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Scuba Forum / Scuba Locations / May 2008Anyone go to Grand Cayman lately?
Hi, The last time I was in Grand Cayman was at the Sunset house in 1990. Has anyone been there lately? How is the diving? I'm assuming that the island must have recovered pretty much from the last big hurricane, is that true? Thanks, Jay > The last time I was in Grand Cayman was at the Sunset house in 1990. Has > anyone been there lately? How is the diving? I'm assuming that the island > must have recovered pretty much from the last big hurricane, is that true? Sorry...I've just been passing through the airport en route to Little Cayman & Cayman Brac, plus a layover drive-around. IIRC, Greg's spent a week diving up at Cobalt Cast (near the Turtle Farm) within the past year or so. I have, however, been keeping up on the local Cayman news for at least the past decade. In reading through Ivan reports in particular over the past three years, the shallow reefs naturally & obviously took a hit. There were a lot of automobiles that were washed out to sea and onto the south side reefs that took them awhile to clean up and recover. There was a lot of localized sand movement in various areas ...mostly shallow reefs... some of which buried reefs and some of which were scouring and exposed more substrate. Given the time that has now passed, the general conclusion is the predictable "if you weren't very familiar with what it looked like before, you can't tell anymore what changed", as the freshly exposed rock now has 3 years worth of new growth on it, etc. I can't recall anything specific about the tunnels near Eden Rock, so I'd expect that they're still there, and that most of the perceived reef damage today is probably more of diver pressure more so than of past storm damage. On my last trip to the Brac (5 months ago), I did have a day with a DM vacationing from Grand Cayman and one thing that he did mention was that the soft corals often found in the shallows & hardpan areas (whips, etc) are still absent...and that there's essentially zero Queen Triggerfish. I've heard **claims** as to why there's no Queen Triggers, but I'm not so sure that I exactly believe them (yet). Topside, most of the messes have been cleaned up, including some of the political ones from awarding non-competitive contracts to political cronies, etc. The general recovery of hotel rooms for tourists and housing for locals has been slow, and they've found some things about their local society (in the "haves and have nots" vein) that were previously obscured. Hope this helps, -hh > > The last time I was in Grand Cayman was at the Sunset house in 1990. Has > > anyone been there lately? How is the diving? I'm assuming that the island [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > a week diving up at Cobalt Cast (near the Turtle Farm) within the past > year or so. And I've been busy on the Palau Aggressor, but now we're in transit and internet-accessible. The reefs there were fine, though I don't know what they looked like back in 1990. I just wish they had more fish. > I have, however, been keeping up on the local Cayman news for at least > the past decade. In reading through Ivan reports in particular over > the past three years, the shallow reefs naturally & obviously took a > hit. There were a lot of automobiles that were washed out to sea and > onto the south side reefs that took them awhile to clean up and > recover. We only dove the north wall. No cars on the reefs there. > Topside, most of the messes have been cleaned up, including some of > the political ones from awarding non-competitive contracts to > political cronies, etc. The general recovery of hotel rooms for > tourists and housing for locals has been slow, and they've found some > things about their local society (in the "haves and have nots" vein) > that were previously obscured. We saw some hurricane damage, but it had to be pointed out to us. Otherwise, I found the island more tourist-friendly than my last time there, mainly due to the nifty bypass road they installed to avoid the 7-Mile Beach traffic. ...and that there's essentially zero Queen Triggerfish. I've heard **claims** as to why there's no Queen Triggers, but I'm not so sure that I exactly believe them (yet). Ok, I'm curious. What have you heard? Ian > ...and that there's > essentially zero Queen Triggerfish. I've heard **claims** as to why > there's no Queen Triggers, but I'm not so sure that I exactly believe > them (yet). > > Ok, I'm curious. What have you heard? Hey! Long time no see. How things been? The claim was that there were no Queen Triggers because there were none of those yellow soft ("whip"?) corals in the shallows (which they reportedly like to eat)...and the claim for their lack was supposedly because human urine kills off this particular type of soft coral. Grand Cayman having its shallows ripped up by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 wasn't mentioned as a possible factor at all. -hh > > Ok, I'm curious. What have you heard? > Hey! Long time no see. How things been? Not bad, not good, just getting by really. We did one really nice trip to Bunaken/Lembeh though, and I really should sit down and write that trip report. We saw some animal life that I didn't even know existed. It's been a long time since I had to reach for an animal ID book. Otherewise I'm still a multi-lingual foreigner with no trade training, here in Germany. That gives me about the social status of a Turkish vegetable seller, something similar to a dive master on Grand Cayman really. I'm keeping a blog under this nickname, on blogspot.com if you're interested. > The claim was that there were no Queen Triggers because there were > none of those yellow soft ("whip"?) corals in the shallows (which they > reportedly like to eat)...and the claim for their lack was supposedly > because human urine kills off this particular type of soft coral. Human urine in high enough concentration will kill any coral, but QT's will scrape away at any kind of coral. The East End dive sites on the north end of the island should be unaffected. There is probably a Ph.D somewhere in this post. > Grand Cayman having its shallows ripped up by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 > wasn't mentioned as a possible factor at all. Cayman, the official State of Denial. Tell me it isn't so! :) Good talking to you. Ian > > Hey! Long time no see. How things been? > > Not bad, not good, just getting by really. We did one really nice trip to > Bunaken/Lembeh though, and I really should sit down and write that trip > report. We saw some animal life that I didn't even know existed. It's been a > long time since I had to reach for an animal ID book. I've heard great things about Lembeh; saw some nice personal pics from a friend who went to PNG last year. Just don't look forward to the length of the airplane ride from here. > Otherewise I'm still a multi-lingual foreigner with no trade training, here > in Germany. That gives me about the social status of a Turkish vegetable > seller, something similar to a dive master on Grand Cayman really. I'm > keeping a blog under this nickname, on blogspot.com if you're interested. indigo-alien so noted for reading at lunch. I have a bit of ramblings at photo-hh; you might enjoy the splash pic, since its a sunset over Heidelburg. > > Grand Cayman having its shallows ripped up by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 > > wasn't mentioned as a possible factor at all. > > Cayman, the official State of Denial. Tell me it isn't so! :) True enough. They're currently marching back and forth telling themselves that with Fidel stepping down and Cuba invariably opening up for American tourists, it won't be a competitor for more than a year or two of "novelty", and neither will Jamacia's recent decision to bring in casinos have any influence. In the meantime, the air service to the Sister Islands keeps on getting worse, with more restrictive luggage rules and more baggage delays. The term 'rinky- dink' keeps coming to mind...just checked with Sir Turtle yesterday and it seems that they've somehow lost 5 years worth of our Frequent Flier Mileage credits...with the high price of oil, we're cashing in our FFM's. -hh Just got back from an 8 day trip. My wife and I were on Grand Cayman from two days before Ivan till two days after Ivan; quite and experience. We went back for the first time after Ivan about 16-18 months after the storm and just returned from our second post Ivan trip last week. Generally speaking, the reef still (as before Ivan, both West and North) is not what it used to be. Over the last five years there has been a lot of algae building up. There are not as many fish as there used to be. This is not new. We have been going to G. C. for about 15 years and have seen a notable deterioration for about the last 6 or 7 years. Now, the diving is still good and depending on your experience with Caribbean diving, it may be great for you. However, if you are looking for pristine conditions, you will be disappointed. Lastly, there has been a massive amount of construction post Ivan. More office buildings, more condos and more hotels. The previous maximum limit on the height of the buildings has been increased. The only good thing to be said is that the West Bay Road bypass has REALLY improved traffic conditions. If anyone would like particular questions answered, E-mail me directly and I will attempt to answer them to the best of my ability. Ed > > [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > >>>Grand Cayman having its shallows ripped up by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 >>>wasn't mentioned as a possible factor at all. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >-hh > I was there last November. Stayed at the Colony Beach Club. Diving was very good. > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Thanks, > Jay
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