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Dive Review of Sunset House in
Cayman Islands

Sunset House: "As I Expected", Jan, 2017,

by Wayne Joseph, CA, US (Contributor Contributor 13 reports with 11 Helpful votes). Report 9469.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments My wife & I decided to return to Sunset House after last visiting 15yrs ago. This was our 3rd visit to SH & our 6th visit overall to Grand Cayman. We were at SH in 1987 to take the week long Nikonos course from Jim & Cathy Church. I wanted to return to take a 1 on 1 from one of the photo pros to brush up on my wide angle photography. I received some great instruction from Jim who works for Cathy Church.
SH still looks to be in good shape. Our room was clean, the wifi worked well (if we were on the balcony), the food was good (esp. the fish). We had a 3 day 2 tank package (but we stayed 7 nights) and did shore diving and a tank dive on the Kittiwake.
You store your gear in an assigned locker (I have to think they will be redoing the lockers soon as mine was being destroyed by termites.)The dive operation wants you to bring all your gear down to the pier, hand it to the staff on the boat, and set up your gear on a tank. They will take your cameras & put them either in a dry spot or in the rinse tank, if you prefer. On the first dive they ask who wants to go deep, who wants to dive shallow, & who wants a guided dive. They will separate the divers according to their preferences. The second dive, as expected, was a shallow dive, no deeper than 50-60ft.
I didn't expect the coral to be like I remember 15 yrs ago & I found that the reefs just aren't as healthy as they used to be. (What can you expect with 3-5 cruise ships a day anchoring off shore). But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. This was the first time I dove the Kittiwake & I thoroughly enjoyed it. The way it lies on the bottom (65ft, I think) and how it is set up is great for photography. There are schools of fish and other life that occupies the inside & outside. (But it still needs more growth). Great for photography. The shore diving is easy and many divers did night dives.
Overall, I have to say the trip was all I expected (except how inept American Airlines is). We waited 45min on the plane at the gate in SFO for the pilots to arrive. Then taxied out to the runway & waited another 45min to "burn off excess fuel". The pilot did his best to make up time to Miami & we landed only 1 hr. late. Still time for us to catch our connecting flight to GC. We taxied towards the terminal and then stopped. There was another plane with mechanical problems blocking our gate & it couldn't be moved (according to the pilot). We waited 45 min before they found an empty gate for us to disembark. Obviously, we missed the connecting flight
Websites Sunset House   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Caymans, Bonaire, San Salvador, Fiji, St. Thomas, California, Sardinia, Hawaii
Closest Airport Getting There Flew from SFO to GC through Miami. Flight from SFO was 1.5 hrs late leaving. Missed our connecting flight & had to stay overnight in Miami.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, cloudy, dry Seas calm, choppy
Water Temp 81-82°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 75-100 Ft/ 23-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions No deeper than 100ft. Do a safety stop & come up with 500lbs of air.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments Because the Cathy Church Photo Centre is on the premises, I give a high rating to the shore facilities for photographers. They are always willing to critique your photos & help you with any problems you may have.
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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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