Cayman Aggressor III, October 1997, Randy Harper, Ellicott City, MD. Friendly service-oriented crew; user-friendly booking operation. They design everything to maximize eat-sleep-dive. Good support for experienced and novice photographers. God opportunity to test diving skills and live-aboard environment for new divers. Plentiful and good food and snacks. Excellent pre-dive briefings. . . . During fall and winter trips over to Little Cayman and Cayman Brac are often canceled due to weather. Due to weather had to dive Stingray City with Parrots Landing. Vis: 75-90 ft. (Ph: 800-348-2628 (US) or 504-385-2628, Fax: 504-384-0817, e-mail: 103261.1275@compuserve.com)

Cayman Aggressor, December 1997, Carole J. Mouton, Sugar Land, TX. Bad: New Aggressor boat was not ready as promised. Old boat was run down: no hot tub, one of two interior heads not working, crew spent lots of time making repairs. Video crew member was on vacation, no video of trip. Crew was short handed due to illness of crew member. Weather; Two fronts hit. Could not dive most famous spots due to wind and sea conditions. Good: The diving we did was great and we were diving every day 3-4 dives. (Land-based operations were land locked during this time.) Crew was great and food was excellent (Jamaican cook).

Cayman Aggressor, July 1998, David E. Reubush, Yorktown, PA. We believed the ads and expected the new Cayman Aggressor IV; still in the yard and Wayne is not spending any money on the old boat. Hot tub was lost in a storm last winter. A/C in the cabins generally too hot or too cold; the dining room stayed hot. Toilet in the head at one end of the hall (2 shared heads for everyone) overflowed three days (fill valve wouldn't totally shut off), the nitrox system died almost immediately and the crew did partial pressure fills until the back-up oxygen ran out. Only gave us a little break on the cost of the fills. (They're free on the Hughes boats.) After the fact I found out that if you complained enough the price got lower. I had not planned diving nitrox since it cost extra, but the first tank of air was so oily that I aborted the dive after 5 minutes to get a new tank, which was not much better. I wondered if oily air was a means to sell nitrox when, after the oxygen ran out and we went back to air there was no oil in the air. First live-aboard where I had to wait for a crew member to show up on the dive deck to hand me my camera at the beginning of the dive or take it from me at the end. One crew member in particular who made it a point to do as little as possible. Diving made up for the boat's shortcomings. Little Cayman did not disappoint. Sheer walls were magnificent, abundant fish, many large groupers (some let you pet them), 3 nurse and gray reef shark, many turtles. Russian Frigate at Cayman Brac was better than last year as a storm broke it up some and it is easier to get inside. Life on the frigate has really increased in just a year. Had a DCS hit (an instructor with many thousands of dives diving well within her computer limits) so we took her to the hospital on the Brac and dived Stake Bay. While the reef wasn't much we ran into a pair of Flying Gurnards in the shallows found lopistol shrimp, bristle worms, and lettuce leaf nudibranchs. Water was 81, and the viz was good. . . . Good food. Roy, the Jamaican cook,was great. His meals were tasty and his snacks between dives were heavenly.

Cayman Aggressor III, August 1998, Charles R. Stearns, Stone Mtn., GA. Joined Jean Michael Cousteau trip. When he came on board, he simply introduced himself as Jean Michael and then remembered everyone's name. Amiable man spent time freely with all guests discussing everything from his fields of expertise to wine and politics. When you were in the water he was frequently at your side sharing something he had observed. His presentation on Keiko the orca (of Free Willy movies) delightful. Visited Little Cayman and Brac: Babylon, Great Wall, the Russian Destroyer and Bloody Bay and Jackson Walls where we spent most of our week, water: 82 degrees. Dive restriction enforced: 120 ft.

Cayman Aggressor, May 1998, Debbie Finch, Kissimmee, FL. Loved the diving. Bloody Bay wall is breathtaking! Loved 5 dives a day. Crew wonderful, as was the food (Roy's brownies and bread-Yum!). Wasn't crazy about paying extra to breathe Nitrox. Vis: 80-110 feet, water: 82-83 degrees. The wreck of the Russian frigate off Cayman Brac was awesome; Wish we had more dives there!

Little Cayman Diver, September 1997, Rick and Judy Page, Lapeer, MI. Boat is great. Debbie the cook was great. Everything that could break did! Yet we never went without. Always able to dive, eat and sleep in comfort. Captain Robert, Ralph and Elbert worked their tails off to provide the best. Little to no current. Vis: 100-150 feet, water: 80-85 degrees. Color of coral fish outstanding. (Ph: 800-458-2722 or 813-932-1993, Fax: 813-935-2250)

Little Cayman Diver II, January 1998, Steve Nieters, Allton, IL. Second trip on LCD2. Boat has gone downhill. Dry docking to be undertaken in 1997 never happened and it showed. The boat's engineer left, which put the captain in a busy situation. Crew, especially new Captain Keith, worked their tails off to keep the boat operating. Electrical glitches, water system, A/C, and lack of working ice maker started to annoy, though the crew managed to correct everything but the ice maker. . . . Weather was wretched which colored our perceptions of the boat. Did first and last dives of week on the north wall of Little Cayman, remainder on sheltered south side that still rocked the boat. Didn't get to dive the walls? Expensive ($1695 for first time passengers), 8 folks on board, with one sea sick most of week, so only 7 divers-10 maximum. Crew great and friendly; Captain and cook had just one month on the boat. Food excellent and plentiful. Dive operation flexible, and good, friendly divemasters. Not a great set up for serious photographers. Dive when you want. Safety stop and 130 ft. limit were main restrictions (did not have to worry about 130' where we dove!). Dive your computer, set your surface intervals, you are responsible, max out bottom time. Conscientious about reef conservation, wildlife, and dive safety. Divers treated as adults, with discreet suggestions as appropriate. Divemasters available to assist/lead/buddy. . . . Appears that the boat's owner has sold his Brac Resort; possibly eliminating the land-based infrastructure for the boat. This may have contributed to our problems on the last morning when the boat's van didn't start and the crew had to hustle to get us to the airport for the early morning departure. . . . Not a bad way to spend a week of diving, but this former "luxury yacht" is deteriorating and the prices are not coming down.

Little Cayman Diver II, April 1998, James Virgil, Coeur d' Alene ID. Great Food. Diving is unsupervised if you are experienced. Boat in much better shape than it was in February of 1997; everything worked and it was also cleaner. Vis: 80-120 ft., water: 79-80 degrees. Only three crew members but only two passengers; like having a private yacht. The Caymans are getting too expensive.

Little Cayman Diver II, May 1998, M. Darrell Briggs, Chelmsford, MA. Fifth trip on the little Cayman Diver. All systems worked as advertised and expected. Food top drawer. Service professional and cheerful. Captain Keith is working extremely hard. One area that should receive the critical eye or sting of Undercurrent is the development on Little Cayman itself. A few years ago Little Cayman Diver could expect to have Bloody Bay to itself. This year half the moorings filled with dive boats, putting extreme pressure on the reef. How much stress can the island, take from the increased building activity/ How soon will it be before runoff, sewage, and the other byproducts of human development produce an irreversible impact on the reef, certainly one of the wonders of the Caribbean?

Little Cayman Diver II, May 1998, Dan Wagner, Indialantic, FL. The best I have dove in 44 years. Service great, crew helpful, Diane the cook was outstanding. Sea life was abundant, coral in great shape. Vis: 70-200 feet, water: 80-83 degrees. Capt. Keith kept the boat in great shape; knowledgeable about sea life at every buoyed dive site.

Little Cayman Diver II, June 1998, William Bright, Cary, NC. Weather great, diving fantastic, boat excellent. Capt was great guy, ex Navy SEAL. Chef unbelievable; worth the whole trip just for the food! Best dive trip we ever had. No dive restrictions other than 110' max and no deco (assuming computer diving-all were).vis: 80-120 ft. Water: 83 degrees. Boat in excellent shape, private bath in each cabin (bath small but adequate). Cabin #1. the bow cabin, small but comfy.

Little Cayman Diver II, July 1998, Richard Foote, Lakewood, OH. Sunshine, calm seas, little current, 85 degree water, 4-5 dives/day on Bloody Bay wall. Each site had shallow diving (10-20 ft. under the boat) plus chimneys and canyons extending to the wall. Huge sponges, large groupers (one we could pet), turtles, and stingrays about every dive. Several sharks, spotted eagle rays, free-swimming morays, large crabs, lobsters, & octopuses. Fish were plentiful, 100-200 ft. vis. Restrictions: 110 ft. and no diving after alcohol consumption. Covering of brown algae at several dive sites. 11 divers and 4 crew; LCD smaller than Aggressors and not as comfortable, but cabin #3 was adequate (8x12), 3 beds, own bath/shower & the A/C worked. We were next to the engine room and though soundproofing was good, my wife sometimes smelled fumes. Capt. Keith, cook Diane, and divemasters Steve & Daleen were great; food was excellent; New Capt was on board for training; not a certified diver. We arrived at Grand Cayman 11:15 A.M. and didn't leave for Brac (where the boat docks) until 10:15 P.M., so we took a snorkel boat to Stingray City. Try Island Air from GC ($80 RT) for more civilized times.