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We are a group of 3 divers looking to go to GC in April. We prefer shore diving, feels more like a vacation when you're on your own schedule - hate those 8 or 9am boat dive wake up calls- LOL. We also prefer to be away from hotels and resorts and people in general.
We've been looking at rentals around Old Man Bay / Babylon Reef. I called some local businesses to check on renting kayaks for a few days and some dive ops to check on tank rentals and was told some discouraging news:
1-Most dive ops don't allow tanks to be taken from their immediate location. I found one that would, but then was told that they would only rent 1 tank per C-Card at a time, was told it was a LAW. No filling the back of the pickup with tanks like you can on Bonaire. Bummer, especially since this Dive Op was 15 or 20 minute drive from where we plan to stay, and I can't see much fun driving back and forth 2 or 3 times a day to get in a few dives.
2-Was discouraged by both dive ops about diving Babylon from shore, or any East Shore dives in general. Reasons given were; too dangerous with the northeast winter winds and swim outs were minimum of 15-20 minutes and only for the really adventurous.
3-Same was true of kayaks, was told no one would let them leave their premises - liability issues, but I think Moore Marina will rent them and let you take them. They'll also rent you a boat for several days. A little spendy, but one of us is an experienced boat captain and we may look into that option if the shore diving doesn't pan out.
I really have a hankering to do more GC diving, but we may be better off on another island. I would love to hear from anyone knowledgeable about shore diving on that side of the island. Is the info I was given true, or are they trying to discourage shore diving to sign up more boat dives....
It's a really long drive from where you're staying but two other places I've heard rent tanks are Eden Rock in Georgetown and Divers Supply in West Bay. IDK any details. Google Julie's Wall, it's near Babylon also.
If nipi or Drew Sailbum see this, they live there. Drew used to work for Tortuga at Morritts afaik.
Last edited by diversteve; January 26th, 2011 at 11:22 PM.
Reason: clarity
You might consider renting a condo at Lighthouse Point. DiveTech has one of their two shops in the building, so your tanks are right there. The shore diving is great -- both the mini-wall and the wall. It's only a few hundred feet from the dock to the main wall, so a surface swim to gain more bottom time is not bad. When shore conditions are bad elsewhere along the northwest shore, they're usually still good at Lighthouse.
Close to Lighthouse is the Turtle Farm and the Cracked Conch. Those are also good access points for both the mini-wall and the wall. There are other good shore diving locations along that section of beach.
Info about the tanks is true. Not sure how many you can rent at a time from town.
It's maybe a 5-10 minute kick out to the edge of the wall, although the area in between is nice and many descend earlier.
I'm sure finding kayaks to rent would not be a problem.
The problem with planning a vacation around diving the northeast side of the island is that the prevailing winds much of the year are out of the northeast. If it's blowing 15 knots + (very often) you'll encounter breaking waves over urchin covered ironshore... very tricky and dangerous. Babylon is the most famous but there are a few sites along the northeast shore with almost identical entries and will be affected just the same from winds. The south side of the east end doesn't have any shore diving spots with the wall as close as babylon and no easy entries.
Your best bet would be to stay somewhere on the west side for much easier shore diving conditions/choices and then make the drive out to babylon if conditions permit. The downside of course, all the hotels and resorts you didn't want...
We are a group of 3 divers looking to go to GC in April. We prefer shore diving, feels more like a vacation when you're on your own schedule - hate those 8 or 9am boat dive wake up calls- LOL. We also prefer to be away from hotels and resorts and people in general.
We've been looking at rentals around Old Man Bay / Babylon Reef. I called some local businesses to check on renting kayaks for a few days and some dive ops to check on tank rentals and was told some discouraging news:
1-Most dive ops don't allow tanks to be taken from their immediate location. I found one that would, but then was told that they would only rent 1 tank per C-Card at a time, was told it was a LAW. No filling the back of the pickup with tanks like you can on Bonaire. Bummer, especially since this Dive Op was 15 or 20 minute drive from where we plan to stay, and I can't see much fun driving back and forth 2 or 3 times a day to get in a few dives.
2-Was discouraged by both dive ops about diving Babylon from shore, or any East Shore dives in general. Reasons given were; too dangerous with the northeast winter winds and swim outs were minimum of 15-20 minutes and only for the really adventurous.
3-Same was true of kayaks, was told no one would let them leave their premises - liability issues, but I think Moore Marina will rent them and let you take them. They'll also rent you a boat for several days. A little spendy, but one of us is an experienced boat captain and we may look into that option if the shore diving doesn't pan out.
I really have a hankering to do more GC diving, but we may be better off on another island. I would love to hear from anyone knowledgeable about shore diving on that side of the island. Is the info I was given true, or are they trying to discourage shore diving to sign up more boat dives....
Many thanks for any info,
Mich
1) It's not a law, but you are right - most dive ops don't want their tanks taken off the premises. Try Divers Supply in George Town towards West Bay.
2) No, those sites are definitely accessible to experienced divers. You have to consider your experience, assess the conditions, and make the call. Conditions vary from great to "you will drown".
3) In general, shore diving is not a big source of income for dive ops here so ... it's not encouraged by them. Simple, really.
Not sure if this is still the case, but this house rental (near Babylon and Northern Lights) lists tank rentals and air compressor in the garage as being available for rent to guests. ScubaShack
Last edited by Testudo; January 27th, 2011 at 05:03 PM.
I have dived Babylon and the surrounding area many times. The diving is beautiful.Absolutely no comparison to Eden Rock and the like.
The swim is maybe 20 minutes. You do need to know what you are doing around there. Its remote by Cayman standards and getting hurt out on the wall would be a BAD THING. If you are O.K. with that have fun.
The tank situation seriously sucks. More money to be made doing routine boat dives for the masses.
Photo was taken last year,somewhere west of Babylon. We did 40 minutes at 100 feet but hardly touched that endless wall. Just stunning.
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Originally Posted by michtx
