Dive Review of
Dive Tech/Westin Casuarina Resort & Spa in
Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman

 Caribbean,Central America, California, New York, Palau, Yap, Australia,
Fiji,Hawaii, PNG. 

Dive Conditions

Do not exceed computer limits.  

[None]  

Overall Rating

“These two”, the DM gestured at my partner and I, “will probably go to 130
feet. Don’t follow them.” The staff at Dive Tech will let experienced
divers do their own thing. They just don’t want newbies following you
down.

Having just left the super service of Ocean Frontiers in the East End,
checked in at the Westin on 7 Mile Beach and presented our log books at
Dive Tech, we were kind of chagrined to learn that since we weren’t staying
at Cobalt Coast, there would be no place to stow our gear. At the end of
each dive day we had to hump it up to the room at the Westin, rinse it in
the bathtub, and hang it over the balcony. It gave this five star hotel a
certain homey feel. And we liked the Westin. Nice pool bar, great sunset
beach, nice cigar bar, excellent restaurants (bring money), nice mini-bar,
a world-class spa (do it, guys), decadently comfortable mattresses, and,
um, the bars were nice, too. 

Jeez, I hope it’s still standing.

Dive Tech is, and that’s a very good thing. Their two boats were washed
1000 yards away from their mooring during hurricane Ivan and are now being
repaired. Cobalt Coast survived with minor damage and will re-open at a
date yet to be announced.

During our six days of diving there, we were allowed to leave the group,
go off on our own on the first dive, and basically follow our computers.
When we returned to the boat, we were not asked for maximum depth and time.
Some folks have reported the staff to be less than friendly. Our take on it
is that most are very friendly, some become friendly when they figure out
that you know what you’re doing, and some, like the Tattooed Lady, deal
with the Open Water courses day in and day out, and have become, frankly, a
little too cool for school. One or two of the staff need to remember that
newbies become oldbies some day, and instructors or dive masters who relate
to them as mentors help them form positive opinions of the sport for
years.

We’d still dive with these guys anytime. The “Atatude”, a 45-foot
twin-screw monohull is reasonably large even with 12 divers, and
accommodates almost everyone on the bridge. The head is, well, a head, but
they’ve got one. The aluminum 80’s a filled to 3000 psi, and the Nitrox
fills (32% only), are fairly consistent in percentage of O2.

We saw a lot of life on this trip. Huge schools of horse-eye jacks and
Bermuda Chubb, so many turtles we stopped counting, schools of tarpon,
three Eagle Rays, nurse sharks, and, unbelievably, during a shore dive at
Turtle Reef, an 8-foot hammerhead cruising the sand flats with his bar-jack
buddy.

We took the West Bay Express, an afternoon scooter trip from Dive Tech’s
shop at Cobalt Coast to their shop at Turtle Reef. It’s a little clunky
getting six divers and two staff all going at once, and the scooter’s
performance depends upon the age of the battery, so we tended to spread
out, but we loved it; at least a dozen turtles, some rays, lots of
tropicals, and a chance to see a large chunk of the reef, some not visited
by boats.

So we’re waiting for Dive Tech to open up again, because we’ll be back
next April.
 

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