Gloves?

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HJeffreyM

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Location
New York, NY
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My wife and I both have excellent bouyancy skills and never touch the reef. Really. Frankly, neither of us have any intention of touching anything underwater besides a decent/ascent line.

Now, with that said, we have both at some time or another been stung by marine invertibrates in the water column. I was stung by a sea wasp on the back of my leg in Aruba while snorkling while my wife got some sea lice (baby jellyfish) while swimming in the BVIs. Consequently we take the term "exposure suit" quite seriously and never dive without a full wetsuit, booties and, yes, gloves. The gloves makes sense to me for another reason as one is often called upon to decend or ascend on a mooring line, invariable encrusted with some quantity of fire coral.

We are going to GC for a vacation soon and, while I know that gloves are "not permitted," I am wondering just how strictly the dive ops there enforce this?

Happy Diving!
 
I know how you feel. I tend to react badly to stings and bites. I would not want my holiday ruined by such an easily prevented thing. I am planning a trip to a location that is a "Glove free" site. I have been assured that they will make exceptions in appropriate cases. Before I do my final booking... I will get that confirmation from the dive operator or I will not go. I have been at other areas where there is a no glove rule.... I was unaware of it initially, wore my gloves and when the dive staff realized I was not touching things.. they never bothered me about the gloves.

I don't know about the site you are thinking of but I would suggest you talk to the dive operation directly rather than rely on third had information no matter how well intentioned.. enjoy your dive trip :happywave:
 
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Most dive ops do indeed enforce this rule. * IF * you can find anyone who will make an exception for you, it will have to be arranged in advance.
 
My FIL pulled them out of his bag when dressing to dive in GC this past summer and they told him to put them back. Apparently its big fines if the governement catches you diving with gloves. Even the lionfish hunters do it without gloves. As far as ascent/descent lines, the dive op we dove with (Indepth Watersports) we mostly did free descents/ascents with our safety stop right near the boat.
 
For those with legitimate health issues (e.g., Raynaud's or extreme allergic reactions to marine life stings, etc.) you can request an exemption for the duration of your trip. The exemption is issued by the Cayman Marine Conservation Board. You will need a letter from your physician. Your dive shop should be able to assist with this, and it's advisable to make your request several weeks prior to your trip.
 
Not just a rule. Scuba diving with gloves is against the Marine Law of the Cayman Islands. Most dive ops will uniformly enforce this law. Penalties can include fines, jail time, and/or forfeiture of the equipment involved.
 
My wife and I both have excellent bouyancy skills.....

Then I would say just keep your hands sort of tucked in close to your body. You're probably more likely to get stung on the exposed part of your face somewhere than your hands.
 
HJeffreyM,

The Cayman dive ops are quite strict about not wearing gloves.

Cayman dive ops try very hard to find sites with little or no current. If, indeed, you have "excellent buoyancy skills" you should have no trouble descending or ascending without using the mooring line. Buoyancy skills consist of more than just hovering.
 
Not just a rule. Scuba diving with gloves is against the Marine Law of the Cayman Islands. Most dive ops will uniformly enforce this law. Penalties can include fines, jail time, and/or forfeiture of the equipment involved.

Very true. Waivers are possible if you truly need one. Otherwise don't even bother packing your gloves.
 
Very true. Waivers are possible if you truly need one. Otherwise don't even bother packing your gloves.

If the waver has to come from the CIG, it may already be too late. I'm still waiting for a final decision on being able to work my US job from Cayman while my wife does her dive master. Last I heard was they were chrcking on it. That was early December. Early December 2010.
 
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