We’ll board our 36’ covered dive boat right in front of the resort. The crew will already have taken your gear from your room to the boat for you! Your gear is set up for you, and the tank is carried from the rack to your back while you stand or sit on the rear dive platform. When you surface, your gear is taken from at the water level so that you do not have to climb onto a boat with gear on your back!

Sunset Divers provides tank, weights and belt. Other equipment is available for rent if you need. While most dive boats offer a twenty minute wall dive followed by a forty minute second dive, with us you get two to three hours on most of the dives, with as many tanks of air as you need at no extra charge! These are not tour dives; you are free to go back to the boat as you need for film or tank change. We also provide snacks of fruit, candy bars, cookies, fruit juice and sodas, as well as a fresh water shower, and a big camera rinse tank.

Diving is usually done along the West side of Grand Cayman. We will start at shallow reefs and add wall dives later in the week. We generally do not run class dives at sites where there is a current. Water temperature is 82 to 86 degrees F. Summer is warm and hot; you can choose to be in the shade or the sun on the dive boat.

Tips for Photo Friendly Diving gear * If you have trouble seeing your camera settings or tiny creatures, get prescription lenses! Contact Cathy if you need advice for photographers needs and contact www.prescriptiondivemasks.com for info..* If your BC uses integrated weights, keep in mind that they make it difficult for many types of underwater photography so bring a belt if you have one. I'll explain more during the class.* Booties make your feet float, so smaller, full-foot fins are easier to balance when holding a camera. If you are getting ready to buy fins, please AVOID the split fin and Force Fins™. These are not good for small manuevers which you must constantly make for good U/W photo control. If you still have your old fins, especially if they are a simple blade fin, and not particularly long, bring them instead.* Small U/W flashlights can be strapped or held to your strobe with large rubber bands, but large flashlights cannot be used efficiently for night photography.* Since you will often be waiting without moving for a creature to stick his face into your photo area, you may want a thin dive skin such as a polartech or a Darlexx, 1/8" or 3/16", or wetsuit if you chill easily, some dives last up to three hours.

You Must Be a Certified Diver
All students must be certified divers. To prevent any problems in case you lose or forget to bring your C-card to the resort, try to enclose a photo copy of your C-card along with your reservation form. All diving is done under the jurisdiction of Sunset Divers. Cathy Church is not a SCUBA instructor or dive master. Cathy Church, Herb Rafael and their assistant photo instructors provide U/W photographic instruction only.

Nitrox is optional – get Certified
Nitrox is available at US$10.00 per tank additional. So if you wish to get certified, contact your nearest dive instructor and learn at home. Classroom session takes about four hours. Otherwise, come to Cayman a day early and take a class with Sunset Divers. The key to using Nitrox is to breathe out as often as you breathe in. (Class is US$200.00, which includes two free tanks of Nitrox.)

Most divers feel that they are not as tired when using Nitrox, and it certainly improves your margin of safety. You can spend three hours in fifty feet instead of being limited to forty feet on those three-hour dives. My doctor has recommended that Nitrox will reduce pain from arthritis, and so far it has been working.

Using Nitrox is not a requirement; we have offered this style of diving for over 30 years using air, but Nitrox adds versatility and comfort.