The Cayman Bottom Times is news collaboration by five leading dive operators to promote the superb diving of the Cayman Islands, and keep the diving public informed of important developments and events. Divetech, Ocean Frontiers, Red Sail Sports and Sunset house in Grand Cayman, and the Southern Cross Club in Little Cayman, all members of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, represent more than 100 years of solid experience in a destination that is recognized as the birthplace of recreational diving. With a unique combination of deep wall and shallow reef diving, several wrecks, and world-famous Stingray City, the Cayman Islands has cemented its place as the top diving destination in the Caribbean. Offering diverse and wide-ranging dive programs on both Grand Cayman and Little Cayman, the members of this dive group represent the best Cayman has to offer; Divetech (www.divetech.com), Ocean Frontiers (www.oceanfrontiers.com), Red Sail Sports Grand Cayman (www.redsailcayman.com), Sunset House (www.sunsethouse.com) and the Southern Cross Club (www.southerncrossclub.com). For more information on The Cayman Bottom Times contact Adela Gonzales White at Adela.G.White@comcast.net or call (941) 350-8735.
As if the Cayman Islands didn’t already offer an amazing diving experience, fantastic sponge life is another reason to take…
Blessed with warm clear water, healthy reefs, dramatic drop-offs, abundant marine life, year-round good weather and professional dive services, Cayman…
Dive resort offers great 60th Anniversary Special, launches new North Wall dive boat and re-introduces popular 3-tank North Wall Safari.…
Wrecks, walls, shore dives, moonlight dives, fluorescent night dives, coral spawning – all add to the quality of the Cayman…
Divetech is offering something special for their rebreather event, Innerspace 2019: the deep walls of Little Cayman’s Bloody Bay Wall…
Curious reef sharks, Spotted Eagle Rays, Sea Turtles, Green Morays, Tarpon, Squid, Octopus and other reef creatures populate stunning reefs and thrill divers
As the largest resort watersports operator on Grand Cayman, Red Sail Sports is also a leading advocate for marine conservation. Well-trained staff and a sizeable fleet give Red Sail Sports the flexibility to support environmental programs that require volunteers and boats for beach and reef cleanups. Local conservation initiatives, such as the newly-launched non-profit Plastic Free Cayman, find a willing partner in the dive company that has been offering services on Grand Cayman for 30 years.
The Southern Cross Club, Little Cayman’s original dive and fish resort, has won 2 prestigious 2018 Traveler’s Choice Awards from TripAdvisor©, the world’s largest travel planning and booking site. Based on reviews posted by travelers during the past year, the resort ranks in the top ten in the Caribbean for Customer Service and Romance.
Conservation is always front and center to those who live and work on Little Cayman, but during the full winter moon, with researchers gathered there for the Grouper Moon Project, a study of the annual spawning of Nassau Grouper, the conservation effort expanded to include land as well as sea, with an island-wide beach cleanup over the weekend.
After a record breaking 2017 for Cayman tourism overall, and projections for continued growth, the island’s dive operators expect 2018 to be a banner year for their industry, and they are prepared for it. As a leader in dive tourism, Cayman has always balanced responsible diving and conservation with an outstanding dive product, always keeping it fresh and exciting for discerning divers. Cayman’s dive sites, dive operators and resorts remain topnotch, and the divers who voted in the Scuba Diving Magazine’s Readers Choice Awards agree.
Divetech, one of Cayman’s leading dive operations and recognized as the place to go in Grand Cayman for technical diving and training, is heading into 2018 on the heels of a great year and a very successful showing at the Dive Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) where industry business is booked.
The U.S.S. Kittiwake, Grand Cayman’s immensely popular shipwreck, is being shaped by the sea as it undergoes its natural life cycle in the shallow waters off Seven Mile Beach. Recent rough seas moved the wreck slightly, so the Kittiwake now leans on her port side and is 10 feet deeper. Dive leaders say the ship is intact, and the Kittiwake remains a spectacular dive, only now there are new things to explore and photograph.
Buy a luxury condo at East End’s Compass Point Dive Resort; have that dream dive vacation home you’ve always wanted, it’s easier than you think
Dive leaders tout lesser-known sites: more choices for divers, stress relief for more popular sites
Industry employees and professionals recognized for their contributions at the 2017 Cayman Islands Tourism Association Stingray Awards
Ocean Frontiers Offers Instructor Development Course in Grand Cayman. Well known IDC educator brings his teaching style to the warm Caribbean waters and customized teaching facilities at East End.
Southern Cross Club General Manager Jennifer Mills took home the Stingray Award for Accommodations Manager of the Year during a ceremony hosted by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) at the Kimpton Seafire Resort & Spa on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. Ms. Mills was competing in a field that included the managers of the Kimpton Seafire, the Ritz Carlton and other large hotels in Grand Cayman.
Ocean Frontiers Ltd., the dive operation that wrote the book on East End diving in Grand Cayman, has launched the first in a series of custom designed dive boats to a plan to upgrade and expand its fleet to accommodate the company’s growth. Co-owner and Managing Partner Steve Broadbelt says the new 46-foot Newton named “Gun Bay Diver” was built in the U.S.A. and designed to take the diving experience to the next level.
As one of the Caribbean’s top dive destinations, Cayman is renowned for fantastic wall dives, spectacular shipwrecks and unforgettable Stingray City, but avid divers know that Cayman’s shore diving sets it apart.
Red Sail Sports has hired 18-year-old local resident Lej Batiste as the newest member of its professional dive staff. He is the first Caymanian to complete his divemaster certification through the company’s dive training program since Red Sail Sports began offering dive services in Grand Cayman 30 years ago. Batiste joined Red Sail Sports as an intern with the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC) work experience programme, and quickly established himself as an enthusiastic employee, an avid diver and a young man with a plan for the future.
New Divetech owner and managing partner Jo Mikutowicz has been at the helm of one of Cayman’s leading dive operators for more than a year, and she is making her mark. Mikutowicz has big fins to fill. Cayman dive pioneer Nancy Easterbrook, a mentor, and friend, founded Divetech on the shores of northwest Cayman in 1994 and built it into an operation committed to conservation, education and training.
Cayman Islands Department of Tourism sponsorship of tour boosts marketing outreach for Cayman’s dive operators through relationship building and media coverage.
So far, 2017 has been a remarkable year for the Southern Cross Club in Little Cayman. First, the online travel site TripAdvisor.com named the resort to its top 25 in the Caribbean in two categories based on customer reviews: Best Hotel for Service and Best for Romance. Adding to the awards, administrations manager Neil van Niekerk was named an “Emerging Hero in Tourism” by the Cayman Islands government, and resort owner Peter Hillenbrand was recognized for his “Long Service to Cayman Tourism.”
In January, Red Sail Sports customer John Nagy from Jacksonville, Florida completed his 13th dive vacation with Red Sail Sports — he made his first dive with the company 30 years ago, shortly after Red Sail Sports opened its doors for business. Nagy, a first-time visitor to the Cayman Islands, checked into the then-open Hyatt Regency Grand Cayman and boarded Red Sail’s dive boat for an experience that he found hard to leave.
Dive and hospitality pioneers Bob Soto and Ms. Hebe Connors (Briggs) were honored by the Cayman Islands government as early tourism heroes in a January celebration in George Town’s Heroes Square. Several hundred people were recognized as tourism contributors, but only a few were distinguished as heroes of the industry.
A successful trip to the annual Dive Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA) show in Las Vegas November 16 – 19…
Cayman’s warm clear waters and vibrant reefs attract divers and snorkelers from around the world, and the number of visitors…
Red Sail Sports Grand Cayman is celebrating its 30th anniversary next year by offering 1980’s dive rates in 2017 dive package prices!…
The 2016 sea turtle nesting season is coming to an end, and its’s been a record-breaking year in Grand Cayman…
Twelve miles west of Grand Cayman is a pristine coral bank that rises from the depths of the Caribbean, but…
International non-profit organization to retrain veteran combat divers to restore coral and promote conservation; Grand Cayman to be first training…
Heavy work completed for Magic Reef Restoration Project; Maintenance Continues to give coral best chance to thrive Dive volunteers in…
Hillenbrand Purchased a Failing Property on Little Cayman 20 Years Ago and Transformed it into a Beloved Resort “It was…
The Cayman Islands honored the best of the best in the tourism industry during the annual Stingray Awards gala in…
As the largest watersports and retail company in the Cayman Islands, Red Sail Sports is also the largest employer with…
Weeks after being set up, coral gardens showing great signs of growth; dive “gardeners” excited about progress After only a…
A Proud History focused on ocean conservation, highlighted by the establishment of Grand Cayman’s first and largest coral nursery Ocean…
Dive Industry leaders say it is a 365-day commitment to keep Cayman’s environment a major tourist attraction that draws visitors…
Under the mentorship of Cayman’s dive operators young Caymanians are motivated to protect the environment every day. As Earth Day…
5th Luxury Catamaran added to fleet to enhance Your Cayman Family Dive Vacation; Swimmin’, Chillin’ & Grillin’ Snorkel Adventure Announced Red…
This Small Resort on Little Cayman Measures Up to the Biggest Properties Across Caribbean When it Comes to Service. On…
Since her sinking five years ago, a great number of divers have explored the Kittiwake Wreck, one of Grand Cayman’s hottest dive…
On an island paradise famous for superb diving and excellent fishing, the Southern Cross Club has added kitesurfing, one of…
Grand Cayman is celebrating the 5th anniversary of the USS Kittiwake wreck in January, easily one of Grand Cayman’s most popular dive sites,…
Dive Operators Introduce new travel packages and services. Local dive industry optimistic about 2016 with more flights and rooms added…