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Cayman
Islands
The Cayman Islands were first discovered in May, 1503 by Christopher
Columbus, whilst sailing from
Panama
to
Hispaniola
, but they remained little known for many years due to their
relatively isolated location. They were visited by Sir Francis Drake
in the late 1500's and came under British control in 1655, when
Jamaica
was captured from the Spanish, by Oliver Cromwell. In 1962
Jamaica
attained independence, but the Cayman Islands chose to remain tied
to
Britain
and since then, have been a British crown colony and are still
subject to British laws and customs.
The Islands can
be found in the central Caribbean, 480 miles south of
Miami
and 150 miles southwest of
Cuba
.
The Islands
enjoy 'tax free' status and are a popular stopping off point for the
luxury cruise liners that frequent the
Caribbean
. These liners visit daily and up to five a day can be anchored off
George Town
Harbour
, with thousands of tourists flocking to buy the tax free goods on
offer in the small town. Legend has it that this tax free haven was
granted by King George III in November 1788, following the
courageous rescue by local Caymanians, of members of the Royal
Family from ships that ran aground in a storm. The real facts have
recently been uncovered and are in fact, very similar. The event
actually took place on February 8, 1794, when 10 merchant vessels,
led by H.M.S. Convert, ran aground in rough seas off Grand Cayman's
East End
. There then followed great feats of bravery by the local residents,
who set about rescuing the people from the stricken vessel's, paying
little heed to the life threatening weather conditions. This is now
referred to as The Wreck of The Ten Sails.
Geography:
The
country consists of Grand Cayman and the two sister Islands of
Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which lie 89 miles east northeast of
Grand Cayman
and are separated by a channel 5 miles wide. The main Island Grand
Cayman is approximately 22 miles long and 8 miles at its widest
point, with the west of the island being the population centre. This
Island is also flat with the maximum height above sea level of
around 60 feet; indeed there are local byelaws that prevent
construction above the top line of the
Islands
trees. This helps to preserve the natural beauty of the place, which
would undoubtedly be spoiled by high-rise hotels and condominiums.
There are also no rivers or natural run-offs, and this accounts for
the gin like water clarity around the local reefs. The Islands are
best known for diving and with year round visibility of between 100'
to 200' and water temperatures that vary between 79° - 83° F it's
easy to see why it's one of the worlds top dive destinations. In
fact the Caribbean's first dive shop was established on
Grand Cayman
in 1957 by Bob Soto, who was a pioneer for recreational scuba
diving.
Cayman Diving:
There are presently over 250 moored dive sites around the islands
(Grand Cayman has 157, Little Cayman has 57, & Cayman Brac has
41), which include the so called "world's greatest 12 ft
dive"
Stingray
City
- you may also shore dive at many locations. The locals frequently
boast that you can dive 365 days a year here, regardless of the
weather. This is in fact a realistic claim, as you can dive
differing sides of the
Islands
, should the seas be rough in one particular area. One of the most
popular areas is off North Sound (the 'North Wall') and here you
will find spectacular drop-offs, the like of which you have never
seen.
What really
makes these
Islands
so treasured by divers is the deep oceanic 'Cayman Trench' that was
formed as a result of tectonic plate upheaval within the earth's
crust. The
Islands
are actually the exposed tips of a massive underwater mountain
range, known as the Cayman Ridge. This range rises for over 6 miles
from the ocean floor and the Cayman Trench is the deepest part of
the
Caribbean
. This ridge comes in places, almost to the shoreline and must be
one of the few locations, where you can be swimming in 30 feet of
water and suddenly find yourself peering over the edge of a sheer
precipice, which drops into an unfathomable blue abyss of over 6,000
feet. Cayman wall diving has to be tried first hand to truly
appreciate how awesome it can be, getting vertigo whilst 30 - 40
feet under the surface, is truly something to behold and one of
diving's greatest adventures.
The dive sites
themselves are managed by the Department of the Environment and
there are 18 marine parks and environmental zones. These have fixed
single-pin moorings and the majority of these are no more than a 10
minute boat ride from shore. Due to these single moorings most
operators are respectful of other dive boats and you won't see the
crowds of divers underwater that can be found in other places like
the
Red Sea
.
Finance:
Grand Cayman is the fifth largest financial centre in the world,
with around 600 banks currently registered in
George Town
. However, the majority of these are just plaques on walls outside
offices! This level of investment has brought wealth and
sophistication to the
Islands
and they have the reputation for being amongst one of the safest
places in the world to live, it does also make it a playground for
the rich and famous and can be beyond the budget of many simple
travelers.
Cayman
Brac and
Little Cayman
:
The smaller sister islands of Little Cayman & Cayman Brac are
also relatively flat, very sparsely populated and are the perfect
location for total relaxation. They also have some superb diving and
Bloody Bay Wall off
Little Cayman
, is world-renowned. Cayman Brac in slight contrast can boast
something of a hill, (the only one around!) with a limestone cliff
on its east end, named the "bluff". This gives the island
its name, as "Brac" is Gaelic for bluff.
Grand Cayman
is also the site
of what may be the world’s only turtle farm (www.turtle.ky).
Here these gentle sea creatures are reared for conservation purposes
(and also farmed for food) then set free under controlled
conditions. This is a very popular port of call for visitors and the
release of the green sea turtles, can be quite a moving site as they
head off into the turquoise blue ocean. The farm itself has some
permanently operating web cams and you can get a 'window' on the
weather by checking them out. The local dive site here (Turtle Farm
Reef) is also an excellent shore dive, with tanks provided at nearby
Divetech.
What really
makes these
Islands
so treasured by divers is the deep oceanic 'Cayman Trench' that was
formed as a result of tectonic plate upheaval within the earth's
crust. The
Islands
are actually the exposed tips of a massive underwater mountain
range, known as the Cayman Ridge. This range rises for over 6 miles
from the ocean floor and the Cayman Trench is the deepest part of
the
Caribbean
. This ridge comes in places, almost to the shoreline and must be
one of the few locations, where you can be swimming in 30 feet of
water and suddenly find yourself peering over the edge of a sheer
precipice, which drops into an unfathomable blue abyss of over 6,000
feet. Cayman wall diving has to be tried first hand to truly
appreciate how awesome it can be, getting vertigo whilst 30 - 40
feet under the surface, is truly something to behold and one of
diving's greatest adventures.
The dive sites
themselves are managed by the Department of the Environment and
there are 18 marine parks and environmental zones. These have fixed
single-pin moorings and the majority of these are no more than a 10
minute boat ride from shore. Due to these single moorings most
operators are respectful of other dive boats and you won't see the
crowds of divers underwater that can be found in other places like
the
Red Sea
.
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