Cayman Islands The Birthplace of Recreational Scuba Diving

The Cayman Islands and Scuba diving are a perfect match. The islands are even considered the birthplace of Recreational Scuba Diving. The French explorer Jacques Cousteau is considered the father of Scuba diving and early adapter in California and the movie industry gave scuba a wider exposure. However, it is the development of dive centers in the Cayman Islands that turned it into a recreational sport. Grand Cayman is the home of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame

USS Kittiwake Photograph by Pedro Paulo Cunha is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The Cayman Islands is not a scuba diving destination for those who have difficulties making up their minds. The Cayman Islands have a dive site for each day of the year. The dive 365 promotion focused on the many dive sites available.

The Cayman Islands are a self-governing British Overseas Territory located in the Caribbean Sea south of Cuba and west of Jamaica. It is considered a part of the Greater Antilles archipelago and is made up of three islands, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman,, and Cayman Brac. Over 95% of the island's population lives on Grand Cayman Island. Financial services (Off Shore Banking) and tourism are the major industries. The territory has a very limited manufacturing and agricultural infrastructure with imports outpacing exports by 20 to 1.

The tourism industry is focused on outstanding beaches, water sports, and of course snorkeling and scuba diving. Grand Cayman is a leading cruise destination as well as a honeymoon destination.

Grand Cayman Scuba Diving

Grand Cayman holds a special place in my heart where my love for scuba diving and snorkeling resides. I did my first boat and ocean snorkeling excursion off the famous 7-mile beach. I also did my first discover scuba dive on a reef just outside of Georgetown Harbor. My first land-based scuba diving vacation was also here. Here is a strange one, it is also the location of my best surface interval. Between dives, we stopped in a small cove and did some snorkeling with over 20 green turtles.

There are 240 dive sites of the Cayman Islands' Dive 365 program located around Grand Cayman. There is a mix of boat dives and shore dives. Most of the dive centers have their own “house” reef that can be dived if you have your own equipment and dive buddy for the price of a filled tank around $20. Snorkeling is also available. Most dive centers will have at least one dive boat going to a top 5 dive site as a first dive and a lesser-known site as a second dive. Here are a few of the not to miss dive sites for Grand Cayman's scuba diving.

• Eden Rock and Devil's Grotto: These two sites are close to each other and people often dive or snorkel one and then walk to the second for the next trip. They are popular for many reasons. If you arrive in Georgetown on a cruise ship, they are a short 5-minute walk from where the tenders will drop you off at the harbor. You can rent snorkeling gear and scuba tanks/ gear here if you need to. If you have your own equipment, there is no fee to enter the water here. You enter and exit the water by way of a ladder, similar to what you would see in a swimming pool. The water is about 4 feet (ca 1.2 m) deep and as you move away from the entry point it slopes to a slightly deeper depth. Further out is a small wall dropping to about 40 feet (ca. 12 m). The site has a healthy coral cover and an abundance of marine life. Tarpons are found in large numbers at this site. The Devil's Grotto is similar with some small caves and cut-outs.

• Sunset Reef: This is another shore dive/snorkeling destination that is near Georgetown Harbor only about 10 minutes from the cruise port. Sunset Reef is the house reef of Sunset Divers and Sunset House Resort. Sunset House was the first hotel to cater to scuba divers. The water is entered from a pier either by a ladder or a giant leap, the water being 15 feet (ca 4.5 m) deep at that point. The reef has massive staghorn and elkhorn coral as well as a wide variety of both soft and hard corals and of course schools of reef fish. Further out, but still in a shore entry reach the water drops to 55 feet (ca. 17 m) and the location of the Mermaid – Amphitrite. This is a 9 foot (ca 2.7 m) tall bronze statue. If you are interested in a citizen scientist project, they have a coral nursery and offer dives to learn about coral restoration. Whether you visit the reef or not, you should plan a visit to Cathy Church's Photo Center located at the Sunset House. Cathy Church is a legend in underwater photography, one of the pioneers in the field of underwater photography and of women in scuba diving. The center has an impressive collection of her underwater images and prints available for sale. You can also sign up for a class to learn how to best use your new Proshot case housing and your iPhone.

Stingray City photograph by Pedro Paulo Cunha is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

• Stingray City: This is another must-do if you are in the Caymans. While available for both scuba divers and snorkelers, I would recommend saving a little money and do this site as a snorkeler. This is an example of man's influence on wildlife. While I am opposed to dives that cause animals to change their habits, this one I will give a-okay to. Stingray City is a protected section of water with a shallow sandbar just under the surface offshore. In the 1950s, fishermen would put in here to sort and clean their catch. The waste was discarded into the waters. Stingrays came to eat the easy meal. Tourists eventually found the site and supplemented the actions of the fisherman. While the fisherman no longer throws waste in the waters here, the stingrays are being fed by the tourist. The waters here range from 5 feet (ca 1.5 m) to 15 feet (ca 4.5 m) in depth. Tourists are given scraps of squid or fish to feed to the stingrays who will eat them out of your hand, well more like suck them from your hand. In recent years, there have been times when the stingray numbers are low, so be sure to ask before booking a trip.

• USS Kittiwake: The USS Kittiwake was a US Navy submarine rescue vessel. It was intentionally sunk as an artificial reef in 2011 just off the famous 7 mile beach. Sitting in 65 feet (ca. 20 m) of water on a sandy bottom, The Kittiwake is one of the most popular dive sites. The ship was prepared for easy entry and it is often used as a dive for wreck diving courses. Even if you do not plan on entering the wreck, the marine life that has gathered on and in the wreck makes this an impressive dive. The superstructure reaches to about 15 feet (ca 4.5 m) below the surface. While some tour companies do visit it on snorkeling trips, the ship is too deep for watching the marine life from the surface. This is a boat dive due to the distance from the shore and boat traffic.

Most of the dive centers run smaller boats so you have a personal experience. If you are serious about your snorkeling, I would suggest you look at taking a snorkeling tour with a dive center instead of a “party” tourist boat. There are many tour operators that offer snorkeling tours often with rum punches afterward. The guest on these trips are often doing snorkeling for the first time and have little knowledge of snorkeling and how to protect marine life. Even if it is your first time snorkeling, going with a dive center will give you a better experience in most cases as well as better instructions.

A few years ago there was an organization that filmed over 100 dives with marine biologist. When it was created, viewers watched the dive live and had the chance to message the support boat questions which were relayed to the marine biologist doing the dive. They would in turn answer the question. The Dive Live program archive is great for anyone interested in the marine life of the Caribbean Sea.

Cayman Brac

Cayman Brac is a great diving destination about 100 miles (ca. 161 km) from Grand Cayman. It does have a small international airport so you can fly into it from the United States. While it does have 65 official dive sites, the island is not solely focused on tourism. Fishing is a more important industry on the island. Still, visitors will have a range of accommodations and condos to choose from. In addition to the great diving around the island, some dive centers will take trips to dive sites in the Bloody Bay Marine Park at Little Cayman. Here are two of the best sites:

• MV Keith Tibbetts was once a Russian warship, that was transferred to Cuba, later decommissioned, and sunk for an artificial reef. The ship is 330 feet (ca. 101 m) long and sits in about 100 feet (ca. 30 m) of water.

• East Chute is a dive site with both a wall dive and a wreck dive. It is located on the north side of the island. The chute cuts through the wall and begins at about 50 feet (ca. 15 m) and the Cayman Mariner wreck is in about 60 feet (ca. 18 m) of water.

Little Cayman For Scuba Divers Who Want To Getaway.

If you are looking for a low-key destination with world-class diving then Little Cayman is where you should head. There is no international airport on the island, however, there is a small local airport with flights to Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac. You can also take a one-hour boat ride between Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. The population is about 160 people of which only about 20 are locals the rest being immigrant workers or ex-pat retirees. There are, however, over 2,000 iguanas. The tourism industry is small but employs the majority of the people on the island. Fishing is the other major occupation.

Little Cayman has 60 official dive sites, all being boat dives. There are some shore dives that are available from different resorts. Bloody Bay Marine Park is home to about two dozen of the sites including 15 along the Bloody Bay Wall. Wall dive sites such as Three Fathom Wall, Donna’s Delight, and Marylin’s Cut are found on lists of the best wall dives in the world.

Go To Hell

I am sure we have all had someone in our life tell us to “Go To Hell”, and it likely upset us. If you are on Grand Cayman Island and someone says that to you, do not get upset, they might just be giving you some sightseeing advice. The West Bay district of Grand Cayman island has a unique black limestone formation. The black peaks make a visual impact, and the area has become to be known as “Hell”. While interesting, more tourists are drawn to the three souvenir shops and the small post office. Take some time and visit “Hell”. While there, remember those that told you to go there and send them a postcard. Remind them that they told you to “Go To Hell”, and thank them for the recommendation. Think carefully if you want to add the standard postcard line of “wish you were here”.