This post covers the second half of my spring break trip to Grand Cayman. For a recap of the first half, be sure to read Part 1!
Day 5: scuba and talk with swimmers
Somehow, I managed to get my planning together by Wednesday. I did two more dives in the morning, but this time with a different company: Red Sail Sports. While DNS Diving is a smaller operation, which never had more than 7 guests in one go (the night dive had only 3!), Red Sail is a larger operation. It serves some of the fanciest resorts on the island, including the Ritz, and has space for about 20 guests on their boats. While I prefer smaller operations, Red Sail actually did an excellent job of spacing out the divers, and fortunately it didn’t feel too crowded underwater.
Red Sail’s dive boat.
The first dive was Marty’s Wall, again on Grand Cayman’s West End. I had a max depth of 106 feet and was under for an hour. The highlights were another wreck (the Doc Poulson, a cable-laying ship) a sea turtle, garden eels, and a juvenile spotted drum fish.
Top-down view of a scorpionfish.
Juvenile spotted drumfish.
After a short surface interval, we headed to Lone Star Ledges off the West End’s Seven Mile Beach. Aside from Macabuca, this was my favorite dive site on the West End. There were several overhangs with lots of neat stuff underneath, and lots of colorful and healthy coral in the shallower part of the site. Some of my favorite sightings were a group of 5 cleaner shrimp around their eggs, a banded coral shrimp, a group of squid, and a large green moray eel. This dive was only 52 feet deep, and lasted over an hour.
A group of Pederson cleaner shrimp and their eggs.
All the squid in an orderly line.
In the afternoon, I had an opportunity to talk to about 30 of the middle school and high school swimmers coached my friend and host, Dave. We spent about an hour talking about swimming, school, how to balance both, swimming in college, dealing with injuries, and even depression. I was impressed by the swimmers’ in-depth questions their level of engagement. Talking with young swimmers is something I will always enjoy.
Day 6: snorkeling and scuba
Since my flight home was Saturday, I decided to make Thursday my last day of diving (for those of you who aren’t divers: it’s a good idea to have at least 24 hours between your last dive and flying). We went diving in the afternoon, because for the first and only time this trip, Dave was able to join me on the dives!
Before that, though, I spend the morning snorkeling (and getting my back incredibly sunburned). My favorite find was a pair of flying gurnards:
Flying gurnard pair.
Flying gurnard with its “wings” expanded.
Squid close up.
All of my other dives this trip were on Grand Cayman’s West End, but these last two dives were on the more wild and remote East End. The conditions on this side of the island are rougher than on West End because the wind typically comes from the west. However, this leads to some great diving because you see more of the bigger creatures (sharks!). Also, the coral all seemed to be about twice as big as the coral on the East End.
I went with a third dive operator for this outing, as the two I had been with before don’t visit the East End dive sites. Dave had a connection with Ocean Frontiers, and they are an absolutely top-class operation. The boats were clean and new, the staff was experienced and helpful, and most of the clients were very experienced divers. It takes long enough to get out to the East End that most of the people who make the effort are people who really love diving.
Ocean Frontiers dock on Grand Cayman’s East End.
The first dive was at Black Rock Reef. This was my 100th dive, a big milestone for me because I now have all the prerequisites for the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) I’ll be doing in May. The other requirement was that I become a divemaster, which I did in Australia in December/January.
I don’t often get the chance to dive with friends, so it was really special to dive with Dave on my 100th dive. On top of that, we saw a big reef shark at the top of the wall, my only shark this trip. We also saw a stingray, a sea turtle, a few flamingo tongues, and my favorite, a lettuce-leaf slug. The dive was 43 minutes with a depth of 99 feet.
Shark!
Lettuce leaf slug.
Smooth trunkfish.
The second dive didn’t disappoint either. This dive, at Snapper Hole, features the most swim-throughs I have seen at one dive site. Dave found a spotted moray, and we also saw a school of tarpon and a massive school of black durgon in the hour we were underwater. Our max depth was 63 feet.
Spotted moray eel.
Some of the East End scenery.
Black durgons during the safety stop.
Day 7: snorkeling
One of the swimmers I coached in my Oxford days, Matt, lived on Grand Cayman before going to Oxford. He remains at Oxford, having started on a PhD, but his family still lives in Grand Cayman. Dave also knows the family because he has coached Matt when he’s been home for the summer. The swimming community is small and everybody always seems to know everybody else.
Anyway, I tell you this because Matt’s dad, Tim, was generous enough to take Dave and me out on his boat Friday morning. Isn’t that incredible!? We went to Stingray City Sandbar, a place I had avoided thus far in the trip because of how many tourists congregate there. But since we were on Tim’s boat instead of with a tour company, we were able to go early enough to miss the cruise ship crowds.
The sandbar is 2-4 feet underwater and is famous for its incredibly tame (but still wild) stingrays. The rays will come right up to you, and it’s possible touch them and even give them a bit of a hug (see video and pic).
Dave and me on a Tim’s boat!
We spent about an hour out at the sandbar before heading back so Tim and Dave could get to work. I took a quick nap, and in the afternoon rode Dave’s bike into George Town so I could explore.
I made sure to get back to Dave’s place in time to go out snorkeling before the sun set. This snorkel session brought something new and exciting for me: flying gurnards. These fish are incredibly cool – watch the video below to see for yourself!
Day 8: travel
My flight wasn’t until 2:30 pm, so I was able to sneak in one last snorkel session before making my way to the airport. I saw a couple spotted morays and a couple stingrays, so I’m glad I went!
Snorkeling in shallow waters.
Land crab.
Smooth trunkfish.
While I waited for a taxi to the airport, a nice looking man asked me if I needed a ride. I accepted. We chatted on the way there, and it turns out his daughter is one of the swimmers on Dave’s team! This is what I’ve loved about Grand Cayman – it’s a small enough place that everybody seems connected (plus, it’s paradise).
Everything went smoothly with my travel, and I got home around 10:30 pm.
Summary
Grand Cayman is awesome. I would definitely recommend it to friends, whether they’re divers or not. The island offers a ton of water activities (scuba, snorkeling, wave runners, fishing, etc.), the water is clear, and the reef is healthy. The primary downside to visiting the island is the cost. Everything is expensive here: accommodation, activities, food, and even taxis.
Still, I hope I get the chance to come back. If I do, I will focus my diving on the East End. Also, it would be amazing if I could make it to Little Cayman.
Total dives this trip: 9
Total dives: 101
To read Spring Break Scuba Trip: Grand Cayman: Part 1, click here!
To see all my photos from the trip, click here!
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