Cayman Brac

Divers, Hikers, Bikers, and Cliff Hangers

Cayman Brac is an island barely 19km (12 miles) long and 2km (2 miles) wide and is situated 8km (5 miles) east of Little Cayman and 145km (90 miles) northeast of Grand Cayman. This small island that is sea level on the southwest end has a limestone outcrop “the Bluff” that rises some 43m (141 ft) on the northeast end. There are some sandy beaches in front of some hotels and resorts, but for the most part, the less frequented beaches require good walking shoes to traverse. Good shoes are recommended to hike on the trails that take you past the 180 acre parrot sanctuary; mornings and evenings are the best time to see the parrots in flight. The shoes will help climb the stairs and walk inside various caves where pirates once hid their booty, and along the lighthouse path to view the birds such as frigates and brown boobies nesting on the cliff sides. Brown boobies are easy to identify, just look at their chest. A horizontal straight line separates their chest region from their absolutely white underbelly. Their lightly yellow colored beak and feet tend to get over looked. Good shoes may also come in handy if you plan on cycling around the island, renting mopeds, rock climbing, or hanging over the sides of cliffs too.

Diving is a must for this small island as here you will find walls, sand chutes, tunnels, and caverns to explore much like one would expect to find on Grand Cayman, plus Cayman Brac is home to at least four wrecks including the 330ft long 42ft wide M/V Capt. Keith Tibbetts which was formerly a Russian Brigadier Class frigate #356. It was sunk in 1996, sitting straight up in about 27m (89ft) of water, but mover nature tried to rip off the from end and eventually tilted the front of the ship over at a 45º angle, and the middle section was torn up and scattered. The aft section still sits straight up. It rests 200m (660ft) from shore, and you may see people snorkel out to the wreck, but it is easier to save time and energy by diving the wreck from a boat. Some 24 of the 46 dive sites around the island can be reached as shore dives, and many of the diving areas are great for snorklers too. Over the last 20 years, The M/V Tibbetts has turned into an artificial reef and is home to hundreds of different forms of fish and invertebrates.

If colorful corals, tube sponges, soft corals, nurse sharks, reef sharks, sea turtles, tarpon, goliath groupers, stingrays, lobsters, octopus, and green moray eels are what you want to see, photograph or video, then Cayman Brac has got you covered. One of their most popular dive sites is East Chute. This is really a two for one dive site as you can descend past the eel gardens down the wall through semi-closed tunnels down to 90ft and look for life on the wall as well as pelagics off the wall and then come up the east chute to the 65ft long Mariner wreck in 45ft of depth for a little macro photography. The Gilembo dive site is reported by an honest fisherman friend to have a “super male” 5ft long rainbow parrotfish. Treehouse Reef is noted for its two pinnacles and sandy bowl, Treasure Trove is known for its staghorn, elkhorn, and sponges, Bert Brothers Boulders also has large elkhorn coral heads on top of grooves and ridges with soft corals and sponges in the gullies. Wilderness Wall is known for rope vase and tube sponges, snapper, and angelfish,.

Now, Radar Reef used to be the place to go to do a night dive to find shrimp, arrow crabs, lobster, and tarpon next to the Jetty at Stake Bay, but the local artist named “Foot” built the Archway to Atlantis, the Elder Way (statues with local faces), and the Circle of Light and the area became renamed as Atlantis. of course a hurricane came through and had to mess things up a little, but it is still a very surreal or dream like site.

Oh, the other wrecks are the 60ft long Kissimmee tug boat that lays upside down in the sand and Prince Federick’s Wreck, a schooner, that sunk in the 1800’s. Most of the wood has been eaten away, but parts of a mast, anchor chains, four anchors, and boilers are still 20-40ft underneath two hundred years of coral growth.

We should mention, that because Little Cayman Island is a mere 5 miles away, dive trips over to Bloody Bay Wall can also be arranged (weather permitting), but book in advance!

Back to land activities, bring your dive light along if you want to explore the caves. Skull Cave or Half Ground Cave has Jamaican fruit bats that you can see if you shine your light overhead. Peter’s Cave has a nice view of the town and was once the gathering point of the islanders during the 1932 hurricane. You can learn more about this catastrophe by visiting the oldest museum of the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Brac museum in Stakes Bay. There are some 2100 residents on the island and there is also a hospital and chamber. There are small grocery stores, 16 restaurants on the island offering a variety of local Caribbean and international cuisine as well as mandatory after dive or activities libations. So if you plan to explore by cycle, moped, car or on foot, the roads are pretty much yours. The beaches and hiking trails are pretty much yours too. You may have the urge to go deep sea fishing or rock climbing or you may want to hang from ropes over a cliff or during lobster season go catch a lobster as no license is required but one thing is certain, you will quickly adapt to waving back to the locals. For such a small friendly island there is lots to do at your pace, but here, among all the activities, diving is a must; formality not so much.

Little Cayman’s Big Time Diving

If you are looking for a dive destination that even Phillipe Cousteau considered one of the top three dive destinations in the world, yet it is still not inundated with tourist galore, then you can’t find a bigger island with more magnificent and mesmerizing dive sites than the island simply known as Little Cayman.

The island population has exploded since the early nineteen eighties and now there are close to 170 some people living on the island, and although you might think this number is a lot, it is nothing compared to the two thousand rock iguanas living on the island which have the right of way around the island. Now take the total number of locals and all the tourists and this total will still be so small that the vast majority of red footed boobies are unaware that humans are even on Little Cayman. We’re not exactly sure how an ornithologist arrived at 5,000 pairs of red footed boobies. This round number makes us wonder, did they just stop counting when they reached this number and then head for the reef where the hawksbill turtles like to hang out? We may never know the answer, but if you are like most “Birders” we had you at “red footed” and most photographers will agree that there is nothing more picturesque than a pair of boobies posing for a camera. Of course, we almost sincerely apologize for this blatant misuse of fowl humor.

On the more serious side, the Cayman Islands are actually a collection of three separate instances where the peaks of the Cayman ridge broke through the Caribbean Sea’s surface. Little Cayman tops the surface by a mere 40ft (12m). On the north side of this ridge lays the Yucatan Basin and on the south side is the Cayman Trench. Little Cayman is approximately 80 miles (129km) east of Grand Cayman and 5 miles (8km) from Cayman Brac. Little Cayman is directly south of Miami with a little plane hop over or around Cuba, but typically, flights to Little Cayman arrive several times a day direct or non-stop via Grand Cayman.

Southeast of Little Cayman is Jamaica which tends to shield the Caymans from most hurricanes. Around these three exposed island peaks are fringing reefs, coral heads, sand plains that over time deposit vast amounts of sand down chutes that form between finger shaped coral canyons and ridges. Around, between, and hidden by the coral outcroppings you may encounter pinnacles, arches, tunnels, chimneys, mini-walls, caves, and eventually walls that descend downward into the deep blue.

Back to the area which makes Little Cayman such a famous place to dive we have to go to Bloody Bay on the slightly northwest side of the island. The wall starts at a mere 18ft (6m) of depth, but it is such a long shallow swim from shore before you reach the edge of the wall that may descend eventually down to 3,000ft+ (1,000m) and this is why some 99% of all local diving is facilitated by boat. To visit some 76 different local dive sites is quite an undertaking and since most visits are from Saturday to Saturday on Little Cayman you might as well plan a second trip or extend your first excursion.

There are some 24 dive sites on Bloody Bay and the adjacent Jackson Bay, but the favorite dive site of all for divers, underwater photographers, videographers and instructors alike has to be Mixing Bowl; aka (Three Fathoms). If you are facing Three Fathom Wall on the left side of the wall is a sand chute that descends down to 110ft (34m). A short distance more is a coral arch and to the left of a flat coral head is a cave that leads to a second canyon. To the right of Three fathom wall is Marylyn’s Cut which is where a large mushroom topped pinnacle is cut from the surrounding wall and goes down to 80ft (24m). Just to the right of the pinnacle is a cave where light filters in the open roof area and air bubbles filter out. Randy’s Gazebo is similar to Mixing Bowl with structural features on both sides of the wall, but on a smaller scale so you can explore this site on a single dive.

Besides the rock formations, there are myriads of yellow and red tube sponges, elephant ears, gorgonians, invertebrates of all sizes and types, schools of reef fish such as grunts and snappers, barracuda, sharks, rays and Nassau groupers. Grouper are found off Little Cayman in great abundance because of the long standing designated grouper spawning areas off both the west and east end of the island. Although, how they get the grouper to adhere to these specific courtship coordinates is beyond the scope of this article.

Now if you are into wreck dives several dive charters cross the short distance over to Cayman Brac, weather permitting, to spend a few dives visiting the 300ft + (91m) long former Russian Destroyer Keith Tibbetts. This dive descends down to 97ft (30m) and recently the Tibbetts broke into two pieces making it easy to investigate the engine and control rooms.

In addition to scuba diving, you can jog, bicycle around the island, go birding, or go kayaking, but the biggest non-diving sport on the island has to be blue water fishing. Little Cayman is well known for its mahi mahi, tuna, marlin, wahoo, and sailfish, and has been a sportsman’s dream out here since the 1980’s.

So now you know that Little Cayman is a secluded uncrowded island with world class diving, lots of iguanas, and tons of birds including thousands of pairs of red footed boobies. The island may be only 10 miles (16km) long, a little over a mile (2km) wide, and just above sea level, but if you think you can see it all in one week, then think again . . . or better yet, plan on staying longer or coming back again, but whatever you decide, we know you are going to enjoy your small island dive adventure experience in a very big and memorable way.

110,000 Reasons to Go Liveaboard

110,000 Reasons To Go Liveaboard

There are more than 110,000 islands in the world and many pinnacles that rest just below the surface and each and every one of them may be filled with multitudes of critters and creatures that seldom come in contact with humans. Sure, some of these islands may be inhabited, but most require transportation via some sort of marine vessel to get there and it may take a day or two to reach some of these remote destinations. Even destinations that are not remote, but are near other dive sites, may require a liveaboard to maximize your dives as you simultaneously minimize your back and forth to port travel time. Weather, animal migration patterns, multi-nation destinations, and toys/technical gear supplied, are other considerations for choosing liveaboards.

While many of these liveaboards offer first class dinning experiences with remarkable onboard chefs and while many of these vessels are built using iron wood hulls and beautifully hand crafted teak interiors or modern steel designs with the latest in furnishings and electronics, we will restrict this article to dive destinations, as well as mention some of the experiences you may encounter while being a guest on one or many of these luxury liveaboards vessels.

Starting off down under, Mike Ball offers great expeditions to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia for three nights/12 dives, or to the Coral Sea for 4 nights/14dives, or a combination of 7 nights and see both incredible dive destinations on one spectacular trip aboard the specifically designed twin hull Spoilsport. It’s just impossible to do so many dives at so many remote Great Barrier Reef dive sites from a shore-based resort or per day dive charter.

How about diving one nation, but with thousands of islands? The MV Pindito , Msy Seahorse, Komodo Dancer, Raja Ampat Aggressor and the Pelagian are just some of the vessels that cruise though the 15,00 plus island of Indonesia. Indonesia is the epicenter of marine biodiversity. These vessels have different itineraries depending on the time of year to maximize your visit and to view an unforgettable as well as incredible amount of sea life.

How about diving three different nation destinations on one liveaboard trip? The M/V Caribbean Explorer II travels 8 days/ 7 nights to SABA, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten. Perhaps you would prefer one island chain like Turks and Caicos, where the Turks and Caicos Aggressor II and the Turks and Caicos Explorer peruse some 70 miles of reefs, walls, multiple cays and islands, as well as visit when possible the 22 mile long Columbus passage that is 7,000ft deep and right on the migration route for Atlantic humpback whales from January to March and large pelagics the rest of the year.

Speaking of seasons, the Rocio Del Mar is either in the Sea of Cortez around the Midriff Islands or near Revillagigedo-Socorro islands from November to May. The Sea of Cortez also called the Gulf of California; Jacques Cousteau called this area the Galapagos of North America.

The Nautilus Explorer also leads expeditions to Socorro Island as well as Guadalupe Island, San Bernitos Island, and even all the way over to a seldom visited exotic destination of Clipperton Atol. Guadalupe Island gets the most notoriety as these crystal clear waters make it easy to view some 108 different great white sharks each year. Nautilus Explorer uses double decker descending cages to make your experience with these apex predators unobtrusive, and arguably second to none.

The Solmar V is also at Socorro Island from November to May and at Guadalupe Island during great white shark season. They are also part of the Dive Encounters Alliance. All vessels are independently owned and they have eight liveaboard destinations including Galapagos, Cocos Island, Maldives, Indonesia, Palau, and Honduras Bay Islands as well as Guadalupe /Socorro Islands.

For some, the ultimate dive sites are in the Galapagos Islands for this is where Charles Darwin first observed how cormorants had evolved into flightless birds, and Iguanas had evolved into ocean going reptiles. Galapagos penguins and tons of fish, silky and Galapagos sharks round out the rest of the underwater one of a kind marine environment and make this dive adventure so inspiring; the Galapagos Aggressor III and the Humboldt Explorer journey to these enchanted waters.

Now, as they “sea” it, sharks don’t care if it rains, but the time of year you plan your liveaboard trip can greatly effect what you see on your dives. We could be more precise, but generally fish and whale sharks alike rely on the phase of the moon, water temperature, hormonal changes, and Neptune’s will. Then again, you could book the same trip three separate times of the year and end up with three unique diving experiences.

For wreck divers we recommend diving the 50 mile wide Truk Lagoon where you can dive some 60 ships from WW II. This former southern fleet headquarters of the Imperial Japanese fleet is a historical graveyard and with a ghost fleet of submarines, destroyers, cargo ships, Betty bombers and more sunk during two raids in 1944. The Truk Odyssey ventures here. For those that are into tech diving and rebreather diving you might like to journey on the SS Thorfinn.

Palau also has sunken WWII wrecks as well as a freshwater jellyfish lake. The reef and manta cleaning stations are a big hit with divers, and night dive spawning trips are coordinated with local marine biologists and tour guides from Palau.

The Aggressor and Dancer Fleet Boasts 22 itineraries from East Flores, Belize, Maldives, Myanmar, and to the Red Sea. Their Kona trip will let you dive sites too remote for most one day charter trips and their Cayman Aggressor IV will allow you to dive, weather permitting, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman all in one trip; Saturday to Saturday.

For something completely different might we suggest one of the 7 trips available by Oceanwide Expeditions to dive the Arctic waters of Spitsbergen using zodiacs to take you close to spider crabs, soft corals, peacock worms, dogfish, and walrus from a safe distance during the warmer summer days when the sun shines 24/7. They also dive in the Antarctic where you’ll see penguins, leopard seals, krill, and fur seals. These dives are for more experienced drysuit trained divers.

We ran out of space before mentioning the Okeanos Aggressor and the hammerheads of Cocos Island off Costa Rica. The M/Y Sun Dancer II is a great way to experience the diving off Belize such as Turneffe Reef and the world famous Blue Hole. The Caribbean Pearl II explores the Honduras Bay Islands. Both the Nai’a liveaboard and the Island Dancer II cruise through Fiji. The M/V Atlantis Azores allows you to dive with ease off Tubbataha Reef and the colorful corals off Anilao in the Philippines. The M/Y Spirit of Niugini lets you tour the muck diving sites of Papua New Guinea. The MV Bilikiki and the MV Spirit of the Solomon Islands let you dive 1500 miles west of Fiji and 1,200 miles northeast of Australia, and just like Fiji, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea, you are still diving within the Coral Triangle. In the Maldives you may like to try an adventure aboard the Carpe Vita Explorer, the Maldives Aggressor, or the MV Emperor Voyager. We just might have to write a book to let you know everything about these spectacular world class dive destinations.

Having mentioned all these destinations and luxury liveaboards, we have to admit, that, one of the best reasons to go on one or all of these diving excursions is a chance to meet and dive with other divers that share your level of enthusiasm and passion for the sport; some of these people may become life long friends. Some of these individuals may be professional underwater videographers, photographers, or marine biologists, while others may be relatively new to the sport, and just fun to be around, talk about diving, share past dive adventures, share good food, and most importantly share incredible experiences on a planet mostly covered by water, yet still called Earth.

To access additional information on these and other dive liveaboards as well as their destinations click here or to view possible exclusive deals click here.

Destination Spotlight: The Cayman Islands – Grand Cayman

Still got room in your passport book for an island nestled in the warm turquoise waters of the Caribbean? If not you better start adding pages because our new destination is soon to house 240 dive sites that are sure to leave even our most experienced readers in awe.

The Cayman Islands were discovered by European explorers. In 1503 Christopher Columbus sighted Cayman Brac and Little Cayman and named them Las Tortugas after the numerous sea turtles swimming in the surrounding waters. The 1523 Turin map referred to them as Los Lagartos, meaning alligators. By 1530 they were known as the Caymanes after the Carib word Caiman for the marine crocodile that lived there. Archaeological studies of Grand Cayman show no human occupation before the 16th century. The first recorded English visitor was Sir Francis Drake in 1586 and the year 1734 marks the first permanent settlement. A variety of people settled on the island but the majority are English and African descent.

Present day Grand Cayman has evolved into a major tourism and offshore banking center. The endless sandy beaches, upscale condos, resorts and attractions will please every visitor. But while there are many topside attractions, it is what lies underwater that lures scuba divers to Grand Cayman.

Diving Grand Cayman

Two of Grand Cayman’s most noted features for divers is its shore diving and numerous variety (did we mention 240) of exciting dive sites.Waters that average a warm 80 degrees year round, dramatic walls adorned with colorful corals, invertebrates and sponges, shallow reefs of fish (great for snorkelers), renowned wrecks, turtles, sharks, silversides, octopus, groupers, tarpon, spotted Eagle and Southern rays and more. Grand Cayman is also known for it’s amazing visibility (perfect for snapping endless underwater images), which usually exceeds 100 feet. But if this still doesn’t perk your fins then maybe the home of the world’s best 12-foot dive and legendary Stingray City and USS Kittiwake might spark your interest.

USS Kittiwake: a 251-foot long decommissioned US Navy Rescue Ship rests 64 feet deep at the bottom of the ocean but is only 15 feet from the surface which is great for snorkelers and divers alike.

This is one of the only places where snorkelers can enjoy a dive site and experience whatdivers see under the surface. Great attraction for non-diving family members and spouses!

Stingray City: another unique and world-famous dive! Stingray City is the only dive in the world where divers can interact with Southern Stingray.

Once at the dive site you’ll be briefed on the do’s and don’ts and how to interact with the fish and stingray, then you’ll have 45 minutes to an hour with the marine life. Definitely a must-do dive!

Amphitrite: She’s one of the world’s most famous mermaids next to Ariel, and you’ve seen her online and in magazines from Scuba Diving Magazine to Sport Diver Magazine. This magnificent 9-foot tall bronze sculpture came from Canadian artist Simon Morris and was carefully placed underwater to keep a watchful eye over the beautiful reef.

The David Nicholson Wreck: an old cargo ship now covered and surrounded by sea life makes for a great day or night dive. Deliberately placed to attract fish and marine life in the 80’s, the wreck is now teeming with colorful fish, sea turtles, nurse sharks, stingrays and more.

There are plenty of other great dive sites (after all, there are 240!) including: Black Forrest, Eagle Ray Pass. Blue Pinnacles, Tarpon Alley, Trinity Caves, Andres Wall, the exhilarating North Wall and countless more.

Topside

You’ve gotta spend some time ashore and Grand Cayman’s got some great topside attractions to fill up your time when you’re not in your fins and wet suit.

So, what’s there to do on a 22-mile long island?

TONS.

Cayman Turtle Farm: We had to include a little sea life in our topside excursions… it just wouldn’t be right without it!

This is a great attraction. This park allows visitors to learn about sea turtles, sharks and eels, birds, and other creatures. The park even allows observing and interacting opportunities with flora and fauna.

Take a dip in their fresh water tidal lagoon, wander through their aviary and even swim and snorkel with fish and other marine life in a 1.3 million gallon salt water lagoon. (This is great for non-divers with an interest in the ocean).

Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park: Here you can get a real feel for Grand Cayman. Enjoy a lush garden popping with colorful flowers and vegetation, a turn of the century Cayman farm house complete with its original furnishings, and a two-acre lake home to native aquatic birds. This makes for a beautiful stop on your trip to Grand Cayman.

After a long day of dives and topside excursions chill out at the ocean’s edge. This is a great spot to enjoy the sunset while sipping on your after diving adult beverage. Oh and you don’t want to miss out on the Green Flash! It DOES exists and if you don’t believe us, experience it for yourself.

You can also visit Hell, a group of short black limestone formations, Pedro St. James National Historic Site, the antique car museum and Black Pearl Skate and Surf Park.

What to Expect From Your First Liveaboard

I still remember the first time I decided to plunge into something new and book my first liveaboard charter. None of my dive buddies wanted to join me, so I grabbed my gear and set sail alone. There are far too many places to discover in the world to pass this up!Â I must admit that the excitement of exploring a new underwater environment was paired with a little fear of what I might encounter on my first ever liveaboard . I’m sharing my experiences with you all in the hopes that it will encourage you to try a dive liveaboard yourself!

Choosing the Right Liveaboard for Me

First thing I did was start looking into companies that offered liveaboard sailings and, being a single female traveling alone decided that there were a few things that I absolutely had to have:

Hot showers after every dive
Private/semi-private cabin (I would be willing to share with another female)
My meals prepared for me (I do not cook willingly even at home)
Dive masters in the water and available for me to dive with
English speaking crew
Nitrox; as I was recently Nitrox certified and wanted to use it

On board the Maldives Aggressor.

So after checking out many different dive liveaboards with exciting destinations, I decided that the Aggressor Fleet offered all this and more. The booking procedure was easy and once handled, I was expertly guided to the Cayman Islands where I began my first of over 25 LiveAboard trips aboard these dive boats.

Travel Tip: There is no extra charge if you are willing to share a cabin with another passenger of the same gender, but you can also get yourself a private cabin for a single supplement charge.

A Week Aboard a Resort Afloat

Courtesy of Aggressor Fleet

Every morning I woke up on top of some of the world’s best diving sites where I could experience multiple dives daily. My relaxing charter vacation included personal touches like:

Delicious snacks between meals
Warm freshwater showers
Pampered service from an attentive crew
Fun with other divers onboard and more – all for a great price

Put simply, it was a week aboard a floating resort.

What to Look For

Knowledgeable Divemasters

When researching liveaboard charters, make sure they have divemasters that will accompany you on every dive and also offer instruction and guidance as needed. My charter had Divemasters, (who are also instructors) that accompanied me on every dive and were eager to help me locate resident critters for my prize-winning photographs. Which was great because I could snap my own version of those Dive Magazine photos I’m always gawking at.

All-Inclusive Packages

Try to find a liveaboard package that includes everything for you like: diving, deluxe accommodations, chef prepared meals, snacks, soft beverages, even local beer and wine so once you are aboard you literally have nothing to worry about.

Licensed and Trained Professionals

Captain and Divers

Make sure your liveaboard has licensed, professional trained mariners. They should also be equipped with safety equipment and an expert crew that is well trained. This was important in making me feel a little better about traveling on my own.

Eco-friendly Living and Diving

Marine conservation is key for me. So one of my criteria for choosing a charter was that they would be environmentally friendly. That’s another reason why I went with Aggressor Fleet. Many of their dives are conducted within marine sanctuaries and UNESCO World Heritage locations. This enables pristine diving now and measures to ensure it remains the same for future divers.

Thanks to Sharon Connor for sharing her experiences on her first liveaboard. There are over 70 dive liveaboards available worldwide from Maduro Dive.

Top Aquatic Attractions in the Cayman Islands

There is no question the Cayman Islands are one of the most popular scuba diving destinations in the world. Just ask Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman the well-known actors explored the islands underwater treasures during filming of the motion picture The Firm years ago (a portion of those dives even made it into the film).

The Cayman Islands (a group of three islands Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac) first became prominent among scuba divers back in the 1970s. Until that time, the island was most prominent among bankers and international financiers. But in the scuba diving world, Grand Cayman holds a special place.

The coral reefs, which are accessible both from shore and short boat rides, offer a unique diversity that complements the vast marine life in the islands. But there are three MAIN underwater attractions that almost every diver should see at least once.

Stingray City:

Photo courtesy of Martin Stepanek

Located in the shallow waters of the northwest corner of Grand Cayman’s North Sound, its been called the worlds best 12 foot dive and for good reason. Almost every visitor to the island books a trip to this site at least once (sometimes more than once).

The site has been around for years, first discovered by Skin Diver magazine writers and photographers in the early 1980s. Fishermen used to clean their catches in the shallow, calm waters. The local Stingray populations, natural bottom feeders always looking for a free meal, make daily visits to the site and often stay until they get their fill.

Guests traveling to the site, a short boat ride from Seven Mile Beach, can often watch the stingrays following the boats anticipating a free meal. Dozens of stingrays, both large and small, glide to the site and then quickly surround the divers and snorkelers.

Stingrays are often misunderstood as being aggressive, but in reality, they don’t mind being touched and hand-fed small pieces of squid or bait fish. If you’re going to visit Stingray City, be sure to plan an early-morning adventure as the many daily visitors can stir up the sand and make the water cloudy.

Sunset House Mermaid:

Photo courtesy of DiverWire.com

Located just off the shoreline of Sunset House Resort, the famous bronze mermaid (also known as Amphitrite) has been attracting scuba divers for more than a decade. Created by diving enthusiast and sculptor Simon Morris, the statue has had virtually thousands of visitors.

According to Morris, Cayman Island tourism officials were looking for something that both divers and snorkelers could enjoy and approached him about creating a memorable piece. The resulting 13-ft. statue was created to help illustrate the relationship that divers have with the aquatic realm. The size of the statue and prominent placement make it almost impossible to miss and many underwater photographers have found Amphitrite to be a spectacular subject for underwater photography.

Kittiwake Wreck

Photo courtesy of Cayman Islands Dept. of Tourism

It may have taken nearly a decade to become a reality, but it hasnâ€™t taken long for the Kittiwake wreck in Grand Cayman to rise to the top of MUST lists for divers and snorkelers traveling to the Caribbean.

The 251-ft vessel was sunk in 2010 after years of planning, preparation, re-planning, inspections, studies and safety checks. Sitting in just 64 feet of water, the vessel is easily viewed from the surface and perfect for both scuba divers and snorkelers by design.

Wreck diving is one of the more popular PADI specialty courses. The team planning the Kittiwake wreck project took this into account when designing the site. The wreck has multiple decks for all levels of divers from the beginners to intermediate and advanced. Some dive operators have even used to site for wreck diving certification courses.

While the Kittiwake is an excellent dive, it is recommended that all diving visitors only dive to their level of certification.

The Cayman Islands have dozens of excellent scuba diving sites and attractions. Stay tuned for an update with even more very soon.

Cayman Brac – The Adventure and Tranquility Island

Little Cayman’s Big Time Diving

110,000 Reasons to Go Liveaboard

Destination Spotlight: The Cayman Islands – Grand Cayman

What to Expect From Your First Liveaboard

Top Aquatic Attractions in the Cayman Islands

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