Diving in Grand Cayman Post Ivan

[runnersweb]

We were regular visitors to Grand Cayman for a number of years before Hurricane Ivan.

This past April we spent a week in Cayman Brac diving and on our way home we had a four hour stop in Grand Cayman. We rented a vehicle and toured the island and were very surprised at the state of things given that this was seven months after Ivan.

What is the state of the dive sites compared to what they were pre Ivan?

The Parkers

 

[caymaniac]

We were regular visitors to Grand Cayman for a number of years before Hurricane Ivan.

This past April we spent a week in Cayman Brac diving and on our way home we had a four hour stop in Grand Cayman. We rented a vehicle and toured the island and were very surprised at the state of things given that this was seven months after Ivan.

What is the state of the dive sites compared to what they were pre Ivan?

The Parkers

You rented a vehicle on the Brac and were surprised at the state of things? Or, you rented a vehicle on GC and were surprised at the state of things on GC?

 

[caymancase]

We were regular visitors to Grand Cayman for a number of years before Hurricane Ivan.

This past April we spent a week in Cayman Brac diving and on our way home we had a four hour stop in Grand Cayman. We rented a vehicle and toured the island and were very surprised at the state of things given that this was seven months after Ivan.

What is the state of the dive sites compared to what they were pre Ivan?

The Parkers

Ivan was a HUGE storm so it will take some time to get things completely fixed up on land. It's been a year (Sept 11th was the anniversary... kind of ironic) and, although you do still see a few tarps and broken up places out of the 7 Mile Beach area, the island is looking great! It's a testament to the hard work and dedication of the people on the island that the island has recovered so quickly. You see the devastation that Katrina caused as a category 4 in the US... Ivan was a category 5!
As far as the reefs, Ivan did very very little damage. North and East Sides show no signs of any damage at all... still gorgeous as ever. Maybe better! I seem to be seeing more fish life off the North Side than in the past. West Side reefs got a good cleaning up from the storm of sand and algae on the coral that can form so that's great. No hard coral damage but a bit of soft coral damage and the sponges took some beating but, after a year, that's regrowing quickly and looking fine. South Side's fragile elkhorn coral in the shallows took a hit seeing as that's where the storm hit hardest.
So, even though you may still be seeing reconstruction still in the process on land in some spots, underwater Grand Cayman is still as beautiful (or better?) than it was before Ivan.
Casey

 

[sdwho]

We were back in GC in January and again last month. There has been significant progress during that period, although there is plenty left to do. In terms of diving, we saw no negative impact...other than an occasional palm tree at 40 feet or a few spots where vegetation from the shore had accumulated underwater.

sdwho

We were regular visitors to Grand Cayman for a number of years before Hurricane Ivan.

This past April we spent a week in Cayman Brac diving and on our way home we had a four hour stop in Grand Cayman. We rented a vehicle and toured the island and were very surprised at the state of things given that this was seven months after Ivan.

What is the state of the dive sites compared to what they were pre Ivan?

The Parkers

 

[SallyD]

I agree with Casey. If you saw the damage caused, you would be appreciative of what the islanders have achieved in the past year - the turn around is really quite phenomenal. Unless you have logged a great many dives in Grand Cayman, you wouldnt know there had been a hurricane of that magnitude. Only the dive sites on the south side had any real damage & that was minimal. This is the time to support Caymans economy, not desert them.
Sally

 

[Makin Raider]

I agree with Casey. If you saw the damage caused, you would be appreciative of what the islanders have achieved in the past year - the turn around is really quite phenomenal. Unless you have logged a great many dives in Grand Cayman, you wouldnt know there had been a hurricane of that magnitude. Only the dive sites on the south side had any real damage & that was minimal. This is the time to support Caymans economy, not desert them.
Sally

I would definately agree with SallyD and Casey. I got to dive the East End last month and the reef was awesome as usual. The only thing different was the swim throughs, they were all blown out, (cleaned out of sand). Spencer at Ocean Frontiers took my son and I on a tour at Grouper Grotto and we must've spent at least 45 minutes in one swim through or another, my son was in heaven. A huge postive is the ban on fishing grouper, I don't know the specifics as to where or for how long, but those guys are getting big. I have to go check them out again in two weeks from today!!! Get to Cayman soon while the airfare is cheap and support the great shops and this is someone from Los Angeles, and I've seen those fares from the east coast and midwest.