North Wall access: SMB Dive Op or East Bay Dive Ops

[Lateralus]

I’m traveling to Grand Cayman for 4.5 Days. We have decided to stay in West Bay.

On one of our days I plan to get up early and make the drive from West Bay to East Bay and do an AM/PM dive with OF. I plan do this on the weekend since I’ve read about the traffic nightmare/cruise ship traffic.

To fill the rest of my trip with dives, I called a few SMB operators to try to book a 3 tank boat dive for Friday to the North wall (conditions permitting).

I told the operator that I was going to dive the East end on my trip and he said “just tell them what sites you hit with us so you can go somewhere different on Sunday.” I particularly asked him about Babylon, which they said they regularly go there if the conditions are right.

That is where a question occurred to me: Do the East End Boats and West End boats go to the same places on the North Wall. If that is the case, what is the point of me going all the way to East End if the SMB Dive Ops will take me to the same places.

Any clarification will help, thanks in advance. Not familiar with the area. First time in GC.

 

[Trailboss123]

1. When are you going to be there?
I have a number of other questions based on your post, but, let's start there.

 

[Lateralus]

1. When are you going to be there?
I have a number of other questions based on your post, but, let's start there.

A week from today.

 

[Trailboss123]

If I were you, I would probably contact Brad Nelson at Cayman University Divers
If he is available, he will get you to all the best diving on the island and with no need to book different operators and drive around the island.

 

[Alucard]

The smaller ops definitely allow for a little more flexibility in terms of where they go. I'm really not sure that there is a ton of overlap between the dive sites, though, as it's a fair ways from the north west end of the island to the eastern North Wall.

Most people say that diving the East End is a different experience than staying on the west side of the island. If you want to experience that then I think you are fine doing what you planned.

Not sure why, if you are staying in West Bay, that you contacted the "SMB" dive ops, as there are quite a few dive ops that are based on West Bay, and leave from either West Bay Dock or Morgan's Harbour, depending on conditions. Cayman University Divers that Trailboss mentioned is one good example - I have mentioned Indepth Watersports in previous posts as another, if you want smaller boats. But there are quite a few others, too.

Where are you staying in West Bay?

 

[Lateralus]

Where are you staying in West Bay?

I'm staying by Coconut Bay. Villas Pappagallo specifically.

I'm looking for a 3 tank dive to the North wall.

It seems that there are 2 docks that Dive Ops have their boats. One in Georgetown and another in West Bay.

 

[Alucard]

The issue with the North Wall is that conditions can mean that you're not going to get out there. When dive ops can, they will. I don't think I know any of the standard tours that will do 3 tanks on a single trip, because of the depths involved - a wall dive usually means 100 feet or more which you certainly aren't going to be doing more than once without some pretty significant surface intervals to stay within no deco limits. Most ops will do a 2 tanker - the first being on the wall (like Ghost Mountain), the second being a shallower site (like Tarpon Alley). This is why I suggested you talk to smaller ops who could probably put something together for you. The wall outside the north sound is pretty far from anywhere for lunch, so I doubt you will find a dive op would will do 2 tanks, then a lunch break, then a third. I also don't think that many would do a single tanks "add-on" trip back out to the North Wall - not from outside the North Sound, anyway. This may be very different for the more eastern sites like Babylon, or McCurley's Wall.

There are also more docks than the two you named. George Town has several, including the Lobster Pot, but the SMB dive ops will often do pick-ups along the beach, too. West Bay Dock is used a lot, but there are several locations within the sound that dive boats will go out from, including Morgan's Harbour and the Yacht Club. These provide far easier access to the big North Wall sites that you seem interested in.

If wall diving is your thing, don't ignore some of the wall dives off the west of the island - there really are plenty of fantastic sites.

My advice would be to do 2 tanks with dive ops that do the North Wall in the morning, and then do a shore dive in the afternoon. There are some amazing shore dive sites in West Bay to explore - Turtle Reef (aka Macabuca), Lighthouse Point, Cobalt Coast (closest to Villas Pappagallo), Coconut Bay and, if you don't mind a surface swim, you can reach the big walls if you want to. I prefer tooling around on the mini wall, which has tons of life and plenty to see, and provides a lot more bottom time.

I would be very curious, though, if you find ops that will do 3 tank North Wall dive trips for you, and what the dive profiles would look like. Please report back, so that we can all learn.

 

[EastEndDiver]

I am laughing because I was about to post exactly what Alucard wrote....I can't agree more with what he said.

 

[Lateralus]

My advice would be to do 2 tanks with dive ops that do the North Wall in the morning, and then do a shore dive in the afternoon. There are some amazing shore dive sites in West Bay to explore - Turtle Reef (aka Macabuca), Lighthouse Point, Cobalt Coast (closest to Villas Pappagallo), Coconut Bay and, if you don't mind a surface swim, you can reach the big walls if you want to. I prefer tooling around on the mini wall, which has tons of life and plenty to see, and provides a lot more bottom time.

Thanks, I was planning to do something similar in mind if the 3 tank dive wasn't a possibility.

 

[caydiver]

I agree with it all too. EE ops do overlap someeimes when we are all south or go north but not in general. Sharks are a regular sight on the EE right now if you enjoy that. I don’t believe there is any best op, there are a couple I would not recommend but the reasons are not relative in the general scheme of things. We don’t often go North for a few reasons. It is a longer trip to get there and if the moorings are gone or conditions suck it is a no go. We brought people who have been diving here for years but never got to Ghost Mountain until last week. First day was scrubbed but they just came back around the point Second day they made it and loved it. She said it reminded her of GC diving years ago! The big west side guys don’t have as much flexibility in their schedule but most of the six packs can. We are less time getting guests in and out of the water for starters. When you get here call OF and ask them for a realistic real time update on the Sargassum not just if the trip is running.