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Amazon was kind enough to deliver me a 5mm stretchy wetsuit.

We have been diving in January before and did not like it very much due to the cold. Hopefully this will alleviate the problem.
 
Jim,

Are you bringing the new Canon G7x Mark 2? My G12 died and I need to replace it. Would it be best to give you a call and make the new purchase before January?

Thanks,

Colin Gray

Of course I'll be bringing tons of gear for everyone to shoot. The first hit is always free... :)

Except for GoPro most everything else is taking the full size SD card. Some cameras prefer the newer spec Speed Class 10 with UHS Speed Class 3. The UHS Speed Class 3 is required for most 4K video, with some 4K cameras from Sony not liking some cards smaller than 64GB.

Exact gear is TBD, but Olympus is sponsoring with a number of demo kits for TG-4 and their OMD and Pen mirrorless line.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Jim
 
Am considering spending a few days on Grand Cayman. Have stayed and dove with Sunset House and also stayed at Sunshine Suites before. Anyone else thinking of going down early and spending a few days on Grand Cayman before heading over to Brac?
 
Am considering spending a few days on Grand Cayman. Have stayed and dove with Sunset House and also stayed at Sunshine Suites before. Anyone else thinking of going down early and spending a few days on Grand Cayman before heading over to Brac?

We love spending time on Grand Cayman before heading over to the sister islands. There's a lot to see and do and we have the chance to wind down after travel and relax and enjoy before a week of diving. We usually do some shore dives and snorkeling on Grand Cayman and maybe a few boat dives depending on the weather. We usually head first to the Macabucca (Turtle Reef) shore dive to check out our equipment. It's only $15 CI for a tank and weights.

But January is peak season in the Caymans so prices are high and places fill up fast, so if you are thinking of extending your visit you should act fast.
 
I have a question regarding booking my flights, for those in the know.

I have 1 hour 40 minutes between landing on Grand Cayman on Cayman Airways from Cayman Brac before boarding Air Canada back to Montreal.

Is that enough time for customs/immigration etc?

Thanks in advance for any insight.
 
I have a question regarding booking my flights, for those in the know. I have 1 hour 40 minutes between landing on Grand Cayman on Cayman Airways from Cayman Brac before boarding Air Canada back to Montreal. Is that enough time for customs/immigration etc? Thanks in advance for any insight.

What day of the week and time of the day are you traveling out of Grand Cayman? If it is Saturday or Sunday in the afternoon then the GCM airport will be very, very busy, especially during the high season of January.

If all goes well you will be fine but you are cutting it very close. When you arrive on Grand Cayman from Brac you have to collect your luggage and go outside of the airport then immediately turn and come back inside the main terminal, where you will check your bags for your flight home. You cannot check your bags all the way from Brac.

You then have to go through customs and immigration, which is usually quick, and then security which can have very long lines, before getting to the departure lounge and eventually boarding your plane home.

Sometimes it goes quick and sometimes it is a nightmare. One time my husband was randomly selected for extended security scrutiny and that added quite a bit to the time required - but that is rare. But there is no TSA pre-check at GCM. If you are flying first class you may have a shorter security line, I don't know.

Is there an earlier flight you can take from Brac?
 
Cayman air will get you through security if you are stuck in a line. They will pull you to the front. Been there and done that. When you get to the customs and immigration, go through the line that says in transit. They will get you through quick, then grab the luggage and recheck.

Be careful, they put me on the Cuba flight and had to off load. Lucky the man fueling the jet next to us walked me to the Brac flight.
 
Jim,

Are you bringing the new Canon G7x Mark 2? My G12 died and I need to replace it. Would it be best to give you a call and make the new purchase before January?

Thanks,

Colin Gray

Hi Colin,

At this time I don't know exactly what I'll be brining. I know that I will have a number of Olympus cameras and GoPro setups, and will have a couple of higher end pieces as well. Not sure if I will have the G7x2 with me. But it would be a good idea if you were interested in a new camera to get it before the trip. That way I could get you up to speed on it at the event and go over any questions you might have and really get you dialed. And it will be good to have it to yourself for the whole event to get used to and practice with. While demo gear is great, you'll need to share demo gear with everyone else too!

Jim
 
What day of the week and time of the day are you traveling out of Grand Cayman? If it is Saturday or Sunday in the afternoon then the GCM airport will be very, very busy, especially during the high season of January.

If all goes well you will be fine but you are cutting it very close.

Thank-you for the info. The target day is a Saturday, but I am actually now looking into extending the trip for a few days on CG, partly due to inconvenient flight schedules, and partly because why the heck not.

Thanks again.
 
Thank-you for the info. The target day is a Saturday, but I am actually now looking into extending the trip for a few days on CG, partly due to inconvenient flight schedules, and partly because why the heck not. Thanks again.

Why not indeed? But keep in mind that January is the peak season and accommodations on Grand Cayman are very expensive and fill up fast so don't delay looking for a place to stay!

Below is some information that I sent to another SB member that expressed interest in spending time on GC in January; in case you might find it of interest...

I wanted to mention our favorite place to stay - the Turtle Nest Inn in Bodden Town, see the link below. The Inn is a small, family-owned business and most of the rooms are apartments with full kitchens. We appreciate that a lot because we can cook some simple meals and save money. The Caymans are so pricey and winter is the peak season. Breakfast and lunch meals are easy and then we can go out for dinner or order a pizza. It's also a lot cheaper to mix some of our own drinks.

We like to spend 2 weeks in the Caymans, a week on GC and week on CB or LC (or the Aggressor) and so we look for good-quality, money-saving opportunities.

If you are only staying for a few days you might prefer to stay on the more popular Seven Mile Beach because TNI is in Bodden Town, which is 10-12 miles from Georgetown and the 7MB; but a rental car comes with the hotel reservation and the Inn is located in the center of the island with pretty easy access to just about every place - as long as you don't mind driving on the left side of the road.

TNI is clean and very nice and the people are very nice too. But it is not a spectacular venue, but I am mentioning it because the prices are a lot cheaper then the 7MB properties and it might not fill up quite as quickly in January because it is located in a quieter, more residential area. I actually prefer a small, quiet place to the more developed 7MB.

TNI is located right on the beach (not the 7MB, but a nice beach) and there is very good snorkeling right outside the door.

The owners of the TNI manage the Turtle Nest Condos next door and East End Diver owns one of the condos. Just wanted to mention it in case you get sticker shock after checking out the prices on Grand Cayman in January! Or find out that they are all booked up, have fun!

Cayman Hotels :: Turtle Nest Inn, Grand Cayman - Exotic, Affordable Beachfront holiday
 
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