Aggressor - Cayman or Belize?

[Rwhiting]

I'm thinking about a week on an Aggressor boat - either Belize or Cayman. Any comments on the condition of the Cayman reefs since last fall's hurricane? Cayman reefs vs. Belize? Also, any reason to choose one boat or the other?
Thanks,
Rich

 

[jakubson]

I'm thinking about a week on an Aggressor boat - either Belize or Cayman. Any comments on the condition of the Cayman reefs since last fall's hurricane? Cayman reefs vs. Belize? Also, any reason to choose one boat or the other?
Thanks,
Rich

Hi there,

I was last on the Cayman Aggressor in 1994, so I cannot speak about current conditions. The one thing to be aware of is that wind and sea conditions (particularly in fall) can prevent you from making the crossing to Little Cayman. So if your trip would be "ruined" if you do not get to dive Bloody Bay Wall, be aware of this.

I was on the Belize Aggressor Nov 27 - Dec 4. All in all, it was a perfect week. I did 26 dives in 5.5 days. That was 5 dives per day for 4 days, 4 dives on the day we did the Blue Hole, and 2 dives the last morning. Then 10 of us went cave tubing in the afternoon.

Visability was excellent, particularly on the wall and most of the time in the shallows. We spent every day but the last one on Lighthouse reef, splitting our time between Long Caye and Half Moon Caye. The last half day was at Turneffe.

The wall at Half Moon Caye is one of the nicest dives in the Carribean, in my view. We saw lots of turtles, spotted eagle rays, and one manta ray of Long Caye(on the first dive of the week!).

The crew is excellent. Captain Jay, and divemasters Caroline and Chris were top notch.

A few questions - have you been on an Aggressor boat before? If not, let me know and i will tell you about how they operate. Also let me know if you want more info on the diving or the boat or both. I will add more detail in my next reply, based on what specifically you are looking for.

 

[Rwhiting]

Hi Joel,
Thanks for the info. I have not been on an Aggressor liveaboard, but have heard great things about them across the board. I did do a liveaboard on the Little Cayman Diver (actually the same year you did the Cayman Aggressor - Jan. 94). The likelihood of not being able to do the crossing to LC in winter was part of what convinced me to do the Little Cayman Diver. It was a great trip - a solid week of nothing but Little Cayman - and was the best Caribbean diving I've seen (been to Cozumel several times, USVI and St. Kitts). I'm planning on going in July if space is available, so chances are (I think) that I'd be able to get back to LC if I did the Cayman boat. I'm really trying to decide between going back to an area I've already been to (though I have not done any diving at Grand Cayman) and somewhere new (Belize). I enjoy a variety of diving, i.e. walls, reefs, pelagics, small stuff. I'm not a photographer, and I'm thinking about doing a Nitrox course while on board. Can you give me your opinions of any diferences between Belize and Cayman reefs and fishes? Is there a noticeably better chance of seeing big stuff in one location or the other? Did you prefer one boat over the other for any reason? Thanks again for taking the time to reply.
Rich

 

[fdog]

Rich, as far as the crossing to LC goes, here's a quote from Captain Tom:

"I will try very hard to get to Little Cayman, because it's my favorite place to dive. There are only two things that will keep me from going to Little Cayman: the boat can't make it or the passengers stop me. The boat usually will take far more than the passengers."

The seas weren't bad for us; only about half the passengers were seasick, and the rest of us had a great time in the washing machine hot tub. Even the seasick folks unanimously said it was worth it.

All the best, James

 

[jakubson]

Rich,

OK. Here is the rundown of a typical Aggressor day. This would be simialr for both Cayman and Belize.

Day 1 - arrive, check in, unpack, set up gear, meet people, eat, ...
Day 2-6 - breakfast, dive deck orientation, dive #1, snack (baked goods), dive #2, lunch (boat moves to new spot), dive #3, snack (savory), dive #4, dinner, dive #5 (night dive), hot chocolate
Day 7 - Only dive in AM (2 dives) - go back to port. PM open (in Belize, a group of us went cave tubing). Cocktail party in early evening, dinner on your own (although the captain opten sets up a group dinner in town).
Day 8 - get kicked off the boat by 8 AM so crew can prepare for next group.

Both Cayman and Belize boats are similar designs and vintage. Cabins a little small for 2 people, so pack light (as you are an experienced liveaboard diver, you know this, but I am writing this for lurkers too.) Bottom bunk queen size, top twin, so if you are a couple you can use the top bunk for storage. The crew will put your big dive bag into storage for the week, so it will not get in your way.

The rest of my comments are specific to Belize, since I do not know the crew of the Cayman boat.

There were no real pelagics in Belize (and i do not remember many in cayman either). As I said, the 'big stuff" was one manta, many spotted eagle rays. The walls of lighthouse reef are superb - in good shape (dive sites have permanent moorings - no anchors). My memory of Cayman is slightly faded, but I believe you will not be disappointed in Lighthouse Reef (particularly off half Moon caye). We did 24 dives on Lighthouse Reef (14 off long Caye and 10 off Half Moon Caye) and 2 off Turneffe island (no real wall, just a long reef slope). Good shallows, including some sandy areas to chase small rays, watch sand tilefish, ...

Many people took Nitrox course - the work is "self paced" and was done between dives. The cost of nitrox is $100 for the entire week, and if you take the course, they give you a discount. My advice - take the course at your LDS, and get a referral to do the Nitrox checkout on the Aggressor - why spend any time studying? (of course, if you can find an SSI course, there is NO requirement for a checkout dive - even easier - that's what I did). Having said that, people who took the course did not seem to mind the time - it was not a huge imposition. If you do want to do most of the dives, I urge you to take a Nitrox course somewhere - it makes a huge difference both in bottom time and safety margin (assuming you are not a scuba commando)

I honestly don't think you can go wrong with either choice. The crew of belize is very relaxed, friendly. The boat rules are max depth of 110' (except for Blue Hole), but it is honor system. If you do Nitrox, that limits your depth to 110 to 132 anyway (you will learn about oxygen toxicity in the course). The Blue Hole is the only "led dive". Everything else is self directed (you can always go with the divemaster if you want - I did to help find some tunnels that were not obvious.

If you go to Belize, take some good quality dark chocolate for Caroline - she will be ecstatic! Tell her I (Joel Jakubson) told you!

Final advice - go to the Aggressor web site, and read the Captain's Log archives for both Belize and Cayman - that will give you a flavor for what they have been diving.

Reply back with more questions,

Cheers,

 

[divebuddy68]

I was on the Belize Aggressor in Feb 04. Going on the Cayman Aggressor this year. I have 3 Aggressor trips already booked this year so as you can tell I'm a big fan. Dove Cayman Brac a few years ago. Can't go wrong with either choice. I would say the diving is similar. As far as the Aggressor, the crew on all I have been on has been exceptional. Great service, food and accomodations.

What I really like about them is they give you some guidelines but also give you a lot of freedom especially if they determine you know what you are doing.