Testimonial on a guided shore Dive!

Stuart,

We had a great dive.  My family enjoyed it, Eden Rock is still a beautiful site, even 23 years later.  Your dive masters were great, thank you so much!

Dennis

I just returned from an all too short visit to Grand Cayman. Unfortunately Hurricane Dean had other plans for us. However, while I was on the island I had one of if not the most spectacular shore dive experiences ever.

I was picked up at my hotel location on Seven Mile Beach by Stuart, the owner of Eden Rock Dive Center, and upon our arrival at the dive shop I was introduced to Natasha who would be my guide for my planned two tank excursion. The shop is well equipped with modern rental gear and Nitrox tanks should you elect to use it but with a max depth of about fifty feet at Devil’s Grotto and Eden Rock and almost no current you get plenty of bottom time on regular air.

There are plenty of tables and benches right off the back side of the shop which makes kitting up a breeze and from there it is only a few short steps to the ladder entry. For this time of year a rash guard would be more than enough thermal protection since the water temp was well into the eighties. We were also going to be visiting the grotto during the time of year when the Silver Sides inhabit the area in absolute abundance. For the 9 AM start time Natasha suggests making the grotto your first stop on the guided tour because of the dramatic light effect the sun has on the swim through at that time of day. This is a photographers dream especially with today’s digital cameras offering instant delivery of your shot. A truly amazing experience as I followed Natasha into the grotto via one of the swim through openings and saw the curtain of Silver Sides open up in front of me only to come face to face moments later with an enormous Tarpon just waiting for his next hunger pang. It rather looked like a cruiser eyeing up their next choice from the buffet line. The grotto continues to deliver spectacular sites and photo opportunities with each turn and as promised, the light show is amazing.

Eden Rock was the subject of our second tank of the morning trip and like the predecessor Devil’s Grotto it never failed to deliver amazing views as well as spectacular sea life. Natasha’s briefing during our surface interval was again very thorough very educational. She explained that some of the swim through openings we were going to encounter during our second dive would be dead ends so we worked out a specific hand signal she would use to let me know that before we made our entry. At just under forty feet max depth during our dive we had lot’s of bottom time to hang around in some of the swim through areas and just hover about while watching the activity around us. I highly recommend using the guided tour option, especially if this is a new area for you or you are like me and still a novice diver. The knowledge and the benefits the dive master/guide will bring you is well worth it.

Whether you are a cruise ship passenger on the island for the day, or staying on the island in one of the hotels or villas, be sure to make Eden Rock and Devil’s Grotto part of your plans.

Gary F Ebner

Webmaster/Agent

CLIA Certified Cruise Counselor

Woodstream Travel

888-870-6570