When you are on your next scuba diving trip to Grand Cayman make a point to dive on Andes Wall, you will certainly not regret it. It is certainly one of my favorite sites on the island and is accessible from the West Side dive boat operators or out of Rum Point. This is a great wall dive and is a premium spot for underwater photography. Andes Wall is located just past Rum Point on the North Wall. Typical conditions are 100+ feet of visibility and has a sheer drop along the wall of several thousand feet. On this dive you will see Spotted Eagle Rays on almost every dive. There are also other pelagics that can be found here from the elusive Tiger Shark to White Tips, Hammerheads and more. I went with Red Sail Sports on my last dive at Andes Wall and the day was absolutely perfect for underwater photography. It was one of those extremely rare days when the north wall was absolutely flat. The visibility was over 150, no current, very little particulates in the water and there were only 8 divers on the boat. This must be paradise. Andes Wall is just about 10 to 15 minutes past Rum Point on the North Side and one of my two favorite dive sites on the North Wall. You can dive this site on top of the wall or as a wall dive and I would highly recommend the wall dive. When we descended to the mooring the first thing I noticed on this dive was a Spotted Eagle Ray in the distance and a Great Barracuda cruising by. This was one of seven that I saw on this dive. After meeting at the mooring pin, we head to the wall notch, the visibility is absolutely phenomenal. We then made our way through the "notch" to the wall and immediately on my left was another Spotted Eagle Ray. This is going to be a great dive. As we move past the 90 foot level out to the wall I notice a number of Blackcap Basslets swimming upside down in a small indentation in the wall. There are a great variety of fish usually on this dive. Today we see Schoolmasters, numerous types of Basslets, Princess Parrotfish, Bermuda Chub, Blue Chromis, Trumpetfish, Gray Angelfish, Spiny Lobsters, Spotted Eagle Rays and much, much more. The soft corals are amazing on this part of the island and they are especially plentiful around the mooring ball on this dive. You will find several great places to get photos of sea fans, or sea rods, sea whips and of course many colorful stony corals as well.

The Doc Poulson is a purpose sunk shipwreck on the western part of Grand Cayman. The ship was originally a Japanese cable laying ship and was sunk in Grand Cayman in 1981 to create an artificial reef on Seven Mile beach. The wreck site is named for Doc Polson who helped set up the first hyperbaric chamber on Grand Cayman for the treatment of decompression sickness. The wreck sits upright in about 50 to 60 feet of water and can be easily explored. However, given the age of the wreck there are many exposed surfaces that can cause harm to a diver. There are a variety of fish in and around the ship from Goliath grouper, to Queen Conch, to cleaner shrimp, blue tang and many more. The wreck sits on a sand flat and is about a 5 minute swim away from the reef. The clarity of the water in Grand Cayman, along with the upright position of the boat makes it a great place for underwater photography from the novice to the professional. The interior of the ship is filled with a good bit of sand, but working your way through the ship is still quite easy even after 30 years on the reef. If you take your time however, you can spend most of your dive time at the wreck. However, this is a better dive when there are no more than 5 to 6 divers on the site and great when there are only two. It can be a good night-dive spot especially for a photographer as you have a wide variety of marine life around the wreck including a number of small creatures great for macro shots. For other information on the Doc Poulson go to my blog - http://blog.stevenwsmeltzer.com/ and/or view more underwater photographs on my website - http://www.stevenwsmeltzer.com and/or follow me on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/images2inspire

The Oro Verde (meaning Green Gold) shipwreck in Grand Cayman has been a favorite site for divers since she was sunk on May 31, 1980 by the Cayman government. The vessel a 131-foot 692-ton freighter lies in about 50 feet of water just off Grand Cayman’s famous Seven Mile Beach. The wreck has deteriorated a lot since her reefing, mainly as a result of several hurricanes that have hit the island in the last 30 years. The debris field today is scattered over a wide area with only the bow section still intact. This is a very worthwhile dive still and I especially like it as a night dive for the variety of marine species that are present. The Oro Verde lies about 100 yards off shore so advanced divers in good physical condition could reach it as a shore dive but with the long swim and requisite dive flags and floats due to offshore boat traffic, why bother? All of the local dive operators will be happy to take you to the Oro Verde as your second half of a two tank west side boat dive, an afternoon dive or on a night dive. I would urge you to dive the wreck whether it is the first time or it you have dove on the wreck before. The site is constantly changing and the marine species always make for an interesting dive.

Scuba Diving in Grand Cayman is something special. The magnificent walls, the USS Kittiwake, spectacular corals on the north side, and upper west side, easy access and warm water makes this a marvelous place for scuba diving. Whether you are an aggressive technical diver or a recreational diver, there is something for you in Grand Cayman. The variety of marine species and topography provides every type of diver with what they want. With boat rides of 10 to 30 minutes to the dive site you can become easily spoiled to the warm, friendly and inviting waters of this Caribbean paradise. See my blog http://blog.stevenwsmeltzer.com for information on specific dive sites and other information.

Ode to the USS Kittiwake Rest well your work is finally done No more the ocean to roam No more to fight the storm and sea Rest well beneath the waves The USS Kittiwake - http://blog.stevenwsmeltzer.com/dive-site-reviews-and-listings/dive-sites/scuba-diving-grand-cayman-uss-kittiwake-shipwreck/ - has been on the reef in Grand Cayman for several years. Explore this gallery and see how the ship has been changing over the years. See the complete photo gallery at Steven W Smeltzer / USS Kittiwake or visit my blog and read more on the USS Kittiwake.