Cayman diving - 2 year rule?!

[Motorcycle Gma]

We've heard Cayman has a rule that if you haven't dived in 2 years, they require a refresher course. Can anyone confirm this?

 

We are long time divers, but haven't dived in a few years. We just want to rent some equipment to do a quick dive check/beach dive before our "real" dive in Cozumel.

 

We don't have the time, money, desire for the $100 refresher course. Has anyone had this come up here?

[6rugrats]

The rules for the Caymans are:

 

1. If it's been 18 months, but less than 24 months since the last dive, a shallow dive is suggested before doing a wall dive

 

2. If it's been over 24 months since the last dive, a refresher course is suggested before any dive (shallow or wall)

 

3. If it's been more than 36 months since the last dive, a refresher course is mandatory prior to participating in any dives

[Laurie S.]

Those are good rules to go by anywhere.

[Motorcycle Gma]

The rules for the Caymans are:

 

1. If it's been 18 months, but less than 24 months since the last dive, a shallow dive is suggested before doing a wall dive

 

2. If it's been over 24 months since the last dive, a refresher course is suggested before any dive (shallow or wall)

 

3. If it's been more than 36 months since the last dive, a refresher course is mandatory prior to participating in any dives

 

So, if my husband doesn't have a record of his dives (over 40+ years diving), does that mean he can't dive there?

 

I'm asking, do they really enforce this and refuse to give us equipment?

[Capt_BJ]

I too have over 40 years of diving experience, and there have been breaks in my diving. My most recent diving was in Cayman. Here are some observations and opinions. Some may not agree with the opinions but that's OK

 

- In 30 plus years of diving Cayman, I've never been asked to show a log. I HAVE been asked when my last dive was. Honor system applies....

 

- When I've been away for diving for more than 12 months I find time for a 'tune up' dive b4 I do anything serious. My extended trips to Cayman always find me at Sunset House and I'll simply grab a tank for a very shallow shore dive to brush up before a wall trip. Can you do a tune up near home? Maybe a dive shop with a pool has a deal?

 

- A while back I resumed diving after a multi-year gap, and my daughter was interested in beginning diving but had never tried. I booked a discovery dive for her at Sunset and also for myself using that as a 'refresher' . . . a cruise visit btw.

 

- when I was first certified in 73 I didn't dive again for several years and in a fit of sanity cut up my c-card and took the course again from the beginning - with the spousal unit who was doing it the first time. It was interesting to see how much had changed . . .

 

My suggestion for your Cayman stop is to communicate with Sunset House via e-mail. They were very responsive and I'll bet you can reach a common ground. Alternately just go to Sunset and rent the gear you need for a shore dive which can be done w/out exceeding 50 feet and still having a nice dive. Last time I looked PADI did not have an official 'refresher course' and I rec'd no documentation of my refresher altho DD did get a certificate for her discovery

[Laurie S.]

My buddy and I dove at Eden Rock last month and although we had our logs right there, they weren't checked. The DM did ask for our cert cards and we had to indicate how many dives we had done and the date of the last one on the forms we had to fill out.

[Motorcycle Gma]

My suggestion for your Cayman stop is to communicate with Sunset House via e-mail. They were very responsive and I'll bet you can reach a common ground. Alternately just go to Sunset and rent the gear you need for a shore dive which can be done w/out exceeding 50 feet and still having a nice dive. Last time I looked PADI did not have an official 'refresher course' and I rec'd no documentation of my refresher altho DD did get a certificate for her discovery

 

Thanks for the suggestions. We're flat out of time to do anything locally, as our cruise leaves in a week.

 

How did you know we were considering Sunset House! That's exactly where we were planning on going. I was going to do a shore dive there. Is it decent? They offered a refresher course, but we won't have time because we're going to Stingray city in the morning.

 

Alternately, we'll go to Eden Rock but I heard the dive shop there had pretty shabby equipment, plus it might be quite busy with snorkelers. Thanks again for the input.

[Laurie S.]

The rental equipment I saw at Eden Rock looked pretty darn good to me and my dive buddy rented some of it. The day we were there in mid-August there was a grand total of one snorkler. There were three divers plus the guide in our group and two or three other divers who finished before we went in. We're going back there in January and just renting the tanks this time, no guide.

[Capt_BJ]

How did you know we were considering Sunset House! That's exactly where we were planning on going. I was going to do a shore dive there. Is it decent?

 

I have many times spent a one week vacation at Sunset. There were always one, and some day two dives on the reef right off their entry. I'm not one of those that thinks you need new geography every day. Rather, I like jumping into an area I know, finding my spot, and settling down and see what finds me - especially at night - most of my keeper pictures where taken within 50 yards of My Bar

[Motorcycle Gma]

The rental equipment I saw at Eden Rock looked pretty darn good to me and my dive buddy rented some of it. The day we were there in mid-August there was a grand total of one snorkler. There were three divers plus the guide in our group and two or three other divers who finished before we went in. We're going back there in January and just renting the tanks this time, no guide.

 

Good to hear, I just saw bad reviews on Trip Advisor so I was leary of Eden Rock Dive Shop. Maybe we'll give it a go after all. Can one navigate the swim throughs pretty easy (are they tight caves?) or do you think a guide is necessary? I got a map of the area off the web. Hubby really just wants to see the silly sunken ship near there, I forget the name. I want to see pretty stuff!

 

I'm going to see how many ships are on shore that day and decide from there I guess. Thanks again.

[Laurie S.]

Yes, the swimthroughs are mostly easy to go through. There were a couple that were tight, but not tight to hit the tank. A guide isn't necessary and if I could have cancelled the guide without a penalty, I would have. When my instructor and I go back in January we won't be using a guide. I liked Eden Rock because it was an easy walk there (no cab costs), they have a large rinse tank for equipment, a shower for rinsing off next to it, and lockers. I used my large roller bag and the shop stored it inside for me during the dives since it wouldn't fit in the lockers.

[Motorcycle Gma]

Yes, the swimthroughs are mostly easy to go through. There were a couple that were tight, but not tight to hit the tank. A guide isn't necessary and if I could have cancelled the guide without a penalty, I would have. When my instructor and I go back in January we won't be using a guide. I liked Eden Rock because it was an easy walk there (no cab costs), they have a large rinse tank for equipment, a shower for rinsing off next to it, and lockers. I used my large roller bag and the shop stored it inside for me during the dives since it wouldn't fit in the lockers.

 

Sounds good; I was just wondering what I was going to do with my rolling duffel! It certainly won't fit on our Seadoo when we go to Stingray City but I figure Pete or one of his guys will store it for us with Red Sail. Eden Rock sounds like it will work out for us great. Thanks for all the info!

[gliner]

Eden Rock is an awesome dive shop and dive site. I have been there 6 times to dive and love it. I would recommend it for anyone on a cruise that wants to do something close to the ship on the cheap.

[Middleager]

In case if Eden Rock dive shop isn't open (which was the case when we were there), there's also Abanks. It's a the restaurant between the cruise terminal/port and Eden Rocks. Forgot the name of the restaurant, but it's where the stairs goes down to Eden Rocks.

 

Abanks is a "booth" that rents gears. At times they may also have DM/guide/instructor that can take people out.

[Sailfish]

Turtle Reef would be my suggestion - awesome shore dive along a great mini wall.