More About Shore Dive Options on Grand Cayman

[KathyV]

Decades past, before there were dive ops onsite at most of the popular shore dive sites, the Grand Cayman dive ops would provide tanks for shore diving and mark good spots on a map, and tell you about the entry and exit - and you could go off on your own to shore dive - similar to Bonaire but not as extensive.

In more recent years, dive shops have opened on many of the popular shore dive sites and it is customary to rent tanks and weights from the onsite shop when you are diving in their front yard.

I don't have any problems with the current arrangement, it is convenient and inexpensive. Tanks and weights usually cost about $10-$15, and they have ladders, rinse tanks, and other facilities onsite for the use of divers.

But some folks that own tanks, or just prefer to do their own thing, may be less pleased with being forced to rent shore dive tanks from the onsite dive op. There has been discussion in the past on SB about "Is it illegal to bring outside tanks to a popular GC shore dive? Or is it just the common practice as recommended by the tourism and watersports association? Or perhaps it is mandated by the agency that holds the insurance policy for the dive op?"

I don't think that the question has ever been fully answered so I was interested to see the response below posted by the Cobalt Coast/Reef Divers Op in response to a TripAdvisor Review of the resort and diving. The Reviewer gave a positive report on the resort and dive op, but commented about the inability to take tanks offsite to dive other shore dives.

The resort rep replied that they are not "allowed" to do that and that divers are "required" to rent tanks from the onsite dive op, see the excerpts below.

Again I don't know the source for that statement, and I don't personally have a problem abiding by the local custom - but it does seem deeply ingrained into the culture and practice of Grand Cayman - whether or not it is actually "the law".

It is also interesting to me that the resort rep describes the Cobalt Coast shore dive site as "our own reef" because it is my understanding that the shoreline is public property "up to the waterline" on Grand Cayman. But of course the dock, ladder, rinse tanks, etc. belong to the resort/dive op, and you might want to park your car in their lot and walk through their property to get to the shore, so they definitely have a major investment in the site and rightfully pay attention to who is using their facilities.

But I don't think that the dive op would be liable if someone was injured while shore diving the area without their knowledge. Guests that come to the resort to stay or dive present their C-cards and sign a waiver, but an outsider doing a "private dive" would most likely skip those steps; so I don't see how the op could be held responsible.

On the sister islands of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, you can still rent tanks from your preferred op and go off to do your own thing to shore dive, but they don't have dive ops onsite at popular shore dives on the smaller islands. Hey, maybe that represents a future investment opportunity?

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g1006573-d224207-r623254438-Cobalt_Coast_Grand_Cayman_Resort-West_Bay_Grand_Cayman_Cayman_Islands.html

TA Reviewer:
"...It would have been nice if the resort would have allowed us to take a tank to shore dive at another location. We found great diving spots everywhere we went."

CCGCR Response:
“…In the Cayman Islands, we are only allowed to provide tanks for our boats and shore diving our own reef. Same for other shore diving locations. If you dive there, you are required to use their tanks. This is the requirement for locals and for visitors…”

 

[drrich2]

we are only allowed to

It seems we always get back around to this. Allowed by whom? The Illuminati?

Why do none of the multiple dive op.s seem inclined to out this hidden overlord?

How many times has this been asked on Scuba Board? What is the one true answer?

Richard.

 

[Damselfish]

my guess is "we" = "employee" and the "allowing" is by the owner/manager of the op. And probably it has been repeated so many times everyone believes what they're saying. Kind of like some other historic Cayman rules. But their property their rules, their tanks their rules. Which I don't have a problem with. Is there anyplace there is a shop or resort that you can access the water without crossing their property and using their facilities, if only incidentally? Not much. Sure it may be public to the waterline, but you can only swim so far. Convenient water access to shore diveable sites, that doesn't require crossing private property where someone cares if you do it, is a tricky thing on Grand. Especially on the west end of the island. It's not Bonaire.

Divers Supply still appears to rent tanks and gear. You just have to find the places to use them, and make more effort all around.

When an op refers to a reef as "theirs", I don't think they mean it literally.

 

[Trailboss123]

As a visitor on a dive vacation to Grand Cayman, this has, for the most part, been a non-issue for me based on where I stay and who I dive with and where I dive. But, I have totally taken it into consideration as I have been thinking about retirement and where I might want to live full time or part time outside of the USA. So far, Bonaire is the clear winner for me when it comes to the diving front. If I want to dive daily on the cheap, I can't think of a better place-- yet.

 

[KathyV]

As a visitor on a dive vacation to Grand Cayman, this has, for the most part, been a non-issue for me based on where I stay and who I dive with and where I dive. But, I have totally taken it into consideration as I have been thinking about retirement and where I might want to live full time or part time outside of the USA. So far, Bonaire is the clear winner for me when it comes to the diving front. If I want to dive daily on the cheap, I can't think of a better place-- yet.

Off topic but I have thought (dreamed!) about that too, and the thing that always gives me pause is the issue of healthcare coverage. I have healthcare benefits in the US but not outside of our country, so how expensive would it be to pay for doctor visits, hospitalizations, medications, etc. As we get older I am paying more attention to this issue. What HC benefits are available to foreign visitors from the US to other countries? If you are a legal resident and own property and pay property taxes are you eligible for care services?

My niece recently lived in Germany for 3 years with her husband who is employed by a US-based company that has international offices. They were given a short list of doctors and healthcare facilities in their area that accepted their insurance and they could only go to those places. Is that the norm? Or do you have to take private insurance that will be accepted outside the US? I know that when we eventually retire and go on Medicare it will not apply outside the US.

So when I think about healthcare my daydreams of exotic living become much more limited to places like Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the USVIs. What are the options for foreigners for the healthcare services offered in Bonaire (The Netherlands)? I remember reading that near the end of his life, Captain Don from Habitat had to travel to Florida for healthcare services, but that might have been due to the complexity of his condition, and not about the insurance.

 

[EastEndDiver]

Kathy in reference to your Healthcare question I am able to buy a rider for mine which covers me in Cayman I have not done so because I only spend a week or 2 at a time but it is an option from my health care provider.

Also with the medical tourism starting there I do know some facilities are trying to get US healthcare providers to cover medical costs there.
Not sure where they are in getting approval


Ahhhhhhhhhhhh taking tanks offsite...…... depends on the relationship you have with the operator.

 

[drrich2]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh taking tanks offsite...…... depends on the relationship you have with the operator.

Any idea why taking tanks offsite is such a big deal? Take my credit card info., bill me a refundable deposit, if I don't bring the tank back, okay, you sold it to me. Bonaire dive op.s have done it in high volume for years. Why do people need, what, the secret handshake or something, to do it in Grand Cayman?

Richard.

 

[EastEndDiver]

No idea whatsoever.

Divers Supply and Eden Rock take the credit card info and it's $200. C.I. from Eden if you don't return that's about all I know

I can't teach you the secret handshake they would kill me.

 

[KathyV]

Any idea why taking tanks offsite is such a big deal? Take my credit card info., bill me a refundable deposit, if I don't bring the tank back, okay, you sold it to me. Bonaire dive op.s have done it in high volume for years. Why do people need, what, the secret handshake or something, to do it in Grand Cayman?

Richard.

Clearly something changed because it wasn't always a big deal to take tanks off site on Grand Cayman. I definitely remember diving with Bob Soto's op (back in the 1980s and 1990s) and our package was 2 morning boat dives per day and tanks for unlimited shore dives.

We were young and we had a blast running all over that island diving afternoons, evenings, and nights. And it was nice that you didn't have to leave your car unlocked and the windows rolled down and with nothing of value inside, when you were shore diving GC.

I recall shore diving Eden Rock and Devil's Grotto when they were pristine. The Turtle Farm was on the shore side of the road back then and we snuck around that area in the dark to dive Turtle Reef and Hepp's (before they had names) and they were fabulous, fun dives.

Then things changed. Each site had a dive op established and you could only dive that site through them. Again this system is pretty convenient and I don't mind it at all, but the culture did change. But as @Trailboss123 mentioned, if I lived on the island and owned tanks and wanted to dive really cheaply, I might not be as big of a fan of the current system.

On the other hand, as we get older "easy and convenient" becomes more and more attractive! I give @AdivingBel a lot of credit for inventing "PVC Dive Canes" so that they can continue to shore dive Bonaire.

But getting back to the topic, I've wondered if it started as a "professional courtesy" not to rent tanks to divers to take to other sites but then it became the norm and is now it is commonly accepted as "required" and "not allowed" as @Damselfish suggested.

I remember the uproar on Bonaire, when Bonaire Dive and Adventure was replaced by Dive Friends as the dive op for Sandollar, and Andre at BDA responded by locking out access to his dock and shore dive facilities and restricting the use only to guests at Den Laman.

Everyone was used to "wide open spaces" on Bonaire and suddenly there were unable to easily access one of the best shore dives on the island. But now that BDA has closed and Dive Friends is the op for both resorts, I imagine that things have probably eased up again.

I've never heard anything about dive ops "staking out their territory" on GC, but perhaps it just slowly became the accepted practice?

 

[drrich2]

It’s like the unofficial resistance to solo diving in Grand Carmen mentioned at times in other threads. Try to track it back to the source, and you get nowhere.

Richard.