pursuit. Don Fosters, Divetech, Eden Rock Diving Center and Sunset House are some of the oldest dive resorts on the Island and all boast great shore diving. As a certified diver you can also go on boat excursions. For many, the main reason to dive in Cayman is to explore the beautiful walls and drop-offs. You will soon have your own favourite sites and your conversations will turn to North West Point, Tarpon Alley, Great House Wall, Orange Canyon and coral covered passages, where you’ll see eagle rays, horseeyed jacks and hawksbill turtles.
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Dive Trips Before long, you will be taking two-tank (two dive locations) trips to explore the renowned beauty of the West Wall, which runs parallel to Seven Mile Beach, the breath-taking North Wall, and East End, where the scenery is some of the most dramatic. Generally, dive boats will leave early and get you home for lunch, however there are afternoon trips as well. The first dive is usually one of the wall dives. Experienced divers will have the opportunity to explore with a guide or their dive buddy. The best thing about guided dives is that the instructors know where they are going and will show you the best a particular site has to offer, as well as the critters. After a short surface interval, you will be on a second dive on one of Cayman’s shallow reefs or wrecks. By exploring the nooks and crannies, you see a host of amazing creatures including lobsters, eels, soft coral, sea anemones and more. In shallower waters, the colours will amaze you and are more vibrant due to the increased level of light. Sunset House provides great shore diving and boat dives, as does Divetech. Divetech’s mini-wall is a must see, as is the sunken 13ft sculpture of Guardian of the Reef which is half warrior and half seahorse. You should also head out to visit Ocean Frontiers in East End to experience dramatic wall dives and caverns. Finally, Eden Rock Diving Center offers easy access to Eden Rock and Devil’s Grotto. Once you have caught the 452
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dive bug, head over to the Sister Islands, known as the diving gem of the Caribbean, for a few days of diving some of Cayman’s pristine dive sites – just a 30 minute flight away. You will not be disappointed with Bloody Bay Wall in Little Cayman, with its beautiful drop-offs, corals and marine life. Finally, Cayman Brac is famous for the Wreck of MV Captain Keith Tibbetts, an interesting and very popular dive site. ADVANCED DIVING Advanced Diving Courses After completing your open water certification, you may want to complete further courses to build on your experience. The Advanced course introduces you to deep diving, navigation diving, plus three other specialty dives in areas that interest you. The very little classroom study required for the course can also be done online, with the remainder of the course completed in the water. Various other advanced courses include: underwater photography/videography, search and recovery, stingray interaction, reef awareness, wreck diving, scooters, buoyancy, technical applications and the popular Enriched Air (Nitrox) course. Technical Diving Technical dives are conducted beyond the 130ft depth limit for recreational diving, they require a decompression stop and occur beyond the light zone or in an overhead environment. This type of advanced, extended-range diving requires a commitment to safe, responsible, selfdisciplined diving. If you are truly adventurous, you can learn to use Rebreathers (devices originally designed by the military that emit no bubbles or noise), mixed gases or certain techniques for extended-range diving. Rebreather diving (Closed Circuit Rebreathers/CCR) allows you to massively extend your dive time. You could spend three hours at 100ft and, as there are no bubbles, you’ll get up closer to the marine life. Nitrox, Advanced Nitrox, Normoxic Trimix, Trimix and Advanced Trimix
courses enable divers to safely explore greater depths. This allows divers to dive to the same depths as normal scuba divers, but for a longer bottom time. It also provides an extra margin of safety as it reduces the amount of nitrogen being absorbed by your body. A Nitrox course usually costs CI$150 and one-tank of Nitrox will only cost about CI$10 more than a regular tank of air. If you like diving within 100ft-150ft, Advanced Nitrox enables you to stay safely at these depths for about 45 minutes instead of the usual 10-20 minutes. Normoxic/Non-Hypoxic Training takes divers to the 200ft range, reducing oxygen content to about 18% and adding helium to buffer the effects of narcosis. For those wishing to go deeper (330ft+), Advanced Trimix, Expedition and Rebreather courses, and try-dives are offered by Divetech. You may even wish to turn your passion for diving into a career by becoming a Divemaster. Divemaster training develops your skills to a professional level. You’ll work alongside full-time instructors and you get paid too! FREE DIVING Free diving is a form of underwater diving that relies on a diver’s breath instead of breathing apparatus. Being without equipment allows you to interact with marine life while strengthening your lungs and toning your muscles. Currently, free diving courses are only offered at Divetech (Tel: (345) 946 5658) and Ambassador Divers (Tel: (345) 916 1064). These courses vary from half-day experiences to a full certification course. Divetech's Experience Programme is designed for snorkelers who would like to increase their capabilities in the water. Ambassador Divers offers a PFI 20m/66ft class. Both courses include basic classroom lessons, followed by shallow water/pool skills and then open water free diving. For those wanting to pursue free diving more seriously, there is the PADI Free Diver (two days), PADI Advanced Free
