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Dive Review of Divetech/Cobalt Coast in
Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman

Divetech/Cobalt Coast, Dec, 2004,

by Bob and Teresa Banker, GA, USA (Reviewer Reviewer 4 reports). Report 1521.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 5 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments GOOD: Divetech -- they are very knowledgable, helpful and accommodating. We were allowed to dive our own profile. We are very spoiled by being able to dive wherever and whenever we want by ourselves at BuddyDive in Bonaire. Grand Cayman is more restrictive, fewer shore sites to choose from, but it did not detract from our experience. We dove 16 times (11 boat, 5 shore) in 5 days all on Nitrox, 33% was the average O2; $10 extra per tank is worth it. Bob had fun with a scooter, but Teresa thought he was harrassing the Barracuda he was chasing. We made two good shore dives using Divetech tanks at the abandoned Coconut Harbor resort just South of SunsetHouse. The latter was still closed, no shore diving, roofs under repair and no diveshop yet. Cathy Church's studio was open and we bought her excellent new coffee table book with informative details on the internet. We didn't try diving from establishments that required us to use their tanks. Our rental car from Marshalls let us dive at the non-Divetech sites, and let us eat at good restaurants such as The Wharf. WISH-IT-WERE-BETTER: In the winter, we were there over New Years, the winds are stronger and tend to be from the NE. This makes the swells crash onto the Cobalt Coast pier, so no shore diving. It also make visibility poor at Turtle Reef - 20ft until you get below 65ft. Stingray City was closed due to heavy waves for a few days while we were there. The island is still recovering from Ivan, lots of dead trees lying along roadsides. The coral seemed to be affected. From afar it looks like sand was covering it; up close, it was dead coral. Fanning it with our hands didn't move any sand. There are still lots of healthy coral and beautiful sponges. Fish abound, lots of juveniles. The reef is recovering, but slowly. YOU'LL LIKE IT: We liked it so much, we are thinking of returning in the Summer when the winds are lower and hopefully we can shore dive from Cobalt Coast.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Tortola, Bonaire
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather windy, cloudy Seas choppy
Water Temp 79-81°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 20-100 Ft/ 6-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Divemasters like to know you are safe. After that we went on our own. One idiot went down to 150 ft on air to see what it was like -- not safe.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Rinse tank on boat. We always took the camera back to the room to change batteries -- they last for over two dives. We never open the camera on a boat.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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