CORAL REEFS: UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

A chance to witness coral spawning in Grand Cayman, and much else

Friday 3rd September - Sunday 12th September 2004 (10 days)
Leader: Alex Mustard
Group size limit 10 divers plus leader

This unique trip aims to reveal some of the secrets of the coral reef, to observe behaviours that are seldom seen but are, nonetheless, the heartbeat that pumps new life into the ecosystem. Timed to coincide with mass coral spawning, divers should also witness spawning of many of the reef fish (including parrotfish, wrasse, damselfish and angelfish) and, with luck, some other invertebrates (such as sponges and starfish). However, the trip is not just about reef sex, but will also exploit Alex’s remarkable knowledge of both marine life and this particular location to reveal some of Grand Cayman’s hidden treasures.

Our setting will be the pristine East End of Grand Cayman, where we will be diving with the superbly managed Ocean Frontiers. The East End is only a 45-minute drive from the tourist trap of Seven Mile Beach, but both above and below the waves it is a world away. If you think you know what diving in Grand Cayman is about, and you have never dived at the East End, there is a wonderful surprise waiting for you!

This is a trip not only for marine life enthusiasts, but also for underwater photographers and videographers, who will have amazing and most unusual photographic opportunities.

Mass annual coral spawning was first observed by scientists just 20 years ago, and remains one of the most seldom-seen spectacles in the sea. Mass coral spawning is not only rare, occurring at most on just a couple of nights during the year, but is also a truly magnificent sight. For divers it is often likened to swimming in an ‘underwater blizzard’, with so many corals simultaneously releasing small packets of gametes that fill the ocean and slowly float to the surface, like snowflakes. It is an experience that cannot fail to change your perception of coral reefs forever!

Crossing an ocean to observe a sight that alluded mankind until the 1980s still remains a gamble to a degree, but these days scientific research has reduced the guess work and at last makes this a bet worth taking. Alex first photographed mass coral spawning in the Caribbean in 1993, but 10 years on it still cannot be 100% guaranteed. This trip will take us to the right place at the right time. Our observations will contribute to a region-wide programme organised by scientists from the USA and the Caribbean. To get an idea about both the astonishing spectacle and also the frustration involved in trying to film it, get out your Blue Planet video and watch the Scoones et al. interviews about filming coral spawning!

Coral spawning happens at night, but fortunately there is a real diversity of diving for us to enjoy as we explore along the south, east and north sides of Cayman during the day. These East End reefs are very different both in structure and condition from those on the developed, western side of the island. Their defining character is that they appear to be made of Swiss cheese; cut with caves, caverns and gullies. This not only makes for dramatic scenery and fun diving, but also means that reef flat, reef wall, reef cave and sand patch habitats are juxtaposed just a few metres apart, making for particularly diverse life. Diving at the East End has only opened up in the last 5 years and the coral is in rude health. These shallow sites are one of the few places in the Caribbean where you can see dense stands of Elkhorn coral; a habitat which once dominated the region, but which was wiped out by white band disease in the 1980s. At deeper sites the top of the reef is dominated lush gorgonian forests which are replaced by colourful sponges and fans on the wall. At the other end of the food chain, Caribbean Reef Sharks, absent in so many places, can been observed and photographed on just about every dive on the wall a few minutes ride from the Ocean Frontiers dive shop.

More than 30 ships have been wrecked on the East End reefs, and wrecks are central to the culture of the Caymanians, who have saved many lives and built their houses from salvaged materials. September seas are usually the calmest of the year, meaning we can dive on the shallow shipwrecks that very few have ever seen. Indeed, Alex’s photos of these wrecks were so rare that they have been placed in the archives of the Cayman Islands National Museum! Calm seas may also allow us to make the trip to 12 Mile Bank, the fourth Cayman Island that never made the surface. Alex is lucky to have dived on the bank before, which can provide the opportunity to see species not found on Cayman, such as the Sargassum Triggerfish and, with luck, pelagic fish and mammals. September is also the time when the caves and caverns of the East End reef fill with Silversides. It is an exhilarating experience to swim through these living curtains, while 4-foot long, prehistoric-looking, silvery tarpon slice back and forth.

We will be staying at the newly-built, fully air-conditioned Compass Point Condominiums which has the facilities and service levels expected from a resort that usually caters for demanding North American guests and is on site with Ocean Frontiers, on the edge of the East End Village. Accommodation will be in one- or two-bedroomed condominiums. Each apartment has a fully equipped kitchen, living room and diving area along with a private patio or balcony. In the living room area there are two full-sized twin beds that pull down from the wall. One-bedroomed apartments have a queen-sized bed and one bathroom. Two-bedroomed apartments have a queen-sized bed in one bedroom and two single beds in the other. They have two full bathrooms. Each apartment has washing and drying machine, dishwasher, TV with full cable in each room, DVD in the living room and unlimited broadband internet connection. Guests may also use the pool, kayaks and mountain bikes. East End Village has a true Caribbean character. In the village there is a supermarket and also Miss Coney’s Kitchen, which serves a hearty lunch at local prices.

Our chosen dive centre is Ocean Frontiers, for whom attention to detail is a trademark. For example they designed their boats specifically for their conditions, and with every comfort provided it can seem a pity to get in the water! After a trip they will take, wash and dry our dive kit, which then magically reappears on the boat for our next dive. It is no surprise that they have received the prestigious Readers’ Choice Award from Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine for the last 5 years.

The real bonus of travelling as a group is the flexibility to choose dive sites and profiles that suit our needs. Diving days will usually start with a two-tank morning trip. We are also free to snorkel local sites in the afternoons. We will do three night dives, and if the coral spawns when expected we will convert one night dive to a dusk dive to see fish spawning. Alex can usually predict, often down to the nearest minute, when and where the action will start!

We will also visit the Sandbar, where you can choose to make a very shallow dive or snorkel with 30-50 of the 100+ resident stingrays that live in the most perfect water on this waist deep sand flat. Most divers visit the original Stingray City, which only has 20 resident rays and is much deeper and less suited for photography. It is preferable to make this dive without feeding the rays, but we will take squid on the boat so, if you want the full hand-sucking-stingray experience, it can be yours!

Other afternoons will be free for snorkelling or land based activities. Ashore, Cayman is not a wildlife haven, like a Southeast Asian rainforest, but it does have some rare and interesting species. Alex has seen the endangered West Indian Whistling Duck, the endemic Vitelline Warbler and also the endemic Cayman form of the Rose-throated Parrot in the area. The East End is also the best place to see Cayman’s endemic reptiles: the Blue Iguana, Ground Boa and, Alex’s favourite, the jewel-like Blue-throated Anole (a lizard). Two of the best spots for wildlife are the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Gardens and the rugged Mastic trail. Cayman has some great snorkelling and we will visit some of Alex’s favourite spots, including some wrecks on the west side of the island and also a mangrove site where we can see Upside-down Jellyfish, a variety of freshwater fish species, nudibranchs and, if we are lucky, seahorses and frogfish.

September is the quietest month to visit Cayman, and the seawater is around 30?C. Diving in Cayman is generally easy; the water is exceptionally clear and usually calm. Two other reasons make Cayman particularly attractive for photographers: the first is the generous British Airways trans-Atlantic luggage allowance of two items each weighing up to 32 Kgs, and the second is duty free camera and underwater photographic equipment being available on the island.


Itinerary

Friday 3rd September: British Airways morning flight from London (Heathrow) to Grand Cayman, arriving in the late afternoon. 35-minute transfer to Compass Point at East End for 8 nights.
Saturday 4th September: Morning two-tank diving on the south, east or north sides of the island. Optional afternoon snorkel. Evening session on Coral Spawning with Alex Mustard.
Sunday 5th September-Monday 6th September: Morning two-tank diving on the south, east or north sides of the island. One tank coral spawning night dive. If we have not seen any coral spawning on these days then we will night dive again on Tuesday or Wednesday. If the coral spawns as predicted then we will take this third dive at dusk on Thursday 9th September to observe reef fish spawning.
Tuesday 7th September: Morning two-tank diving on the south, east or north sides of the island. Optional afternoon snorkel.
Wednesday 8th September: Full day three-tank safari along the north side of the island.
Thursday 9th September: Morning two-tank diving on the south, east or north sides of the island. Optional afternoon snorkel. One tank dusk dive (but see comment above.)
Friday 10th September: Morning two-tank diving on the south, east or north sides of the island. Afternoon trip to either dive (one tank) or snorkel with the stingrays at the Sandbar.
Saturday 11th September: British Airways late afternoon flight from Grand Cayman to London.
Sunday 12th September: Morning arrival at London (Heathrow).

£1670 London/London (non-divers: £1157)

Includes:
• Scheduled flights London (Heathrow)/Grand Cayman/London (Heathrow) by British Airways.
• Airport transfers.
• 8 nights room and continental breakfast accommodation on a twin/share basis in a one-bedroomed condo at Compass Point Condominiums.
• 7 days of diving and snorkeling (2 boat dives most days, but three on one day, plus optional dive at the Sandbar, plus three night boat dives), dive guide, cylinders and weights.
• Services of Alex Mustard as group leader.

Please note: there is a queen-sized bed in the bedroom in a one-bedroomed condo. Those wanting two beds have the option of using one of the two pull-out beds in the living area or taking a two-bedroomed condo. The supplement for the latter is £160.

Single Occupancy Supplement: £304. Please note that, while we will endeavour to find a room-mate for those on the expedition who are travelling alone and would prefer to share accommodation, in the event of a room-mate not being available the single occupancy supplement will apply. Room-mates will be allocated on a first-come first served basis.

Deposit: £300

Note: Should two people travelling together apply for the last place on the tour, we may, at our discretion, increase the group size limit by one.

Note: Flights between London and Grand Cayman are operated several times a week so it is quite simple to extend your holiday in the Caymans if you wish.