Dive Review of
Red Sail Sports/Hyatt Beach Resort in
Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman, West End

Throughout the Caribbean, throughout the tropical Pacific.

Dive Conditions

See below  

[None]  

Overall Rating

For a quick trip to dive with friends who were visiting Grand Cayman, I had
booked a four day Dive and Sail package through Red Sail Sports before my
departure to Grand Cayman.  Check in was reasonably smooth at the dive shop
on the Hyatt property.  The boat departed from the beach in front of the
Hyatt at around 8:00 a.m. and always stopped at the Westin to pick up more
divers before heading out to the dive sites.  On the return, the Westin
divers were dropped off first, followed by the Hyatt divers.  If you want
to sleep in, stay within walking distance of the Westin.  Most days we were
back around noon.  Only one boat (Reef Spirit) was in operation on the four
days I dove with Red Sail, and on one of those days twenty-two divers
aboard was too crowded.   The custom made, flat hulled boats are relatively
well set up for divers, with divers and their gear situated along the
perimeter of the deck, a table in the middle for cameras on the top
surface, dry storage of towels and t-shirts (and life jackets) below, two
rinse tanks--one for cameras only and one for masks, two fresh water shower
wands astern, and space beneath the benches for a gear bag--it will get
wet.  The dives were pretty much limited in the following manner for
computer divers:  the first dive was 100 ft for 35 min; a forty-five minute
surface interval; a second dive to 50 ft for 55 min (computer divers); a
safety stop of at least three minutes was requested for every dive.  Table
divers had their bottom times appropriately limited.  After three days of
seeing me dive, the guides did not really make a fuss on the last day when
I was first in the water and last out, with dive times longer than those
stated.  Cylinders are 72 cubic feet, and I was told that most of the
operators on Grand Cayman had converted to these smaller cylinders.  The
dive guides were professional, safety conscious and helpful.  Especially
good dive guides were Gerald, James and Mark.  Nitrox is available--my
mixes were consistently 31 to 32%.  Back at the Hyatt, there are two
additional rinse tanks, one near the check-in window and one near the
locker room--the water in the latter looked a bit a couple of times.  The
dive shop personnel were, for the most part, helpful and friendly; still,
when I asked what time to show up for the night dive, I received a
different time from each of three individuals. 

It had been seventeen years since I dove the sites accessed from Seven Mile
Beach.  The crew did their best not to repeat any dive sites for the divers
who expressed an opinion.  We visited Big Tunnel, Sand Chute, Trinity Caves
and Northwest Point as deep dives.  All had swim throughs in the wall; the
deepest, on Big Tunnel, exits on the wall from about 104 feet to 120 feet. 
Large tarpon and schools of horse-eye jacks were seen at these sites, along
with the occasional large schoolmaster, dog snapper and tiger grouper.  Of
these sites, Northwest Point was the most pristine, from the coral health
point of view.  It is a slightly more challenging dive, with current and
exposure to wind and wave action.  Here we saw three turtles and scores of
nesting ocean triggers.  Shallow dives were done on Bolero (Red Sail called
it Polero), Aquarium South, Lone Star Ledges, and Royal Palms Ledge.  The
typical shallow reef life was seen on these dives--spiny lobster, the
occasional small hawksbill eating a sponge--always accompanied by one or
two French or Grey angels, Sergeant majors guarding egg masses, and nearly
the entire range of Caribbean parrotfish.  On a night dive at the Oro
Verde, a large black grouper was seen hiding beneath the now
fallen-to-the-sand hull plates.  Many adult rainbow parrotfish and a large
green moray also chose this area to spend the night hours.  On the nearby
reef, a large hawksbill turtle slept on the sandy bottom beneath a coral
overhang. 

On the whole, the diving was better than I expected.  Red Sail Sports was
about as professional as an operation can be.  If the boat with less
experienced divers limits one’s pleasure, Red Sail offers single boat
charters for small groups wishing to do their own thing.  

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