Dive Review of Red Sail and Indigo Divers/Mariott Beach Resort in
Cayman Islands/7 Mile Beach and South Sound

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Red Sail and Indigo Divers/Mariott Beach Resort, Nov, 2007, by Rich Erickson, GA, USA ( 2 reports). Report 3724.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I used two different dive operators, one large boat (Red Sail) and one small boat (Indigo Divers). Each was a very different experience. The weather was overcast, and very windy with somewhat rough conditions at the dive sites on Seven Mile Beach. In fact, the dive site Orange Canyon was aborted by Red Sail (www.redsail.com) after arrival at the mooring due to strong currents. Red Sail’s well maintained boats can accommodate about 22 divers at a time and up until the day of my dive, the captain stated they had only small groups of 6-7 divers, perhaps because the weather was not ideal. They have pick-ups at all the hotels. Did one afternoon (shallow) dive and one two tank dive the next day with Red Sail. One each dive, the boat had about 20 divers, about half of which were recreational or certification check dive divers. Despite the size of the group on board, there were enough divemasters to split up the group into small groups, and the experienced divers were in a group of 5. Once underwater, our small group never encountered the other divers. The shallow dives were buddy dives and well dispersed at different intervals, a good method for keeping the small clusters of divers well separated. Service on board the Red Sail boat was friendly, helpful, professional and enjoyable. The possible negative was the size of the group (22) which I didn’t mind and the fact that someone with a SLR underwater camera with strobes had to share the table with the lead weights. The captain did caution everyone to be mindful of the camera. For the “small boat” experience, I dove with Indigo Divers (www.indigodivers.com), and frankly, I may never dive a large boat again. Chris, the owner and captain, runs a sleek 28’ Sea Ray that makes any large dive boat seem like a buckboard by comparison. Plush, cushioned seats, covered, wind protected seating area, sodas, water, cookies, fruit, towels, blankets if you’re cold all added to the 5 star experience – and for LESS that Red Sail’s two tank dive. Indigo Divers were stationed in the South Sound area of Grand Cayman because of the weather and compared to the rough conditions along 7 Mile Beach, the South Sound was calm and peaceful. There were only three of us diving with Indigo that morning and we decided to do two shallow dives for the time underwater. The shallow dives in the South Sound are so superior to anything along 7 Mile Beach, I was incredulous. Bull Winkles Reef was 30-50 feet, full of deep canyons, swim-thru’s and coral in much more pristine condition than the shallow reefs off 7 Mile Beach. Next time in Caymans, I’m skipping 7 Mile and heading right to South Sound. Call or email Indigo Divers before you arrive in Caymans as they are often booked several days in advance. Indigo Divers was an incredibly plush, relaxing, luxurious dive experience. Experienced divers are free to dive the limits of their computers and air supply. We enjoyed two 1 hour+ dives at these shallow sites. I’m booking Indigo Divers the next time I’m in Cayman, this is the way diving was meant to be. I can’t wait to get back and see more of the South Sound reefs. Indigo does hotel pick-ups, but if you are a restaurant junkie like me, I recommend renting a car at the airport, they’re not that expensive. My favorite restaurants in Grand Cayman are Calypso Grill, The Wharf, Grand Old House (tables at the breakwall with waves crashing at your feet!) and Mezza. American Express Travel website (americanexpress.com) booked the Marriott Beachfront at $100 a day cheaper than Expedia, hotels.com or Travelocity, plus, it included free American style buffet breakfast for two and a room service pizza as well. Marriott is almost as plush at the Ritz and Westin at half the price.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	All over Caribbean, Belize
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	82-0°F / 28--18°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Computer divers were self regulated
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Red Sail and Indigo Divers/Mariott Beach Resort in Cayman Islands/7 Mile Beach and South Sound

Red Sail and Indigo Divers/Mariott Beach Resort, Nov, 2007,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Red Sail and Indigo Divers/Mariott Beach Resort in
Cayman Islands/7 Mile Beach and South Sound