Where to Dive?!!

Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 2:19 pm Post subject: Where to Dive?!!

Hello!

We will be on Grand Cayman in a few weeks. We are staying at SBR. We have planned 2 days of boat dives and of course Stingray City. We know that one of the boat dives we want to do is the Oro Verde. What other recommendations for dive sites that would be suitable for new divers - less than 25 dives? We will definitely be taking advantage of all the shore dives too!

Thanks! palm

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 5:30 am Post subject:

The weather usually dictates what side of the island the boats will be going out on. The north side can get rough at times (as can the west..) but at the time you're going to be there (April) weather will play less of a role. As for dive sites, heck they're all good!!! Big Tunnels, Trinity Caves and Orange Canyon on the west come to mind, as do Ghost Mountain, Eagle Ray Pass and Princess Penny's Pinnacles on the North. These are Deep Dives, but they shouldn't pose you any problems. The Oro Verde, or OV as it's called, ain't what it used to be. I haven't dove it in a few years, but I hear it's pretty broken up. Even 4 or 5 years ago, it was known as "a wreck of a wreck of a wreck..." Dive sites are "first come, first serve" so to speak, so if a boat is already at a site, then you'd have to move on to another one. Most boats doing AM 2 tank dives will do a deep dive followed by a shallow dive. Getting a guided shallow dive as your first dive could be tricky... Check with your operator... I personally recommend going with Neptune's Divers. Keith and Casey are awesome.

for more info... And tell them Paul sent ya!

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:21 am Post subject:

I totally agree with what divnpaul has said.....they are all good, some being a little bit more spectacular than others (Big Tunnels, Trinity Caves).

I'm sure that your divemaster would appreciate knowing if you have a particular site that you'd like to go to, but he'll end up making the decision, based on weather conditions, current, visibility and availability (first boat that gets to the mooring gets it). So, it's really hard to know ahead of time where you're going to go. There have been a few times that we have tied up to a mooring and as our divemaster looked a little closer, he would decide that it wasn't as clear as he had hoped, so we untied and went off to another spot. So, you just never know.

We dove the Oro Verde again this year and it was "ok", but it's not anything special. The wreck is really scattered all over the place now and there are a lot of fish lurking around, but the best part of that dive is the reef beyond the wreck. That reef was actually better than I've seen it in years....tons and tons of fish. With that being said, though, all the other shallow dives were just as good, so don't worry about where you dive.

Char

Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 12:37 pm Post subject:

I dove the OV before Ivan...and yes, it was pretty broken up then...I can only imagine what Ivan did!

ALL Cayman diving is good!

Have fun, get wet!

Salann

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 9:04 am Post subject:

I dove OV last weekend and it wasn't that special... basically a few pieces of scrap metal flat on some sand. Big Tunnels I did this weekend and it was really cool. Lots of large Tarpon and a few turtles. It was a little over 100 ft, but as long as you have enough time up top, you should be fine.

I also liked Lonestar and Little tunnels and have heard good things about aquarium.

edit: Hammerhead hole was areally cool too. Dove that on my certification. Saw a 6-7 foot nurse shark.

GL.

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 9:20 am Post subject:

I have dove (is that correct? dove...dived...?)....anyway, I've been to the Oro Verde as a diver many, many times....pre-Ivan and even pre-Gilbert (or was it Michelle?), the storm that really smashed it up. Anyway, you're right that there's nothing "special" per se about it since it's a bunch of metal all over the place, but it's fun to see the little critters coming out of the nooks and crannys. But, the best part of the Oro Verde dive is the shallow reef just beyond the wreck and that was just teaming with fish this year.....more than I've ever seen there in the past.

Char

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