sand he had just spit out:
Never had seen a lobster hanging out in a barrel sponge before!
Day 4:
We finished the crossing overnight and woke up at the northwest corner of Grand Cayman to dive at Big Tunnels. The crossing was pretty easy again. Conditions were still pretty flat and the viz was pretty much endless. Big Tunnels is a beautiful site that I hadnt dived in years, with a large pinnacle and canyons with big sea fans. We saw a couple of turtles and yet more big groupers. For a change I had the right lens on the camera. The days agenda included two dives on Big Tunnels, followed by 2 afternoon dives and a night dive on the Kittiwake.
Today also was boutique day, with the Aggressor opening shop to offer a wide variety of shirts, hats, and even handmade Christmas ornaments in manta and eagle ray shapes. The captain, Alan, also made arrangements for those who lost fins to be furnished with replacements. Also, as compensation for the cost, Nitrox for the week provided free of charge. They really didn't have to do this, as it was purely an accidental loss, so it was a particularly generous gesture.
A few shots from today:
We hit the sack relatively early since the next day was set to start with a pre-dawn dive at 5:45 and then 2 'normal' morning dives, 2 afternoon dives, and a night dive, for a total of 6 dives. As they say, "Eat, Sleep, Dive ... Repeat."
Day 5:
We started the day on the Doc Poulson wreck, a 70-foot cable-laying ship sunk in 1981 next to a reef and (relatively) short wall. The wreck is encrusted with brain corals and sea fans and is home to a big green moray, a large Mutton, and a couple of groupers. Between the wreck and the reef and wall are sandy patches with garden eels.
After that we headed up north for a dive at Stingray City followed Trinity Caves and Round Rock, and then wrapped up the day on the Oro Verde. Stingray City was fun for a few photos and the people who had never done it before much appreciated making the stop.
I had forgotten what a fantastic site Trinity Caves was! It has beautiful swim throughs and crystal blue water. We saw several turtles and three huge green morays free swimming - the largest I've ever seen - with two of them in a mating ritual. It was incredible. Seas continued to be flat, water temps were reading at 78, and viz was still terrific.
The Oro Verde was a lot more broken up than I remembered it, but it makes a great home for all kinds of creatures and schools of fish. Temps were the warmest of the trip, reaching 80 degrees.
A few more pics...
Day 6:
For the sixth and last day of diving, we had sites on the itinerary for the morning, Eagle Ray Rock and Devil's Grotto, both very nice dives not too far from the dock. We didn't see any eagle rays at Eagle Ray Rock, but we did see the largest turtle of the trip. The site is very pretty, with long sloping channels of sand surrounded with scenic reef with plenty of fish. It's on the southwest tip of the island, and reminded me of ski slopes.
And after the dives, the boat headed back in to Georgetown for refueling and provisioning, and to get ready for next week's guests and do it all over again!
The Aggressor hosted a cocktail party on the boat on the last evening, followed by dinner in Georgetown. From what I heard, they put out quite a spread on the boat and a great time was had by all - ending a great trip in style! We headed back to our own place on East End in the mid-afternoon, taking lots of great memories with us.
More pics:
Back on East End I wasnt quite ready to end my vacation, so I did two more dives to cap things off. Theres no place like home. J
Summary:
The Aggressor is great for getting Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands all wrapped up in one trip. If you have two weeks, I'd do the Aggressor one week and then East End the second week (or vice versa). The Aggressor doesn't typically do the north, south and east sides of GC. This worked great for us since we didn't dive a single site we've dived in years while we were on the boat. Then we were able to come back to EE and dive our 'home' sites.
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