Dive Review of Divetech/Westin in
Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman

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Divetech/Westin, Apr, 2010, by Mr Robert Halem, CA, US ( Contributor 18 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 5446.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I learned about this opportunity in a note in a recent issue of Undercurrents. DiveTech is trying to do their part to hold down the invasion of the lion fish in the Cayman Islands. They have special permits from the government to allow them to take lion fish off the reef and limit the environmental damage this non-native species can cause. Once a week, on Saturday afternoons, they hold a two tank boat trip with the sole purpose of finding, capturing and eliminating lion fish. Since this isn't a sightseeing trip, the cost is only $25 versus the $100 a normal two tank trip would cost. After a short van ride from the office we boarded their well equipped dive boat and were given one of the most complete pre-dive briefings I have ever received. Not only did it cover the usual dive topics, but also went deep into the ecology of the reef and the problems being created by the lion fish. Considerable time was also devoted to the area to be hunted and the techniques for capturing the fish. Since only the DiveTech personnel are licensed to actual do the capture, there was instruction on how to call the divemasters when we spotted a lion fish. On the first dive, four fish were spotted and two were captured. Since there was obviously more fish on the spot, the boat remained in the same location for the second dive. After a very proper surface interval, we made the second dive and captured an additional three fish. I have seen lion fish where they belong in the Pacific and eight inches is a pretty large fish. The largest one we captured was over 15 inches. A ready food supply and no predators has allowed the lion fish to breed and grow much faster than in their normal environment. On our second dive, one of the divers went too deep and stayed down too long. His computer put him into a decompression situation. DiveTech was equipped with a second stage on a long hose so he was able to do a 40 minute deco stop without having to worry about a tank change at 20 feet or risk DCS. Not many boats I have been on have that feature. Based on this very special dive situation, I would judge that DiveTech probably runs a very high quality service for their normal trips too.
Websites	Divetech
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	Monterey, Hawaii, Florida
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	80-83°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	70-100 Ft/ 21-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	100 foot max
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters	N/A	Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	This was a special purpose trip so photography was not high on the list

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Dive Review of Divetech/Westin in Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman

Divetech/Westin, Apr, 2010,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Divetech/Westin in
Cayman Islands/Grand Cayman