Trip Report Little Cayman Beach Resort Dive Trip Report

[muzikbiz22]

Great! Is there any problem with sargassum? They have had some wash up on Grand Cayman recently.

What instructions have you received for dive times and remaining pounds of air when returning to the boat?

Sargassum - Yes, everywhere, but not an issue with dives, etc. Just a bunch on the shore, and smelly too 6 days of diving and I have heard the term "please return with 500 PSI mentioned twice". Diving has been spectacular, as has the weather. There are 6 to 8 foot swells coming in on the outer reef straight out from LCBR, so dive sites have been used on other side of the island.

 

[muzikbiz22]

Dive 1 - 50 minutes/110' Dive 2 - 60 minutes/60' There has been no gauge checking that I'm aware of.

 

[keyshunter]

Thook,
Nice report. Reef Divers at LCBR usually uses 4 boats, 2 of which are 46 Newtons (Holiday and Paradise). That is Paradise in your photo. They have another 46 on order, but I do not know the eta.

Usually the DM's brief that one should be in the vicinity of the boat with 500 psi remaining. Over the years, and with many different DM's I have never heard one brief to be aboard with 1000 psi. However, many people (myself included) do come back aboard with that amount or more due to the time constraint. Because of their schedule, they emphasize time more than remaining psi.

 

[k4kafka]

Enjoyed many trips to both Brac and L.C. I am,however annoyed by the arbitrary government depth restriction of 100 feet (30m).When I’m diving Bloody Bay Wall,I want to go...DEEP...dammit

 

[FindingMenno]

Enjoyed many trips to both Brac and L.C. I am,however annoyed by the arbitrary government depth restriction of 100 feet (30m).When I’m diving Bloody Bay Wall,I want to go...DEEP...dammit

The limit is 130 ft / 39 mt, 100 ft / 30 mt is a recommendation and limit for repetitive dives. From the CITA Watersport Guidelines

The recommended maximum depth limit with recreational scuba customers is 100 feet/30 meters, if within certification (See Appendix ‘B’). The maximum depth with recreational scuba customers is 130 feet/39 meters and 100 feet/30 meters for repetitive dives the same day.

Appendix B states limits for Junior Divers and Scuba Divers, and certain Tech certs.

If you plan on going deeper than 40 mt, besides being the general accepted maximum depth for recreational scuba diving, it would be prudent to be technical diving trained and have the proper equipment as your NDL times would be very short at these depths.

 

[muzikbiz22]

Enjoyed many trips to both Brac and L.C. I am,however annoyed by the arbitrary government depth restriction of 100 feet (30m).When I’m diving Bloody Bay Wall,I want to go...DEEP...dammit

There's always rebreathers I have a hunch that @FindingMenno might know of a little event taking place in 2019 at LCBR, for those "wanting to go deeper' I'm tentatively planning on joining the event

 

[Thook]

My longest dives on this trip were in the 60 minute range but, still coming up with over 1,000 psi so I'm not really complaining about the length of dives as they were reasonable and there was no policing that I was aware of in relation with their request to return at 1000. Kathy the sargassum was extremely heavy. Some mornings they were attempting to remove it from the beach with a bob cat but it was a rather futile attempt. The water against the resort was not pretty because of it and at times the stench of its decay was a bit overwhelming. It's only bad on the South side. Flying in you could see streams of it floating in for miles. They report it's coming up from South America and now it's landing in droves illegally with no passport... It's a travesty.....

 

[FindingMenno]

There's always rebreathers I have a hunch that @FindingMenno might know of a little event taking place in 2019 at LCBR, for those "wanting to go deeper' I'm tentatively planning on joining the event

Me? I know nooothing....
https://www.divetech.com/innerspace

 

[DangerousDan64]

I was there last December and I was disappointed that I felt like there were not a lot of fish (when I got to Grand Cayman the following week and saw SO FEW fish on the deeper dives, I wished that I could go back to LC!). The night dive on LC was especially disappointing- I really expected much more activity on the reef. It just felt like we were “diving in the dark”. What I did love about Little Cayman were the unusual reef formations with cracks and tunnels plummeting over the edge of the wall. The groupers were especially friendly. Meals at the resort were good (I CRAVED their punch) and I found the dive staff to be personable, knowledgeable and capable. I would definitely go back but I wish I knew what season is likely to result in more activity on the reefs. After my last night dive, I would be on the fence if I wanted to do it again. I think it was likely the most boring night dive I have ever done.

 

[Damselfish]

I find night dives in the Caribean are like that a lot everywhere. Sometimes you get alot of action, and sometimes there's just not much going on. In the same places.