The Cayman Islands
With an increase in the popularity
of diving as a holiday activity and, long haul destinations being
more readily available to those on a more modest budget, many
dive locations that were once only 'destinations for the rich'
are now accessible to more people than ever before. One such
dive popular dive location is the Cayman Isles.
Situated 480 miles south of Florida,
these three sister islands are the visible peaks of a submarine
mountain range, rising 7,000 metres from the Caribbean's deepest
point, the Cayman Trench. The presence of deep water plus the
lack of rivers flowing out to sea means water visibility is second
to non. Combine this with a strict governmental policy of conservation
and the fringing reefs flourish with a wide array of marine flora
and fauna.
Cayman Isles - Dive Facts
Air Temp:
22 degrees Centigrade (Jan) to 28 degrees Centigrade (Aug)
Water Temp: 24 degrees Centigrade (Feb) to 29 degrees
Centigrade (Aug)
Viz: Water visibility generally between 20-30m+
North - Easterly winds may restrict
access to the Island's North walls during winter (average 3 times
per year). However, even when there is bad weather there
are leeward sites which are easily dived.
Grand Cayman
There are over 200 dive sites located
within 4 distinct areas. The West Wall runs parallel to Seven
Mile Beach, the main tourist area. On the leeward side of the
island seas are generally calm. Sites slope gently down to the
wall. Shore diving is possible south of George Town. The spur
& groove reefs of South Wall form a barrier reef which just
breaks the surface. Conditions here are a little more demanding
due to the prevailing south westerly winds. North Wall is famed
for pelagic sightings and great visibility. The wall starts at
around 15m in places and drops away to unseen depths. Schools
of Tarpon, Eagle Rays and Turtles are all common sights. Just
inside North Sound Stingray City is said to be the best 4m dive
in the world. At the East end of the island the wall takes on
a similar profile to the West Wall but with more caves and tunnels.
Grand Cayman is not only a scuba divers paradise, it has many
areas of interest to those who only wish to snorkel.
Little Cayman
On this 10 square mile island the
iguanas outnumber the human residents! Little Cayman is world
renowned in diving circles for the northern wall, particularly
Bloody Bay Wall. Here the reef starts at 6m and plunges away
into the depths. There are caves, tunnels and chimneys with a
fascinating array of marine life. With visibility often in excess
of 50m it is easy to spot the pelagics as they cruise by. With
little or no current Little Cayman offers world class diving
during the season however, during winter and due to a change
in prevailing winds, diving can be restricted to the southern
shores.
Cayman Brac
A 24 square mile island rising
to a bluff at its eastern end. There are more than 40 named dive
sites, many now buoyed to protect the reefs. This includes the
95m Ex-Russian frigate, renamed the Captain Keith Tibbets.
Sunk as an artificial reef, this wreck sits upright in 10-24m
of with its high calibre guns still in place. However, there
is much more to the Brac than one wreck. There are 300m deep
walls, chutes, swim throughs, and coral gardens, all rich in
marine life.
Web Resources
- Cayman
Islands - The official
Cayman Islands tourism website has all the information you could
possibly need to plan a holiday in this beautiful part of the
world.
- Dive
Cayman - Another official
tourist authority site but this time provided solely for the
interest of those who wish to dive the Cayman Isles. A wealth
of information along with screen savers, wallpaper and brochures
for download.
- Kuoni
Holidays - Probably the
most successful of the main stream tour operators to offer diving
packages within their range of holidays.
- Regal
Diving UK - A company with
12 years experience of specialising in world-wide diving holidays
and, winners of the Diver Magazine Best Dive Tour Operator
Award for three consecutive years.
- Aggressor
Fleet - A world-wide fleet
of Live-Aboard dive boats. Although the company headquarters
is in the Cayman Isles, they provide their services in other
popular dive destinations such as the Red Sea and Micronesia.
NB. If you are a club member and have dived
in any of the areas shown in this section, or indeed those in
the main travel section, how about
submitting a report to the Webmaster
for inclusion in the Club Dive Log???
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