Little Cayman as a new diver - what to expect?

[Marie13]

No deposits or plane tickets were shelled out for.

 

[BDSC]

No deposits or plane tickets were shelled out for.

Then I wouldn't feel the least bit bad about not going.

 

[peedinmywetsuit]

I would really like to dive Little Cayman Feb. 5-12 with Little Cayman Beach resort but as a single diver, the cost is a bit nuts. Sad Canuck $$$, what can I say. Anyone looking for a buddy?
Jannene

 

[rongoodman]

You're right, the costs are nuts. Why not look into a week on an Aggressor boat either in the Caymans or someplace else in the Caribbean? Traveling as a single is no problem and you can get 26-27 dives in during the week. The food is wonderful on the boats that I've been on.

 

[uncfnp]

Hi Maria,

I hesitate to write but we have conversed a bit by pm about gear so I thought I would share a few thoughts here.

First, you are absolutely right to cancel this trip with your current uncertainty and misgivings. I do wonder why your friend is hounding you to go. Is her trip dependent on you going?

Frankly, some of you guys just flabbergast me. If your wife or girlfriend said she didn't want to go X depth, would you just poo poo her concerns and force her down to the depth she didn't want to go to?

In a way yes. I started scuba on my own. Eric and I discussed it many times but he never agreed to the class. I finally decided I would do it by myself and signed up. Two weeks later he decided he would do it too. We completed OW together.

Our first trip was to the Florida Keys. Nothing deeper then 40 feet. It went ok and I started planning our next trip. He reminded me he would not go deeper then 45 feet. I ignored him and planned a trip to West Palm Beach Florida. Fast forward 7 years and he not only dives routinely to 100 plus, he dives solo, completed cavern and dove the cenotes in Mexico and swimthroughs in Coz (he also said he would never dive overhead, travel to Mexico or do deco) and is even looking at a AN/DP course.

And while I haven't "forced" him other than planning the trips and willing to do it alone if needed, I also have not accepted his self imposed restrictions since I knew he was quite capable of doing the dives. The only thing holding him back was his own tendency to stick with his familiar and restrictive comfortable zone.

So I guess in a way I would be like your friend. I might tend to push if I thought the situation was similar to Eric and I. Never anything that I thought you could not handle or was beyond your skills. Its a tough call. But for me if you don't push yourself and test your limits, well, might as well just sit on the couch and watch the world pass by.

Obviously you want this or you would not be where you are. So I guess I am just trying to say be safe but also let yourself go a bit and just enjoy the experience.

And when that mask floods, no worries, just use it to clear any fog on the glass!

 

[Midwest_Diver]

I just got back from Grand Cayman a couple of weeks ago. I stayed at the Cobalt Coast Resort/Reef Divers. Before the trip all I had ever dove was Midwest quarries, Rivers, and Lake Michigan. I was pretty worried about what Ocean Diving would bring, at times even wondering if I should even go on the trip. All I can say was that it was amazing and the best decision I ever made. 80ish degree water and 100 plus feet vis. Compared to the great lakes, it was a breeze. 100 foot depth seemed like nothing when you could look up and see the boat. I didn't even wear a wet suit all week. The dive masters were absolutely amazing and went out of their way to make sure everyone was comfortable and enjoying the dives. There was little to no current all week. I had a lot of fun and met a lot of great people. With all that being said, if you gave me the choice of a week diving in a tropical paradise or a week diving wrecks on the great lakes. I would dive the wrecks hands down. I love history and that is my thing.

 

[Marie13]

Hi Maria,

I hesitate to write but we have conversed a bit by pm about gear so I thought I would share a few thoughts here.

First, you are absolutely right to cancel this trip with your current uncertainty and misgivings. I do wonder why your friend is hounding you to go. Is her trip dependent on you going?
In a way yes. I started scuba on my own. Eric and I discussed it many times but he never agreed to the class. I finally decided I would do it by myself and signed up. Two weeks later he decided he would do it too. We completed OW together.

Our first trip was to the Florida Keys. Nothing deeper then 40 feet. It went ok and I started planning our next trip. He reminded me he would not go deeper then 45 feet. I ignored him and planned a trip to West Palm Beach Florida. Fast forward 7 years and he not only dives routinely to 100 plus, he dives solo, completed cavern and dove the cenotes in Mexico and swimthroughs in Coz (he also said he would never dive overhead, travel to Mexico or do deco) and is even looking at a AN/DP course.

And while I haven't "forced" him other than planning the trips and willing to do it alone if needed, I also have not accepted his self imposed restrictions since I knew he was quite capable of doing the dives. The only thing holding him back was his own tendency to stick with his familiar and restrictive comfortable zone.

So I guess in a way I would be like your friend. I might tend to push if I thought the situation was similar to Eric and I. Never anything that I thought you could not handle or was beyond your skills. Its a tough call. But for me if you don't push yourself and test your limits, well, might as well just sit on the couch and watch the world pass by.

Obviously you want this or you would not be where you are. So I guess I am just trying to say be safe but also let yourself go a bit and just enjoy the experience.

And when that mask floods, no worries, just use it to clear any fog on the glass!

Well, I may have finally found a mask that works. $30 Cressi Pano 3 off Amazon. I wore it while in the pool with my instructors for 90 minutes this afternoon working on my kicks. No scuba gear, just mask, fins, and snorkel with kickboard. I did 500 yards.

Friend never said she wasn't going on trip if I didn't go. She just kept hammering on the "you will, you will, you will" and didn't even acknowledge that if I was uncomfortable with something, I'm uncomfortable. Period. I'm also not particularly fond (understatement) of sharks and rays. No way, no how. She said she's not been in the water for several years, and actually laughed at me when I asked if she had thought about doing a refresher.

Diving period is stretching myself in a major way. I wouldn't be planning my Lake Huron trip if I didn't want to go outside the familiar quarry. But the major difference is that there is a hard bottom with these wrecks. No "we're diving a wall to 100 ft and hard bottom is 200 ft" (just an example).

I'm doing my AOW before the Lake Huron trip but my whole point about the trip is that it's novice friendly, depth wise. And no one will be trying to force me to do something. I'll also be with familiar dive buddies. I'll be doing some "shallow" (30-50 ft) Lake Michigan wreck dives before Lake Huron.

 

[Bennno]

No "we're diving a wall to 100 ft and hard bottom is 200 ft" (just an example).

Doing entry level dives on a reef in warm water is so much nicer and easier than lake and quarry diving. Seem like this trip is not going to happen but IMHO you're missing out on great diving.

I'm also not particularly fond (understatement) of sharks and rays. No way, no how.

Sounds a bit like you're not well informed about sharks and rays. No need to be worried, almost all of the stuff you see on TV about sharks is balony. I this case you can do 'trust me dives'. As mentioned earlier in this thread, fear of reef sharks and especially of rays is unwarranted.
Sharks are awesome!

Sure, a reef shark or a ray will eat a divers foot once in a while, but as long as you still got Obama care, it's not a big deal. It's well worth the risk...

 

[drrich2]

PeedInMyWetsuit:

Just posting a link to my trip report from a May 2016 Cayman Aggressor IV trip, highly recommended, in a thread that also includes a summary report of my notes researching the Cayman Islands diving scene. As another poster said, traveling solo was not a problem.

Richard.

 

[BDSC]

I just got back from Grand Cayman a couple of weeks ago. I stayed at the Cobalt Coast Resort/Reef Divers.

Glad to hear the trip went well. We have been to the Little Cayman Beach Resort and their Brac Resort a number of times but I booked 10 rooms in 2018 at their Cobalt Coast Resort when I was at DEMA two weeks ago. Wanted to give that a try as well.