Grand Cayman

Grand Cayman has touched many people's diving lives.

The island is currently in massive need of international aid after it was severely devastated by Hurricane Ivan. Most buildings are damaged, and most of the population has no power, water or phones. There have been few International media reports of their plight.

The islands are in need of immediate international help (despite the fact that as I write this the Government website would rather report that the Finacial Industry is "Up and Running"). I hear this united plead from all my friends on the islands. You can either help at a National Level (www.caymanislands.ky) or at a Local Level by visiting the websites of resorts where you have stayed (most of which will tell you how to help them).

The islands are also in need of longer term help. Many people who live on the islands are employed in the tourim. They are working as hard as possible (without power, water or phones) to get the islands' Tourist Industry operational again before the end of the year. Please consider Cayman for your vacation in the future and so help their recovery.

I present two photo galleries here. The first is selection of images taken during the Hurricane.

http://www.amustard.com/ivan/

The second is a selection of images from my vacation on the islands before the storm, that I hope reminds you of happy times on the islands.

http://www.amustard.com/summer/

Please help if you can.

Alex

Thanks for the update on Grand Cayman. Bob Soto's Lodge - now named the Cayman Diving Lodge - was the site of my first warm water trip almost 30 years ago. Is it still standing? Great u/w images as well.

Larry

Not much over that side of the island is left from what i hear ... I am yet to get that far round .. but most businesses are not operational and won't be for a while ... great.

People are working around the clock to repair ... I also have some iamges but am yet to find time to do anything with them.

Although aid is needed ... it is time we need ... it is just going to take a long time to rebuild everything and first of all tidy up the rock.

I will try to keep anyone interested updated both here and on my personal website (link below)

He lives!

It's good to hear from you Giles. Thanks for the update.

I am alive, I still have a job, one of few, I am helping to rebuild the island and specifically my company Bob Sotos Reef Divers, we are but 5 or 6 people of the 40 we used to be.

I don't have a house to live in, but life is good and i have a feeling of desire to get this job done, Grand Cayman will be back with a vengence, I am just sad that the Coral Spawning myself and Alex witnessed may have been for nothing, especially now our waters will be undived for several months and allow a natural replenishment.

The island will be back and it will be back better than ever, the people who remain have a strong idea of what Cayman used to be and what they want it to be and everyone is working hard to make that clean restart and bring Cayman back to the pinnacle of tourism and diving that it should be.

These images are really worth seeing. Courtney Platt is a professional photographer based on the island and these are his images of what the island looks like after Ivan:

http://blueoceanart.com/ivan/

A few people have been out to see the reefs. The gang at Ocean Fronteirs posted this on their website:

The staff made one extensive shore dive yesterday covering two of the most weather-exposed dive sites, River of Sand and High Rock Drop Off. Both are near the famous Cayman Blowholes on the south side of the island, near East End. The visibility was good and the whole area has a much "cleaner" appearance as any algae that was there is now gone. Many new gullies, tunnels, and swimthroughs are now further exposed and safe for divers to enter and exit since most of the sand has washed away. In fact, much of the sand has naturally relocated and may be found on the new 30-foot wide beach that mother nature dropped on the Compass Point doorstep -- happily there is a silver lining. The hard corals and reef structure seem to have been built to "hurricane code" appear to be in very good shape. While some sponges remain on these two dive sites, many have tipped over, leaving their "root" for healthy regrowth. The parade of marine life was out in full force, with a large grouper, 2 turtles and a school of 5 barracuda escorting Steve around the reef. Given that this dive was made on two of Cayman's dive sites that were most exposed to the full brunt of Ivan's fury, the prognosis is excellent for the other less-exposed areas around the island.