Grand Cayman

Author: Michael Kane

I just got back from a week of mostly tech diving with the shop Divetech located in the West Bay of Grand Cayman. I give Nancy ( owner ) and her staff the highest recommendation. They run an extremely great shop. They seemed, more than any other shop I've seen in Cayman, to distinguish between those divers that are capable of diving un escorted and those that may need a little extra assistance. The staff was friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful. The shop is located oceanfront which allows for unlimited shore diving and of course they have scheduled boat trips for the reefs and the walls. If I remember correctly it was $5 US to do the shore diving and $10 if you wanted a Nitrox 32 or 36.

While the shop is set up to accommodate tech divers ( trimix, rebreathers, DPV's etc. ) there is a substantial recreational operation in existence.

Day One-

Fortunately all my gear arrived on time. Nancy's general rule of thumb on the 1st day is to do a check out dive to one level shallower than your highest level of certification. This allows for weight checks, equipment adjustments, and general comfort factors. We did a 200' wall dive just off the shore in front of the shop. The site is called Nancy's shute. It is so named because as you descend you are able to swim through a massive shute that starts at 170' and let's you out at 200'. Just outside the shute is a spectacular wall dive. Visibility was 300+ and the only time I even bothered to turn on my light was swimming through the shute. The corals and the reef were so brilliant despite the depths. Fish life was abundant, conditions were great. The great thing about doing deco diving on the walls in Cayman is that you entire deco ascent is done on reef's or walls so in reality you are still doing a dive. It was great to see the difference in the wall as your depths adjusted.

Day Two-

Had such a great time at that wall the first day we decided to do it again. This time we went a little to the south to check out a different part of the wall. We extended the depth to 300'. Once again, conditions were perfect. No currents, 300+ ft. vis and a wall that is every warm water divers dream. The shore in front of the shop allows for deco right up to shore. There is a reef that starts at 10' and drops down two separate mini walls to 60' and 100+. So while I would normally be hanging on a jon line attached to an anchor line getting beat up by currents and swells, here we would just hover above the reef enjoying all the reef had to offer. Somehow deco stops were not bothering me on these dives :-)

Day Three-

What turned out to be one of the most awesome dives I've ever done. We planned a multi level profile of 350' for 5 minutes and then 15 minutes at 200'. The site was the wreck of the Carrie Lee. A freighter that sank about 20 years ago. The top of the wreck starts at 165' and bottoms out at about 210'. The wreck sits about 20 yards short of the wall. The wall drops down into the abyss. The plan was to descend down passed the wreck, do the wall and then come back up and spend a the remaining minutes exploring the wreck. At 350' I rolled over and looked towards the surface and much to my surprise I could clearly see the sun shinning through. I never needed to turn my light on. The color of the reef shocked me at that depth. It was still brilliant. Just as Nancy and I confirmed with each other it was time to ascend she pointed down and about 20' beneath us passed two reef sharks. Upon ascending the wall it was one of the most surreal dives I have ever experienced. The bow of the Carrie Lee extends out over the wall so during the ascent you are looking up at this ship that looks like it is going to go over at any moment. Nancy later informed me that before Hurricane Mitch last year, the Carrie Lee was much further back from the wall. She is fearful that if another strong Hurricane blows through it could timble the Carrie Lee on down into the abyss.

Day Four-

I had brought my fairly new 660' rated Uwatec depth gauges for this trip. On day three I learned that *rated *meant only for keeping time not keeping depth. At 328' the gauge max's out. The reading sticks at 328' no matter how deep you are. Fortunately, Nancy had the older version that actually keeps depth passed 328' so no harm was caused. Thank God for the Buddy system. But we had planned on going to 400' on day 4 but decided in the interest of safety not to exceed the 320'. North Wall here we come!!!! Nancy pointed out 16 spotted eagle rays and one hammerhead. The wall of course was a good as can be and vis dropped to a mere 250+ :-).

Day Five-

Flying day was sadly, but surely, approaching so I only did 2 tanks shallow Nitrox dives just off the shore. 1st dive I did the mini wall to about 90' and dive 2 I did the shallower wall to 60'. I wanted to give myself 36 hours to off gas given the extreme diving we had been doing. While it killed me to spend the last afternoon watching everyone gear up and dive it gave me a great opportunity to watch the dive staff in action. They couldn't have been anymore helpful and knowledgeable. If you want an escorted dive they are willing and able. If you want to just be left alone they are happy to provide a detailed dive briefing and point you in the right direction.

If you want to take a class they will do anything from discover Scuba on up to closed circuit rebreather. The gases were blending perfectly, from what I could tell all the rental gear seemed well maintained and Nancy told me that the practice was to VIP the tanks every 6 months. DPV's and Camera's were at the ready and the only thing I could have asked for was a little more time away from the office.

So today, I'm going through mail, e-mails and answering phone calls but my mind is still in Cayman.