Cayman
Madness 2002
The Wrath of Isidore
Date: September 19, 2002 - - September 26,
2002
Airline: Cayman Airways - - Houston, Texas
to Grand Cayman
Hotel: Seaview Hotel ($1283 including 2 tank boat dives for 5
days and air fare)
Dive Operator: Bob Soto's Reef Divers
Tips: $50 CI ~ $62 US
Food and Drinks: $200
Transfers to/from Airport: included in package.
Gifts and souvenirs: $74
Parking at Houston IA: $58
Van rental and fuel: $40 / person
Total cost: $1688
Weather: Hurricane Isidore, rained every
day except for the last full day.
Divers: Suzanne Chambles, Karen Willson,
Maritschka Geelhoed Springer, Mark Springer,
Leslie Mamghani, Jody Springer, Nicholas
Schmiesing, Tina Timmerman, Kay Cydney Wehner,
Suzanne Countryman, Cynthia Countryman, Dan
Wiggins, Jesse Johnson, Jay Rain, Ron Dooley,
Chris Cope
The airline, Cayman Airways, gets an "A+" in my book for the pilots ability to land the plane in poor weather conditions. The flight from Houston to Grand Cayman was delayed due to Hurricane Isidore. Though I don't think anyone on this trip minded since it gave them more time to drink. The flight to Grand Cayman was relatively smooth considering the current weather conditions. It wasn't until the last few minutes of the flight, just before landing, that we encountered turbulence. The pilot performed an excellent landing and passengers rewarded him with by generously applauding his efforts. The trip home through sunny skies was pretty much uneventful. Getting up before daylight to go stand in a line at the Cayman airport for almost two hours on the way home was the only down side of the transportation.
The hotel, Seaview Hotel, was boarded up when we arrived
in the torrential down poor. The hotel is
small and quaint with only a dozen or so
rooms. We hear this is the only hotel with
access to one of the best shore diving areas
along the island. Unfortunately, the waves
were crashing over into the Seaview parking
lot which made safe entry into the reef impossible.
A couple of old Texas Aggies tried to dive
behind the hotel one night and had to be
pulled off of the jagged rocks. Our room
was the smallest of any of the rooms occupied
by our group. It had enough room for two
single beds and a table. The bathroom had
no tub but this wasn't a real problem since
both my room mate and myself took showers.
There was no patio and all of the rooms are
on the first floor. The A/C worked and the
room was clean which are my top two priorities.
We missed not having a private patio/balcony
to hang our gear. There is a common area
to hang wetsuits and some gear just outside
the rooms. The pier/boat dock had been dismantled
for the store and the pool had been drained.
Some of the others in our group had coffee
pots and refrigerators in their rooms. The
hotel is older and showed signs of it. The
door on our room was plagued by termites
and it appeared the only thing holding it
together was the paint. There were no televisions
or phones in the rooms, which really didn't
matter since Hurricane Isidore had knocked
out the phone and cable lines all over the
island. We learned on the last day the hotel
isn't very secure and one of our divers lost
all of her dive gear when it was stolen.
The hotel is easily accessed from the street.
She left the gear outside of one of the other
divers room for a short time and someone
took the whole bag. The bag was a red and
white Marlboro duffle bag which made it a
collectors item.
The food is pretty equivalent to any thing you will
find in the states. We did find a nice little
dive known as Dirty Reids which is owned
by an old retired marine. They have a chili
and rice dish which is about the deal for
the money. It's cheap and you can get your
fill. Another restaurant we visited on multiple
occasions was the Lone Star Bar and Grill,
a true red white and blue dining experience.
The restaurant at the hotel had a pretty
extravagant menu and the prices to go with
it as well. Therefore we rarely at the hotel.
The Cayman Madness organizers did provided
a couple of the meals. Food was served at
the Luau, Caribbean Night and the Treasure
Hunt BBQ. Not really spectacular to right
home about.
The dive operators Bob Soto's Reef Divers provided us with one of the largest and fastest
dive boats on the island. This year old forty
foot twin diesel was a divers delight. The
captain (Brad - http://www.bradsapartment.com) and first mate (Mike) really
knew how to handle the boat. On the last
day out, the boat shredded one of the water
pump impellers. With one motor shutdown ,
the captain (Brad) dressed only in his banana
hammock, jumped down into the hull with the
other motor still screaming along and replaced
the impeller on the fly. The boat never stopped
moving. Due to the poor weather conditions
we were confined to diving on the north side
of the island until the very last day when
we motored around to the south side. None
the less, both Brad and Mike made sure our
diving experience was the best it could be
under the circumstances. We did encounter
one dive where the tied changed and the visibility
went to almost zero in a matter of minutes.
The trip isn't called Cayman Madness for no reason!
You have to be crazy to want to go diving
in the middle of hurricane season in this
area of the world. But hey, no one said this
group was same and we survived. And what
a group to spend it with. The majority of
the group really knew how to have a good
time. Though I don't get very excited playing
silly "team" events, we did have
a pretty rowty group when it came to participating
in the Cayman Madness team competitions and
managed to win a few prizes and felt like
we got cheated out of one or two. The organizers
of Cayman Madness were well prepared. Upon
arriving the first day, you are given a schedule
for the entire week. And they have contingency
plans for alternate schedules in case of
bad weather which pretty much was our situation
from the first day.
It rained every day except for the last full
day. We barely saw the sun the entire trip.
Several of the scheduled events had to be
rescheduled or moved and we missed our first
day of diving as well as all of the shore
diving due to the rough surf caused by hurricane
Isidore. Our trip was basically squeezed
in between the time hurricane Isidore passed
the island and just before the next hurricane
was about to strike. We did manage to drive
around and see a little of the island including
a trip to Hell and the turtle farms. One
thing we did notice is the lack of sidewalks
for pedestrian traffic. One would think with
all of the tourism in Grand Cayman, sidewalks
would be petty standard.
Considering the weather conditions, the diving
was actually pretty nice as well as the visibility
most of the time. We did manage to see turtles
on every dive except for Stingray City. Dark
Vadar (black stingray) and a couple of hungry
eels took over the spot light in the absence
of the turtles at Stingray city. Much to
my surprise, I did manage to roust from under
a reef the biggest nurse shark I've ever
seen. Guess I should be more careful where
I go poking around especially head first.
The wreck at Oro Verde is more wreckage than
wreck. The hurricanes have collapsed most
of the structure. If I had to pick the best
dive locations from memory, it seem like
Ghost Mountain and Eagle Ray Pass stand out
the most. Although, I can't say any of them
where bad dives either. Of course my definition
of a good dive is any one that you can return
safely to the boat or shore.
Thing to bring next time: More money! It's a little more expensive her than the
other diving locations. Fortunately, ATM
machines are available and the access fee
is about the same as it is here in the states.
Beach Towel. The hotel didn't provide a beach towel and
it would have been very helpful on the boat.
Rain Gear. It rained often and a light rain jacket
with a hood would have made the time above
the water more pleasurable. Booze! It's cheaper to buy duty free in the states
and bring it with you. Candy A little hard candy to clean the palette
after a salty plunge.
The high lights and low lights: Top honors have to go to Jay for puking on
Suzanne's hair in the car one night. He took
a lot of ribbing all week. Second place is
the awesome party the last night where everyone
drank and told dirty jokes until it was almost
time to head to the airport. Except for a
few of the prizes such as the return trip
tickets, a MX5 camera and a Dacor Hub BC,
most of the prices for the treasure hunt
really sucked. Even the organizers of the
Cayman Madness event made joke about the
quality of the gifts. Unfortunately, none
of the major awards went to anyone in our
group. We had one diver (Maritschka) who
ended up in the deco chamber and had to spend
an extra day in Cayman before she could go
home. Avoid the cup of shame! Don't get caught
drinking out of the wrong hand. Bummed because
I lost my favorite brass clip to the abyss
at Ghost Mountain. Thinking I had unclipped
my computer while bobbing just below the
surface and then realizing it was actually
my brass clip as I watched it disappear into
the depth below. It was my favorite tank
banger as well as a great fish teaser. Feeding
the stingrays at Stingray City. The stingrays
were a bit aggressive to say the least. They
hadn't been fed in several days because of
the rough seas. I ended up with a nice hickey
on my right wrist when one locked on and
wouldn't let go. Watch out for the yellow
snappers, they can sneak in and take a chunk
out of your hang if your not careful. And
last but not least, the cool eels we go to
pet at Stingray City. But don't let them
see your squid. One had to be pulled away
from Cidney after it smelled the squid she
was so desperately trying to hide in her
hands.
Daily Dive Log
Water Temp: 80+
Tropical Shorty or Bare Full Polartech
12-14lbs
Dive Log No. 85-94
Computer Dives
September 21, 2002
Dive Location: White Stroke Canyon - North
Side (40mn@104ft)
Dive Location: Stingray City (59mn@16ft)
September 22, 2002
Dive Location: Leslie Curl (42mn@87ft)
Dive Location: Lemon Wall/Reef (51@58)
September 23, 2002
Dive Location: Ghost Mountain (40mn@104ft)
Dive Location: Bear's Claw (56@53)
September 24, 2002
Dive Location: Eagle Ray Pass (43mn@69ft)
Dive Location: BBB(47@85)
Dive Location: Hammer Head Hills(43@75)
September 25, 2002
Dive Location: Peter's Reef / Wreck / Oro
Verde (53mn@107ft)
