Newsgroup: it.hobby.scuba
Titolo: Isole Cayman ???

Qualcuno mi darebbe notizie sulle Cayman, mi sono fatto mandare i depliant
(velocità e cortesia); ma volevo notizie di persone che le avessero visitate
personalmente, e che ovviamente vi abbiano fatto delle immersioni.
Grazie.

Pax wrote:

Ti allego un report che avevo fatto dopo una mia visita nel dicembre 98.
Saluti - Giovanni
Cayman Trip Report
Diving and dive sites
Cayman is the third place we've visited in the caribic region after Cozumel and
Providencia (Colombia).
Visibility is still one of the plus in the Caymans, in some points was really
impressive. One day we could even see the boat from 35 meters (120 feet),
horizontal viz was even greater !
Like in Providencia the top of the reef is pretty deep, thus limiting the length
of the dive because after about 30-35' you have to leave the reef and ascent the
line to avoid decompression. Dives in Cozumel are usually much longer.
Fishes are something rare even for the caribic standard, even the species which
are common in the region like groupers, moray eels, lobster are not easy to be
seen.
Diving Operators
Off the Wall Divers
This operator was taken over just six months ago from Danny Kupkowski. Danny is
a very nice guy who will really make is best to offer you the best available
dives with the flexibility only a small operator may offer.
His boat is spacious fast and efficient. He normally leaves the harbour very
early, at 7:45 AM, before all other operators. This way he has always the first
choice on the different diving spots.
Another think I like is that his surface interval is longer than the standard
one in the Caymans (75 minutes against 45). The longer s.i. will allow you to
relax, take off the wetsuit and have longer bottom time on the second dive.
Most important of all Danny will allow you to dive you by your computer to
maximize dive times, and if he understand he can trust you, it will be possible
to make advanced dives that most local operator simply do not offer.
Overall a very good choice for advanced recreational diving. You can contact
Danny as follows:
Off The Wall Divers - Danny Kupkowski
Box 30176 SMB
Grand Cayman - Cayman Island
Tel: 
345.945.7525
Cel: 
345.916.0303
E-mail: 
fi...@candw.ky
Divetech
Divetech is the only operator in Grand Cayman offering technical diving
(recreational diving too, of course).
Their base in Turtle Beach, very close to the turtle farm. From here you can
easily access a mini wall used for check-dives, training and night dives. This
land base has no mooring possibility, so if you want to make two tank trips with
their boat, you have to drive to one of the harbours they use.
I've been on one of these trips and every thing was very professional. Two tank
trips with Divetech are surely better than most of caymanians operator, still
they tend to offer very standardized dives. Basically an Instructor with
hundreds of dives and an Advanced open water diver with 30 dives will be offered
the same profile.
On the other hand, in technical diving they really have no competition (not
because they're the only tech-operator on the island). I made two technical
dives with them.
The first one was a kind of a tech-check, in order to get familiar with the
rental equipment. We went on the outside wall on EAN28, did a multilevel dive
with 25' @ 46m (150 feet) and 10' @ 18m (60 feet), deco with EAN80.
The following day we went for a dive on the wreck of the Carrie Lee, a freighter
which lies between 55 (180 feet) and 70m (230 feet) right on the edge of the
wall. Since I'm only Technical Nitrox certified our dive did not exceed 64m (210
feet), Trimix divers will go deeper on the wall and then explore the wreck
ascending. Our profile was 25' bottom time followed from 54' deco time with
EAN34 and EAN80. Really wonderful dive, especially for people like me used to
dive on wrecks in cold water and limited visibility.
The organization was simply perfect, both in water and on boat. My dives were
lead by Nancy, an excellent TDI/IANTD Instructor I had the pleasure to see at
work and dive with. Divetech offers also a complete range of teaching programs
from Open Water to Trimix and rentals of doubles, twin bladder jackets, stage
bottles and oxygen clean regulators.
Overall good in recreational, very good in technical diving.
They can be contacted at the following address:
Divetech Ltd
Box 31435 SMB
Tel 
(345) 949-1700
Fax 
(345) 949-1701
E-mail: dive...@CandW.ky
Home page: 
www.divetech.com
Location and logistic
We were suggested from our travel agent to choose the Hyatt Regency. Although
the Hyatt is a very nice hotel with atmosphere, I do not consider it the #1
choice in Grand Cayman, unless you're interested in mixing diving and golf. At
the Hyatt the beach is very small and crowded, and so is the pool. The situation
is going to be much worse when the new waterfront building will be opened,
because despite the increased number of rooms I don't think they'll be able to
get a bigger portion of the beach.
We've been visiting some other hotels and the one which made us the best
impression is the Westin, as beautiful as the Hyatt but a little bit northern,
with spacious beach and a nice pool in front of the hotel.
Another must in Grand Cayman is renting a car. Cattle-boat operators like Red
Sails have a base in the biggest hotels (Hyatt, Westin, Marriott's) but diving
with them is very restrictive. The best operators will move the boat from the
East to the North side of the island depending on the weather conditions in
order to be able to make always the best possible dive. Without a car you won't
be able to reach the different harbours. The car will allow you to visit also
the many nice restaurants around Georgetown.