Top 5 Shore dives and where to rent tanks??

[NightRaven77]

Howdy,

I know Ill probably find my answer sifting through all the posts......but frankly Im a bit lazy right now.......(cut me some slack...i just worked 12hrs....)

Can someone tell me where I can rent some tanks to do some shore diving around the island ???

Ill be staying at the Westin Oct 3-11th and need to take my girlfriend on some easy shore dives to get her used to the water...

Also, what shore dives do you think are on the east side that are good..........so gimmie your top 5 shore dives in GC

Thanks for the help..!

NR77

 

[shrop3483]

Happy to help!

Staying at the Westin, here are the shore dives within a short commute:

Turtle Reef (currently closed for work, but due to reopen within 5-7 days - guess). The place looks great. (SunDivers staffed)
Lighthouse Point (Divetech staffed)
Cobalt Coast Resort (Divetech staffed)

Heading into George Town:

Lobster Pot Dive Center (staffed). Home of Off The Wall Divers, Deep Blue Divers and Wall To Wall Diving.
Divers Down dock (DD staffed)
Eden Rock/Devils Grotto (Eden Rock Divers' staffed)
Don Fosters dock (DFD staffed)
Sunset House (Sunset Divers staffed)
Smith Cove (no shop present - bring your own tank)

This covers the majority of shore sites. It is common courtesy (and adhered to) that you do not bring tanks into a location that is "staffed". At Smith Cove, you can rent, and take a tank.

You want to take your girlfriend on easy shore dives? Then, you will not want to try Babylon, or anything outside of George Town (IMHO).

Feel free to contact us at Off The Wall Divers (Tom Shropshire/www.grandcaymandive.com) if you wish to have more information. Happy to help.

Get on a boat with one of the small operators too. We'd love to have you on as would anyone.

Safe trip.

Tom @ OTWD

Howdy,

I know Ill probably find my answer sifting through all the posts......but frankly Im a bit lazy right now.......(cut me some slack...i just worked 12hrs....)

Can someone tell me where I can rent some tanks to do some shore diving around the island ???

Ill be staying at the Westin Oct 3-11th and need to take my girlfriend on some easy shore dives to get her used to the water...

Also, what shore dives do you think are on the east side that are good..........so gimmie your top 5 shore dives in GC

Thanks for the help..!

NR77

 

[Lopez116]

If you want to rent a tank and go off on your own, divers supply on SMB (south of Westin) is one of the very few places that you can do that. Although, as mentioned above, if you want to get her comfortable in the water and an easy shore dive, I would stick to one of the staffed sites. Sunset House has good food, a decent house reef, ladders into the water, and a sea pool which is a good place to get weighting sorted out for the first time.

 

[divin'dog]

... Although, as mentioned above, if you want to get her comfortable in the water and an easy shore dive, I would stick to one of the staffed sites. Sunset House has good food, a decent house reef, ladders into the water, and a sea pool which is a good place to get weighting sorted out for the first time.

If you want to start out with a nice easy entry into a training pool, go to Sunset House. The training pool is perfect for getting in and out with no hassle, setting some weights and practicing some skills. Non-threatening with varied depth from around 6'-8'(?) It opens into the ocean through an opening which limits the surge / wake. If you head straight out, you will find the mermaid statue. Go further and you will find the wreck. Not much of a dive but it is decent for getting your bearings and getting a feeling for diving for your GF. It's a nice easy dive for a beginner/novice.

Training Pool as seen from my balcony last yr.


As far as what shores to dive, I would prefer the north or east over the west... It's less kicked over. You can see a cruise ship in the right side of my photo.

 

[diversteve]

I'd start at Turtle Reef. It's an easy dive and an easy entry down a flight of stairs into a protected cove where your g/f can get sorted out in 10' of water. Exiting the cove the ball is at most 40 yds. out that signifies the mini-wall there. The wall there is covered with stuff and there's always a large school of tarpon hovering in a cave nearby. The wall bottoms out around 50' in the sand. http://www.idivecayman.com/turtle-reef-1

Maybe Tom^ knows something I don't but I'd recently read that while Cracked Conch is closed, Ollin is still open at Sundivers daily. CC isn't scheduled to re-open till Oct. 10th. SunDivers doesn't have a website but you can all Ollin. Cracked Conch Grand - Turtle Reef shore diving

You also don't have to fight the cruise traffic thru downtown. I personally feel that Eden Rock is very tired - it was a decade ago also. It's 500' from the cruise port so that hasn't done it a lot of good. Sunset House is a better option and just slightly farther south. Good sandwiches at My Bar and the Cathy Church Photo School/Shop is worth a look.

Another shallow option just north of SMB is Cemetery Beach but it's a better snorkel than dive - not very deep. Could be a good place to first get wet though. Bring tanks.

Here's a link to Snorkeling & Scuba Diving Rentals | Divers Supply Cayman Eden Rock downtown has a 24 hr. rental also. http://www.edenrockdive.com/Equipment/default.html

Divetech, SunDivers and Sunset House do not allow tanks to be removed from the premises. IDK what the shops in Georgetown allow.

what shore dives do you think are on the east side that are good.

East side? There really aren't any. Or did you mean West Side?

North East is Babylon - it's a more difficult entry and a long swim out to the wall from there - on the surface. And in a less active boat channel also. From the Westin probably an hour drive - completely around the island. http://www.idivecayman.com/babylon

 

[Bubbles below]

Does anyone know if RedSail will rent tanks/weights for shore dives on the west dive site if you're using there multi day diving w them on the east side? We will be diving w RedSail one day w our dive package. We want to do some shore dives to cut cost since we will be vacationing a Little over 2weeks.
Happy Diving!

 

[Damselfish]

I doubt Red Sail will, but don't know for sure. But the issue is not just if they will rent you tanks to take off site, but where to use them. As mentioned most of the west side shore sites are staffed - meaning they're private property with a dive shop and facilities - bathrooms, rinse tanks, entry ladders etc. You pretty much just don't bring in outside tanks to those places, you rent from the site where you're diving. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, no need to haul tanks around for any of those dives. Maybe at night you could get away with it some places. Lots of the waterfront is private property, or has no reasonable water entry, or often both. 7 mile beach is public, but not a shore diving area - like most big pretty beaches it continues to do the same gentle sloping sandy thing under water for a fair distance. It's a looong swim out to where they dive.

 

[shineysideup]

Does anyone know if RedSail will rent tanks/weights for shore dives

Red Sail does not rent gear or tanks for shore diving. Better off going to Divers Supply if you are diving away from the managed entries such as Eden Rock, Sunset House, Dive Tech and Macabuca.

There is enough shore entries to keep you busy; any where you can get to the water and see the dive moorings would be a good start- if you are venturing further out along the south then please watch the currents, nothing too major but could be a long walk back!

 

[Kharon]

I dove Eden Rock, Devils Grotto and Don Fosters during a rip to GC (Nov 10th-17th) this year. They were extremely disappointing. Dead coral and a derth of fish. Turtle Reef resturant is closed for business but you can rent tanks there.

Be aware that there is not a shore on the west side. It is dead, very spikey coral which forms a wall to the water and nothing you can walk across from land. Entrys are entirely from ladders accessed across paved walks. That means a single point of entry and exit. Make sure your navagation skills are right on. Otherwise you could encounter long surface swims in heavy surge.

For good sites to visit, I would check out Grand Cayman SCUBA Diving and look at each of the sections under the "Dive Sites" drop down menu. They list the good sites on the west side, north & south sides. Not much shore diving on the east side.

 

[Doctorfish]

IMO the best shore diving on the west side of GC is at Turtle Reef. It's up by the turtle farm at the north end of West Bay. The dive is along a mini wall so navigation is dead easy. Lighthouse is good as well. Cobalt Coast is on the north and weather dependent but a good site if conditions allow. You can swim out to the main wall at any of these sites as well.


I agree that Eden Rock, Devil's Grotto and Don Fosters are barely worth the bother.