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Adventures Underwater

Scuba Diving
Although George Town may be the capital city, it is by no means just a business center: here it's just as appropriate to don a mask and tank as a three piece suit. The waters off George Town are protected as a marine park and boast numerous dive sites. Two major dive operations, Eden Rock Dive Shop on South Church Road, (345) 949-7243, and Parrot's Landing, (345) 949-7884, provide instruction and equipment. You'll find many good sites off the George Town coast:

Eden Rock and Devil's Grotto: Eden Rock Dive Shop on South Church Road is the entry point for one of George Town's most popular dive sites. Eden Rock and the Devil's Grotto, located about 150 yards from the shore, are shallow dives but unique. Both are a labyrinth of grottos running out from the shore. Eden Rock is popular not only with divers but also with snorkelers who enjoy the easy entrance and a view of the tunnels and often large tarpon. Eden Rock and Devil's Grotto have a depth of 30-50 feet.
Parrot's Reef: Parrot's Reef and, beyond that, Sunset Reef, are dive sites filled with marine life. They are just yards from shore. Parrot's Reef has a depth of 30-60 feet.
Japanese Gardens: Located off the reef at South Sound, just east of George Town, this dive lies 30 to 60 feet below the surface and is often recommended for beginning divers. Like a little bonsai forest, the area is dotted with staghorn corals and is a good site for underwater photographers. Includes some swim-throughs.
The Wreck of the Balboa: The hurricane of 1932 accounted for the wreck of this freighter, which today lies 25 to 40 feet below the surface. Some of the ship remains intact, but other parts were blown away to clear the traffic channel. This is a popular night dive because of the depth (and because, during daytime hours, this site sits right in the George Town Harbour waterway). Rich with marine life from corals to sponges to brilliant parrotfish, this is one of Grand Cayman's top dive sites.
The Black Forest: Beautiful black coral and waving gorgonians make this site indeed seem like the Black Forest. Located at 60 to 100 feet, this wall dive is just off the South West Point, but isn't accessible as a shore dive.
Smiths Cove: Although often considered a snorkel site, Smiths Cove on South Church Street just south of George Town is an easy shore dive as well. The reef starts just a few feet from the surface and divers can also explore the West Wall from this location.
Wreck of the Cali: Located in just over 20 feet of water about 100 feet offshore, save the Cali for your departure day when you can't scuba dive. (It's a shallow dive for beginners.) The Cali offers a great snorkel experience and is a good way to finish off your Cayman vacation.

Snorkeling
Snorkelers will find a good spot just south of Smiths Cove Park, along South Church Street. This free park has good snorkeling along the rocks on its north side; covered picnic tables and plenty of shade make it a popular lunch site. Eden Rock is also frequented by snorkelers. Another favorite is Soto's Reef, sometimes called Passion Reef, located behind Soto's Dive Shop (below the Lobster Pot restaurant on North Church Street). One of the top snorkel destinations is the wreck of the Cali. Located a short swim from Calico Jack's in just 20 feet of water, this wreck is a good opportunity for snorkelers to view a wreck site, an experience usually reserved for advanced scuba divers.

Underwater Photography
The best way to bring home memories of a Cayman dive is with underwater photography. If you're interested in learning the skills needed to produce good underwater shots, consider a half-day or a week-long course taught by Cathy Church, who was named best underwater photo pro by the readers of Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine. Church offers private instruction and use of underwater video and 35mm equipment. Cathy Church's Underwater Photo Centre and Galleries also offers E6 film processing, underwater camera rentals, and Nikonos repair. Open daily at Sunset House Hotel. For information, (345) 949-7415.

Tethered Scuba Diving
If you're new to underwater adventure, an excellent way to sample the sport of scuba diving is with snuba. This unique adventure combines snorkeling and scuba diving to give even non-swimmers an opportunity to explore life below the surface. Anyone eight years or older can enjoy this safe activity, which can be experienced by handicapped and senior vacationers as well.

The equipment utilized by snuba participants is much like that used by certified scuba divers. Visitors don a weight belt to help achieve neutral buoyancy then add mask, fins, and a snorkel. Regulators are assigned and usually two swimmers share an air tank, which floats on the surface in an inflatable raft pulled by the snuba instructor. Twenty-foot-long tubes connect snuba divers to this air tank. Up to six swimmers can enjoy this experience with each snuba instructor.

The experience is similar to a shallow-water dive but without the weight of an air tank on your back. After a short safety and usage course (about 10 to 15 minutes), snuba divers swim out from shore and enjoy the spectacle of marine life found just yards away. Five-foot-long tarpon are often spotted (every evening the nearby restaurants feed these silvery beggars) as well as crabs and parrotfish.

The highlight of the snuba experience is the chance to dive the wreck of the Cali, a four-masted schooner. Originally wrecked on the reef, the Great Hurricane of 1932 washed the ruins closer to shore, creating one of the Caribbean's shallowest wreck dives. Snuba participants get within feet of the iron wreckage, which is now home to a variety of marine life.

Snuba instructor Mark Regal is one of the top watersports operators we've met in the Caribbean. His instruction is top notch and easy for beginners to understand; his attention to safety is thorough without instilling fear. Mark has taken down non-swimmers, towing them on a rope.

Ticket prices are US $65 per person. Dives are scheduled at 8:30, 10, 11:30, 1, and 2:30 daily. For more information, write Divers Supply, P.O. Box 1995, George Town, Cayman Islands, BWI or (345) 949-4373.

Another tethered scuba operation we have not had the opportunity to try is Cayman Glide Divers Ltd. This operator uses Diveman, a product that straps an air reservoir and pump unit to the diver. Cables connect from the unit to the diver's legs and a kick makes the pump draw fresh air from a 20-foot tube connected to the surface. This fills the reservoir for several breaths. The unit requires less than 30 minutes of training, then participants rent equipment. An introductory course is $20; a half-day gear rental is $30, full days run $50. For more information, contact Cayman Glide Divers Ltd. (P.O. Box 2488 GT, Grand Cayman), (345) 945-2711 or fax: (345) 945-2711.

Submarines
Atlantis Submarine, Harbour Dr., (800) 887-8571, (800) 253-0493 or (345) 949-7700. If you're curious about what lies below the water's surface, the 48-passenger Atlantis is the perfect way to have a peek at Grand Cayman's underwater world. Swimmers and non-swimmers alike enjoy safe, air-conditioned, comfortable travel to 100 feet below the surface aboard the Atlantis with a narrated view of coral gardens, sponge gardens, the undersea wall, and more.

Visitors buy tickets at the headquarters located just south of the cruise ship terminal on Harbour Drive in downtown George Town. Tours operate six days a week. The dive takes 50 minutes, but the total tour time is 1 hour and 40 minutes. You'll board an open-air boat and travel out to the dive site just off George Town's shore. Bench seating runs the length of the sub and all visitors have a porthole from which to enjoy the underwater scene.

After viewing the marine life, don't be surprised to see some human life forms approaching the submarine - these are the Atlantis divers. Wearing armored wetsuits to protect against fish nibbles, these divers feed clouds of hungry fish and provide good photo opportunities.

Bring along your camera on this fascinating tour, but load film with an ASA rating of 1000. Your flash is useless in the confines of the sub because it will reflect off the portholes. The ASA 1000 film is fast enough to capture the colorful images you'll witness without using a flash.

Ticket prices are $72 per person; children under 12 are half price. No children under three feet tall are permitted.

Atlantis Submarine Submersible, Harbour Drive, (800) 887-8571, (800) 253-0493 or (345) 949-7700. Another option is a ride on an Atlantis Research Submersible, also operating from the Atlantis office on Harbour Drive. Plunging down to a depth of up to 1,000 feet below the surface, this research vessel offers a one-of-a-kind experience. The 22-foot sub carries two passengers and a pilot and is the only sub of its type available to the public. Several times a day, the yellow vessel plunges down the Cayman Wall to depths far beyond the range of sports scuba divers.

The vessel has a large, three-foot-diameter convex window and the two passengers sit side by side in front of this viewport. The view varies with the depth: from 200 to 400 feet below the surface are colorful sponges and corals in what's termed the "sponge belt." Hundreds of sponges blanket the vertical wall in forms ranging from 20-foot-long orange rope sponges to gigantic barrel sponges. From 650 to 1,000 feet, living formations give way to limestone pinnacles that house deep-sea creatures, such as stalked crinoids, porcelain corals and glass sponges. Termed the "haystack" zone, the haystacks or limestone blocks stand over 150 feet tall. Here, light no longer penetrates the sea and the research sub illuminates the inky blackness with powerful lights.

The highlight of many trips is a visit to the Kirk Pride, a shipwreck that sits on a ledge at 800 feet. This 180-foot freighter sank in a storm in 1976 and its fate was unknown until the wreck was discovered by an Atlantis Research Submarine in 1985. As with the Atlantis Submarine trip, bring along your camera for this excursion; load ASA 1000 film so you will not need a flash. The tour last about an hour.

Tickets are US $295-395 per person (depending on type of dive). Five dives are scheduled Monday through Friday. Advance reservations are strongly recommended.