Grand Cayman dive profile

[NE_SSI_Diver]

My family and I are heading to Grand Cayman soon and some of us will be diving with Ambassador. I know that the typical dive depth is around 80-100 feet due to the walls, but how long are the dives. Surely they can't expect tourist divers (I category I do not particularly it in) to say at that depth for an entire hour, so what is the dive profile like. How long do we stay at the walls 100 feet down ad how long do we stay at other depths. Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

[ianr33]

First dive is invariably guided . You will be at 80-100 feet for around 15 minutes, then head back to the mooring pin in about 50 feet. DM often heads back to the boat and leaves buddy teams to do their thing. Typical dive length is 35 minutes.

Second dive is shallower, around 60 feet max. Probably have the option to go with you buddy or follow a DM. Dive length typically around 45 minutes. If diving air it's possible to hit deco on some second dives if not careful.

(I have not dived with Ambassador but believe the above is pretty standard)

 

[hroark2112]

There are LOTS of shallower dives in GC. We got married there in September, did about 12 dives and never went past 75'. Had a total blast!! Lots of shore diving, after a week there I'm hooked.

 

[Damselfish]

Also not all first dives must be guided, or are 35 minutes. (And the profiles they do tend to guide on those wall dives - the 15 min at depth bit - are lousy for anyone who consumes air.) Not all 2nd dives are 45 min. And I have found that some will assume everyone wants a guided dive, so it might appear they "require" it, but in fact are fine when you tell them you want to do otherwise. Check with your operator.

 

[dmoore19]

Just looked at my profiles from Grand Cayman in MacDive. It looks like the shortest dive was 37 minutes and the longest was 57. The deepest I show was 79'. Average depth for that dive was 50' and it was also the shortest dive. We were diving with Sunset House and they had 72 cf tanks.

 

[ianr33]

Most of my recreational boat dives in Cayman have been with Ocean Frontiers. They were all guided. According to the Cayman Island Watersports Association Safe Diving | Scuba Dive Trips, Dive Caribbean | Dive Cayman Islands

<<

1. Unguided Wall Dives &#8211;From Boats: Operators may elect to allow customers to do unsupervised wall dives with their buddies. It is recommended they meet the following criteria:
   1. The divers must show proficiency at the member&#8217;s discretion.
   2. The divers must dive in a buddy team and each member of the team must have a computer and understand computer diving techniques.
   3. The divers must agree to adhere to depth/certification limitations established by the CITA.
   4. The ratios for working crew on any vessel offering scuba diving must still be one Divemaster for each 12 certified divers on board. >>

I suspect most operators are kind of wary about letting divers they are unfamiliar with dive on their own above a 6000 foot drop! I don't have any problem with the guided dives. The DMs know where all the cool stuff is,and on a single tank at ~ 100 feet you don't have much time to explore on your own.

Cayman is actually what got me into technical diving. 15 minutes on those amazing walls is simply not long enough.

 

[diversteve]

Ask Jason, he owns it: View Profile: Ambassador Divers - ScubaBoard

good choice btw...

 

[releck97]

To put it simply: Plan your dive and dive your plan. Run the profiles on your computer or tables. You will see what your profile is at that time. No operator on GC will put you in deco danger. The guided dives have a rather large safety cushion built into them. You will get a full briefing before you jump in the water. Relax, breathe in and breathe out - albeit, slowly and enjoy your dive with no worries because you prepared for it! Oh, and by the way, most of the divers will be tourists. You will fit right in and probably feel right at home! The Dive Ops on GC pride themselves on their service and rightfully so. Enjoy!

 

[rivers]

I've used a couple of different ops in Cayman. One op used strictly table profiles (but this was off a cruise ship and the cruise ship op). The other op I used the first dive was to 100ft/30m. If you did not have a computer, you were limited to table profiles, which is 20 minutes on air, (which i think is the right thing to do). The wall part of this dive was generally guided. If you had a computer, once back in the shallows, you could continue on unguided, for another 10-15 minutes i believe before having to head back to the boat. The second dive of the day was generally unguided on a 40-60ft reef. Again, if no computer, you had to follow tables. If you had a computer, you could dive that.

 

[tkaelin]

A great discussion to have with the DM on the boat and to have a clear understanding before getting into the water. Typically a DM leads the deeper dive and you are expected to dive no deeper, but certainly you can dive shallower. Its not uncommon to see divers 20 feet shallower than the DM and that is where you should be if that is your comfort level. If air consumption is an issue, staying with the group but above will make a difference. If there is a swim through or tunnel at depth on the deep dive, have a discussion with the DM. Typically they give you the option of passing on the swim through or tunnel and ask that you follow above and meet them on the other side. Enjoy.