THE WALLS OF LITTLE CAYMAN

Tom Gotterup is Dive Operations Manager, Little Cayman Beach Resort

For the past thirteen years, it has been my good fortune to escort thousands of scuba divers in observing and photographing some of the most beautiful walls in the world. These walls lie in

the Bloody Bay Marine Sanctuary on Little Cayman, an area of great beauty and exceptional diving.

What is it that makes these walls so beautiful? Could it be the abundance of marine life, or the pristine condition of the coral? Most divers who have seen these walls would agree that it is both, and I would have to concur. The most frequent remarks by divers are "I was mesmerized by the sheerness of the walls", or "It felt as though I was suspended in outer space."

After diving these walls, many divers come back to the boat with tales of Eagle Rays slowly gliding by, or schools of Horse-eyed Jacks hanging under the boat. Then, of course, there is always the three to four foot Great Barracuda waiting directly under the boat, watching with his beady eyes. I often wonder, as I watch these beautiful streamlined fish, if they are waiting for a quick easy morsel, or if they are just watching these strange creatures (humans) with funny objects on their backs entering or exiting their world.

There are two distinct areas within The Bloody Bay Marine Park. One is known as Jackson Point and the other as Bloody Bay. Both are impressive dive sites! The wall, or drop-off, begins anywhere from 30 metres to 70 metres offshore. The water depth at the top of the wall is anywhere from six metres to 12 metres. The amazing thing is that the wall ends at 2,000 metres! Now that is what I call a drop-off!

One of the most favourite dive sites for many divers, as well as myself, is called Mixing Bowl or Three Fathom Wall. It is a mere six metres of water from the surface to the top of the drop-off! As I enter the water at this site, with my divers, I am immediately impressed with the spectrum of colours that greets us. The rays of sunlight pierce the water and appear to bounce back from the edge of the wall to the surface. I slowly drift down to 20 metres and start moving west, towards Jackson Point, where the wall quickly drops from six metres to 20 metres. I pass purple vase sponges, yellow tube sponges, and gorgonians growing off the wall. I spot a Green Moray Eel in his lair watching as I go by. Barrel sponges with gobies awaiting a passing grouper to stop and be cleaned are numerous. I spin over and look to the surface and what do I see... a Hawksbill Turtle gracefully swimming above me. I am reminded just how frequently divers encounter turtles off the walls of Little Cayman. I watch it as it slowly swims to the surface for air.

I approach the part of the wall where Jackson Point and Bloody Bay merge. Instantly, a large sand flat at fifteen metres comes into view. This is the beginning of Jackson Point and the sand flat will run parallel to shore for approximately two miles. I see Southern Stingrays feeding in the sand with schools of Yellowtail Snappers. As I continue along the edge of the wall, I spot a lobster that would make any lobster lover happy. Fortunately for the lobster, as well as all of the marine life in the park, it is forbidden to touch or take any marine life from within the park.

I turn back with divers following me. As I arrive under the boat, I observe other divers following a small Nurse Shark. The most common sharks swimming around this wall are the Black-tip Reef, Caribbean Reef, and Nurse Sharks. I slowly ascend to the surface and take one last look at the wall.

The visibility has been thirty metres, with no noticeable current. As I exit the water, I hear divers talking about what they have seen, and marveling at the beauty of the wall. Although each group of divers is different, the comments are always the

same.

If a diver seeks marine life with unspoiled corals, and a wall that is unsurpassed, then Little Cayman is the place to come. Unspoiled, pristine, romantic, all these words sum up Little Cayman. Other reports from The Caribbean