Little Cayman as a new diver - what to expect?

[PatW]

You might be worrying a bit much.

Little Cayman diving is EASY. You have nice, big, stable boats. Your BC and regulators are on the boat all set up and ready to go. All you have to bring on board are your mask, fins and wet suit from the nearby drying shed.

There is almost never any current. The visibility is often 100 plus. The boat is usually moored in about 20', so you end up looking at things near the boat for your safety stop. You can dive to 115' but on most dives 60' is enough.

At Little Cayman has abundant life. It is probably the best place in the world too see the endangered Nassau grouper. They can be as friendly as puppies. I have had them follow me around for nearly a whole dive. You will see hawksbill turtles and they usually ignore divers. Also you will see great southern stingrays. I see the following on every trip: schooling horse eyed jacks, French angels, Grey angels, Queen angels, green morays, speckled morays, southern sting rays, eagle rays, banded butterfly fish, four eyed butterfly fish, spot fin butterfly fish, stoplight parrot fish, French grunts, blue line grunts, black durgins, queen triggers, school masters, three spot damsels, secretary blennies, head shield slugs, lettuce sea slugs, trumpet fish and many others. There are also numerous species of sponges, gorgonians (soft corals), large polyp hard corals and stag horn corals.

The diving is superb. The dive masters are very good. The bar is nice and the bartenders are good. The food is good. They take good care of people.

Sure it is a bit scary to go on that first trip, but try to give it a shot.

Also see if you can arrange with a dive master to get properly weighted. Getting the right weight makes diving a whole bunch easier.

 

[hroark2112]

LC diving is super easy. The DM will carry your gear and put it on your back, then they will lead you around like a puppy if you so desire. Sharks? Sure...nurse sharks. Rays? Absolutely. Unless you're a freaking moron Aussie that grabs them by the tail, they're harmless.

Honestly there is nothing to be scared of. One of the best dive trips I've ever been on.

 

[drrich2]

If you are concerned that Caribbean reef sharks and rays pose a substantial risk to recreational divers (not necessarily hand-feeding squid to rays at Sting Ray City, or around sharks on shark feeding dives), I think you'll find both surprisingly benign, and usually afraid of you. And nurse sharks remind me of catfish; again, unless you're packing food for them.

If you have a phobia about either, such that despite consciously realizing the irrationality of your fear the sight of one is none-the-less reasonably apt to throw you into an unreasoning panic, that's another issue, and one to work on.

Buddy issue: friend doesn't know when to quit. She forwarded me an email from the person organizing the trip indicating they had a number of new divers on this year's trip and all loved it. She just does not get it.

For no other reason, the buddy issue with my friend was a good enough reason to cancel. When I told her I was backing out, she again showed that she fails to understand the concept of "don't do anything that makes you uncomfortable." She just doesn't get it.

A personal issue to be sure. I suspect you may be placing a bit too much importance on this buddy, if something to do with that person is a good enough reason to cancel. I imagine you can probably dive with the guide leading the dive; this is not uncommon. Some people who travel alone prefer it over being buddied with an instabuddy, and 'group dive' situations aren't uncommon either, and that can work in high-viz. benign condition environments.

Richard.

 

[Marie13]

I'm going to Lake Huron instead. Heck of a lot cheaper and essentially in my backyard. I got into diving so I could dive the Great Lakes wrecks I've been reading about for 25 years, not tropical reefs.

 

[diver0008]

I got into diving so I could dive the Great Lakes wrecks I've been reading about for 25 years, not tropical reefs.

We'll, there you go then.

 

[Neilwood]

Buddy issue: friend doesn't know when to quit. She forwarded me an email from the person organizing the trip indicating they had a number of new divers on this year's trip and all loved it. She just does not get it.

I've been in contact with my instructor and she's happy to work with me one on one any time I want. We're essentially at the end of the season for diving here, and I helped close out the local quarry for the season yesterday. Anywhere else will require a 3-6 hour drive, so I think I'll just stick to the pool until next spring. Yes, more confidence in the water is exactly what I need

You and your friend need to discuss it if you want to dive together - she obviously has a different idea of your comfort level. On the trip I did, there were a number of divers that sat dives out .One did no penetrations or swimthroughs due to claustrophobia (her buddy missed a couple of dives due to a cold so she joined us as a third person) but she told us about the no penetration situation and we adapted our plan accordingly. I sat one out due to feeling out of control in the surge (the wreck is just off the edge of a reef so affected quite a bit by surge).

Speak candidly to your instructor about your issues with swimthroughs etc - after trying with her you might feel differently. It is also worth trying out different locations - you slowly expand your confidence that way.

Sometimes we forget that it can be a big jump for people coming from supervised diving on OW/AOW to going it alone (without a "pro" holding our hands). Some folk need a bit more support than others.

I know what you mean about diving the wrecks now though - I thought I was more a fish person prior to my first wreck dive but having done some relatively easy penetration dives while on that trip, I think I prefer metal & wood!

 

[keyshunter]

If this is the case, then I would not go on the LC trip. You are going to see some sharks and probably lots of rays while diving LC. If you are to the point where you won't go near an exhibit at an aquarium where you can be certain there is a wall of glass between you and them, then diving in the ocean is not for you until you find a way to deal with your fear. Wait and go on a trip like this when you are more comfortable with your diving and you have a much lower anxiety level.

I agree completely. Over the past 23 years diving at LC, I have met many, many beginners who had a great time, but there were a few who did not. . While LC has quite likely some of the easiest ocean boat diving in the western hemisphere, (certainly easier than here in the Keys) it is not necessarily best for every beginner.

 

[Marie13]

You and your friend need to discuss it if you want to dive together - she obviously has a different idea of your comfort level. On the trip I did, there were a number of divers that sat dives out .One did no penetrations or swimthroughs due to claustrophobia (her buddy missed a couple of dives due to a cold so she joined us as a third person) but she told us about the no penetration situation and we adapted our plan accordingly. I sat one out due to feeling out of control in the surge (the wreck is just off the edge of a reef so affected quite a bit by surge).

Speak candidly to your instructor about your issues with swimthroughs etc - after trying with her you might feel differently. It is also worth trying out different locations - you slowly expand your confidence that way.

Sometimes we forget that it can be a big jump for people coming from supervised diving on OW/AOW to going it alone (without a "pro" holding our hands). Some folk need a bit more support than others.

I know what you mean about diving the wrecks now though - I thought I was more a fish person prior to my first wreck dive but having done some relatively easy penetration dives while on that trip, I think I prefer metal & wood!

The wrecks I want to do at this point are no swim throughs at all. Just swim arounds.

My instructor was flabbergasted at my friend's attitude and said she was glad I knew better than to dive beyond my training and comfort level, and to say no to the peer pressure. I'll do my wreck class with her at some point. No penetration until then.

I did try multiple times to talk to my friend about my comfort level and she wasn't hearing any of it. I've cancelled LC, and that's that. I can do a lot more diving regionally with what I would have spent for the LC trip.

 

[wildbill9]

Well a diver of lc I must commend u for not diving past ur comfort level, I really hope u try lc at a later date. LC is the bestatus carribean diving. where are u looking at?

 

[Marie13]

So-called friend had more issues than I realized with my cancelling the LC trip. She's kept at me about the trip, multiple times, and is apparently very upset I'm planning a Lake Huron trip instead. Some people just don't get "no" and good reasons for not doing something. The Lake Huron trip next summer will be wrecks 60' and shallower (plenty to choose from). Swim arounds, no swim throughs, appropriate for my training and experience level. I have two seats to fill on the boat (my instructor is putting the word out), and I'm making it clear the wrecks are novice-friendly.

It's even clearer I made a good choice. If friend is like this now, before the trip even happened, I can't imagine how she would have reacted on the trip when I didn't do something I wasn't comfortable with.