Cayman Islands ok to dive for OW Cert.?

[SheilaRee]

I'm thinking of going on a Cayman Brac trip but was wondering....aren't most dives below 60 ft? Will I still enjoy myself if I'm not able to go below 60 ft or should I go on a trip that offers more shallow dives?

 

[Drew Sailbum]

The Cayman waters are warm, crystal clear, and tend to have mild to no current - all great for someone completing training.

Cayman is beast known for wall diving, and you can see a bit of that while still staying shallower than 60ft. You will complete your training dives in the shallows at the top of the wall and in the flats that run towards shore. There are plenty of colorful corals and tropical fish.

 

[caymaniac]

I'm thinking of going on a Cayman Brac trip but was wondering....aren't most dives below 60 ft? Will I still enjoy myself if I'm not able to go below 60 ft or should I go on a trip that offers more shallow dives?

Most dives are not below 60ft., but on most dives you can go below 60 ft. If you dive on the south west side, there are plenty of dives that are in the 30 - 40ft range, as you travel in an easterly direction on the south side there are two sets of bouys, one set for deeper dives and one for more shallow dives. The deeper dives might start around 50 but you can easily drop over the wall for 100+, the shallow might start at 40 -50 and trail towards the deeper dives.
On the north side, the bouys are set up similar. Dives start in the 50 - 60 range on the deeper dives, also in some places the wall starts at 90. On the shallow dives the dives can range from 20 to 40 for starters and easily trail off to deeper depths but it depends where you are (this is a general statement)
Over all the spur and groove formations are the shallow dives and the walls on both sides of the island have the deeper dives.
Examples: Tarpon Alley (sw) Sergeant Major (sw) 20 - 40, Inside Out (s) 40 - 75, Rock Monster (s) 60+ top of the wall
Greenhouse (n) 30 - 40, Russian Wreck (nw) 50 - 100, School Bus wall (n)50 - 90 at the wall, Stingray Tower (n) 40 - 60 .

 

[SheilaRee]

I don't think I was very clear in the title. I'm already certified but only OW and Nitrox. Was thinking of getting AOW before the trip but I don't think I have time. So, I was hoping that there would be plenty of diving for me above 60 ft. What do ya'll think?

 

[caymaniac]

You will have plenty of diving above 60 feet.

 

[chrpai]

What do I think?

a) Nitrox is of limited value above 60'.
b) AOW is kind of a joke certification.

I see you have between 0 - 24 dives but I don't really know how your skills are in the water. If you are comfortable in the water and your buoyancy skills and air consumption is acceptable and you find yourself on a boat that doesn't really care what c-card you hold, then I'd go ahead and start diving to 90 - 100. There's no boggie man at 61'.

After you've done that for awhile, go back and get your AOW but look for an instructor who will actually challenge you rather then just take you on 5 adventure dives.

 

[billinwilliamston]

I can't speak for anyone else, but my AOW was anything but a joke. Much harder than OW. OW was about being able to do the skills, AOW was about being able to do them right. But, maybe, that was all about the instructor rather than the course itself.

What do I think?

a) Nitrox is of limited value above 60'.
b) AOW is kind of a joke certification.

I see you have between 0 - 24 dives but I don't really know how your skills are in the water. If you are comfortable in the water and your buoyancy skills and air consumption is acceptable and you find yourself on a boat that doesn't really care what c-card you hold, then I'd go ahead and start diving to 90 - 100. There's no boggie man at 61'.

After you've done that for awhile, go back and get your AOW but look for an instructor who will actually challenge you rather then just take you on 5 adventure dives.

 

[chrpai]

I've seen it posted countless times around here how AOW is a joke. I'm glad to hear you had an exceptional instructor.

 

[caymaniac]

I have over 1000 hrs under water, certification is important but I agree with "chrpi" in that you have your open water, use it, you don't need an AOW cert. to dive on any of the Cayman Islands. I too have a Nitrox cert. but it is very specific, used for repetitive diving above 110 ft., I've used it on liveaboards, I have never gotten an AOW cert.

 

[ScottNY]

I can't speak for anyone else, but my AOW was anything but a joke. Much harder than OW. OW was about being able to do the skills, AOW was about being able to do them right. But, maybe, that was all about the instructor rather than the course itself.

Yeah... you've probably got it spot on. It's all about the quality of the shop or instructor. I can see how AOW COULD be a joke, but my instructor for this was pretty good. Buoyancy, Wreck and and Underwater Navigation were all very useful and I think helped set me up nicely prior to doing the Rescue Diver course. As a pilot, I already knew a lot about navigation, but doing it properly and well underwater was nonetheless different. Even Peak Buoyancy is useful. Maybe it's not that hard to get it right, but if you have limited experience, getting your weight exactly right, trimmed properly and then practicing with the triangles at various levels makes control more second nature.

Scott