The Buddy Line Spring 2019

Come Home for the Holidays, Cayman Style

Photo by Teresa Hattaway

Earth & Sea Friendly Program at Our Resorts

At Clearly Cayman Dive Resorts, protecting our environment is in our DNA and is one of our core company values. We are stewards of the natural resources of our islands and the oceans to ensure that future generations of guests will continue to be inspired by their beauty and diversity. We’re always looking for new ways to operate in a more eco-friendly environment.
These are the steps we’ve taken so far:

• Reduce plastic waste by using compostable beverage cups at our bars and by providing larger shampoo, conditioner, and soap amenities in recyclable containers.
• Eliminated plastic straws and provide paper straws upon request.
• Reduce chemical waste by using eco-friendly laundry and cleaning products.
• Support companies that are also eco-friendly by purchasing toilet paper made of recycled materials.
• Reduce freshwater consumption by replacing guest bed linens every 3–4 nights.
• Save energy by requesting that guests turn off lights and raise the temperature when they aren’t in their room.

Calendar of Events

Find Us at These Dive Shows

If you live in one of these areas or plan to visit, stop by our booth at these dive shows to talk about Cayman Islands’ diving and pick up our show specials:

• May 4–5, 2019 at The Scuba Show, Long Beach Convention Center
• November 13–16, 2019 at DEMA Show, Orange County Convention Center—Trade Only

You’ve Got a Friend (or Two)

These are among our staff rock stars. Look for them to help you feel at home on your next visit to one of our resorts.

Helpful Hints to Make Dive Travel Easier

How often do you return home from a dive trip with at least half the items you brought with you never having left your room? Not surprisingly, it happens all the time. So unless you really like packing and schlepping around all that extra weight, here are some hints to make “light” of your next dive trip.

1. Do a packing list 4–6 weeks before you travel. As you get closer, begin to assemble everything in one place to review. As time passes, remove items from your collection, because everyone always starts off with too much stuff. And if you need to add something, remove two items to compensate.
2. Bring only the dive gear you really need and believe you’ll use. Bring rechargeable lights and batteries. We provide mesh bags, so leave yours at home. And unless you’re really cold natured, you probably won’t need more than a 3-mil wetsuit at any time of year. Our dive shop is stocked with newer, high-quality gear and general replacement parts like mask and fin straps if you forget something or don’t want to carry yours.
3. Make a separate clothing list, indicating exactly what you’ll wear each day. Then go back and delete 1/3 to 1/2 of your list, because you’ll live in your swimsuit and T-shirt or coverup most of the day. And when you only have clothing on for several hours (including underwear), it’s really okay to wear again. We won’t tell your mom.
4. Leave your towels at home. We provide them in rooms for pool and beach use and on the boats for diving.
5. Leave your coffeemaker, hairdryer, shampoo and conditioner, and iron and ironing board (does anyone really iron on vacation?) at home. We have them for you to use.
6. As you do your final packing, lay clothing flat and roll tightly. It generally takes up less room and is better protected from wrinkles.
7. Some useful items that can be tucked in almost anywhere include a few zipper-lock bags, a large trash bag in case you have to pack wet items for the return home (also doubles as a rain poncho), mosquito repellant wipes, sunscreen, a hat, and a small power strip to provide multiple outlets for recharging.

Pull out your final packing list after you return home, crossing off anything you took with you that never came out of your bag. This will make preparing for your next dive trip even easier. With thoughtful packing, you should be able to reduce the volume of items you bring with you and the weight of your luggage.

If you have a great tip to share, please submit it to editor@clearlycayman.com.

Clearly Cayman Dive Log

Ragnar, a Reef Divers staff member at Cayman Brac Beach Resort, is from from Reykjavik, Iceland. After doing a Discover Scuba in a pool there, he went on a backpacking trip to Central America and got certified in Guatemala. He says that divers are the “coolest” people around…get it? Coolest people from an Icelander!

Ragnar loves diving Wilderness Wall on the south side of Cayman Brac. The 20-minute boat ride from the resort can be exciting when you’re accompanied by brown booby bird escorts, which entertain by dive bombing for fish around the boat.

The top of the wall is only about 50-feet deep, but it has a stunning, sheer drop-off to the bottom that’s several hundred feet away. Divers will find an abundance of marine life on the inner reef at shallower depths—notably, turtles munching on sponges and southern stingrays hiding in the sand. They also love exploring the picturesque swim-throughs. And this site is one of the few on the Brac where hammerhead sharks have been spotted.

I’ve Seen That!

Photo by Rob Rogers

It’s always a treat for divers to see a spotted eagle ray (Aetobatus narinari ) flying across the sandy flats or bottom feeding in Cayman Islands’ waters. They’re considered to be lucky icons and have been important to Caribbean culture for hundreds of years—one of the reasons the CCMI selected it for their logo.

The spotted eagle ray:

• Can grow up to 16-1/2 feet long and weigh more than 500 pounds with a tail up to three times its body length.
• Has spot markings that are unique to each animal and can be used for identification like a zebra’s stripes.
• Has 2–6 venomous spines near the base of its tail that are harmless unless the ray feels threatened.
• Uses grinding plates on the underside of its body to crush food, which consists primarily of mollusks, crustaceans, and bivalves.
• Breaches (flies out of the water) to get away from predators.
• Is considered a “near threatened” species, with only humans (sportfishing) and certain types of sharks as predators.

Learn more about our marine environment and creatures from Katie Correia, Science & Education Manager at Central Caribbean Marine Institute, Little Cayman. For more information on the CCMI, visit www.reefresearch.org.