Cayman Brac: Divi vs. Brac Reef

I understand that Divi Tiara is closing for a month this Fall. Is
that true, and if so, for how long? Otherwise, are they in full
operation? How is their dive dock progressing?

Haven't heard much about Brac Reef. Their web site is great. Are
their facilities in full operation? Is their restaurant a buffet
style? Would appreciate comments from a recent visitor.


-HW "Skip" Weldon
Columbia, SC

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 09:25:44 GMT, "HW \"Skip\" Weldon"
<skip5700removethis@hotmail.com> wrote:

>I understand that Divi Tiara is closing for a month this Fall. Is
>that true, and if so, for how long? Otherwise, are they in full
>operation? How is their dive dock progressing?
>
>Haven't heard much about Brac Reef. Their web site is great. Are
>their facilities in full operation? Is their restaurant a buffet
>style? Would appreciate comments from a recent visitor.

Just received word that Divi will suspend operations from Sept 3 to
Oct 1. I don't like the sound of that.

Still hoping for any comments on recent visitors to Brac Reef.



-HW "Skip" Weldon
Columbia, SC

HW "Skip" Weldon wrote:
>
> Just received word that Divi will suspend operations from Sept 3 to
> Oct 1. I don't like the sound of that.

Yes, it is "interesting", isn't it?


> Still hoping for any comments on recent visitors to Brac Reef.

I might be able to give you some feedback on BRBR's operations if
you're willing wait until late September. It also wouldn't hurt for me
to have a dive buddy then either...my recollections are that they tend
to frown on solo's. We'll have a car if Ann wants to go exploring with
Margaret


-hh

On 24 Jun 2005 14:38:50 -0700, "-hh" <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com>
wrote:
>
>I might be able to give you some feedback on BRBR's operations if
>you're willing wait until late September. It also wouldn't hurt for me
>to have a dive buddy then either...my recollections are that they tend
>to frown on solo's. We'll have a car if Ann wants to go exploring with
>Margaret

I just got an email answer from BR that the meals were all buffet and
that the double decked dock was taken away by Ivan. But that there
were "rebuilding as we speak". Sounds familiar, huh? <grin>

BTW, what the heck is going on at rec.scuba? I go away for a few
years, come back, and there's a bunch of wackos posting about Iraq and
all sorts of nonsense except scuba.

-HW "Skip" Weldon
Columbia, SC

"HW "Skip" Weldon" <skip5700removethis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:d61pb1df8f0olsq7bqt2p52t4gf0p1csal@4ax.com...
> On 24 Jun 2005 14:38:50 -0700, "-hh" <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com>

> BTW, what the heck is going on at rec.scuba? I go away for a few
> years, come back, and there's a bunch of wackos posting about Iraq and
> all sorts of nonsense except scuba.

So please come back and post your reports and maybe we can turn rec.scuba
back into a semblance of its old self. There's a lot of us left that still
dive!

"HW \"Skip\" Weldon" <skip5700removethis@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> I just got an email answer from BR that the meals were all buffet and
> that the double decked dock was taken away by Ivan. But that there
> were "rebuilding as we speak". Sounds familiar, huh? <grin>

It does sound familiar, but its not quite the same. BRBR had the
government's concrete to start dive operations from (IIRC, Divi used it
too), and their wooden extension got patched up "ugly but quick" shortly
afterwords (December 2004):

http://www.huntzinger.com/photo/2004...oc-(12-04).jpg


Insofar as the double decker dock, it was wiped away clean by Ivan
(again December 2004):

http://www.huntzinger.com/photo/2004...deck(12-04).jp
g

Since BRBR's DD dock wasn't necessary for day to day operations at BRBR,
it would have been a low priority. Given how hard it was to get
supplies into Grand Cayman, etc, it shouldn't be too great of a surprise
to have waited until now for rebuilding.

However, since BRBR knows that over-the-water permits are harder to get
these days, they will undoubtedly rebuild it in a reasonably timely
fashion, before a new (expensive) permit would be required. Divi didn't
do this after Hurricane Gilbert, which is why the rebuilding of the
*original* Turtle Bar, often promised, will never happen.

FWIW, Jeff up at Carib Sands also has his hands full with their dock, as
it was built to be more rugged, so he has to fix it instead of simply
replace it.


> BTW, what the heck is going on at rec.scuba? I go away for a few
> years, come back, and there's a bunch of wackos posting about Iraq and
> all sorts of nonsense except scuba.

It goes back to the last Presidential election; its unfortunately a
manifestation of the inflexible & divisive politics of the USA today.
Hopefully, it will end by November 2008.


-hh

On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 08:47:51 -0400, H Huntzinger
<{NOSPAM-rm_to_reply}rec-scuba2005@huntzinger.com> wrote:


>It does sound familiar, but its not quite the same. BRBR had the
>government's concrete to start dive operations from (IIRC, Divi used it
>too), and their wooden extension got patched up "ugly but quick" shortly
>afterwords (December 2004):


I just got an email response from Max at Divi and he says that after
the temporary shut down in Sept, they will once again go full blast.
In fact, they are booked solid Christmas week.

He also said that the dock was complete except for the east part of
the "T" and that the platform and shed would be next. Also, that all
rooms were available for booking.

My understanding is that all aspects are "go" (rooms, restaurant,
Turtle Bar, diving) as of now. Is that your understanding?

We're giving thought to going between Thanksgiving and Christmas for a
few nights. I probably will get a dive refresher of some sort as my
last dive was several years ago. Maybe I'll get a dive babe
instructor <grin> to be my buddy for the first time.

BTW, it looks like there are two small airlines (Island Air and a new
group) for inter-island travel. Is one more reliable than the other?
Schedules look about same.


-HW "Skip" Weldon
Columbia, SC

HW "Skip" Weldon wrote:
>
> I just got an email response from Max at Divi and he says that after
> the temporary shut down in Sept, they will once again go full blast.

Personally, I would have felt a lot more comfortable if he would have
said: "We are going full blast right now".

I don't want to overinterpret, but given Divi's history of perennially
being a few months from "going full blast" and the fact that the
timeshare rennovation project is now 18 months & counting (yes, a full
year before Hurricane Ivan...so much for that excuse), I'm obligated to
read between the lines. Since I know that Divi's temporary
construction work permits were for January - June 2005 and since its
now the end of June, all work could very easily come to a screeching
halt as of the end of this week...it depends on how their work permit
request for July-Dec is turning out.


> He also said that the dock was complete except for the east part of
> the "T" and that the platform and shed would be next.

As always, wait to see the photo's for proof.


FWIW, I'm surprised that the western extension wasn't completed long
ago, since dock frontage space is a bottleneck which affects dive
operations. However, if business has been down, then the capacity
isn't needed, so they can get away with procrastinating.


> My understanding is that all aspects are "go" (rooms, restaurant,
> Turtle Bar, diving) as of now. Is that your understanding?

IMO, they're operational, but they'be been that for the past 6 months.
The real question is have they made the incremental improvements that
bring their load-carrying capacity back up to 100%. Obviously, since
they haven't rebuilt the gear shed or western dock, the answer is no.
They may be able to operate close to 100%, but with "band aids" that
require more physical labor for the staff to overcome, such as hauling
tanks from the temporary fill station location near the compressor (vs
right at the end of the dock), etc.


> We're giving thought to going between Thanksgiving and Christmas for a
> few nights.

There will probably be a decent lull between the two holiday crowds.

> I probably will get a dive refresher of some sort as my
> last dive was several years ago. Maybe I'll get a dive babe
> instructor <grin> to be my buddy for the first time.

If you're thinking of going to BRBR, I have someone I can recommend.
Let me know offline.


> BTW, it looks like there are two small airlines (Island Air and a new
> group) for inter-island travel. Is one more reliable than the other?
> Schedules look about same.

Island Air just this month finally shut down scheduled service, due to
their inability to compete with the Government-subsidized Cayman
Airways flights.

This means that to the best of my knowledge, the only way to get to LC
or the Brac today is via Cayman Airway's scheduled service, or to hire
Island Air as a private charter.

If there's someone else, please let me know.


-hh

On 27 Jun 2005 06:58:33 -0700, "-hh" <recscuba_google@huntzinger.com>
wrote:

>> BTW, it looks like there are two small airlines (Island Air and a new
>> group) for inter-island travel. Is one more reliable than the other?
>> Schedules look about same.
>
>Island Air just this month finally shut down scheduled service, due to
>their inability to compete with the Government-subsidized Cayman
>Airways flights.
>
>This means that to the best of my knowledge, the only way to get to LC
>or the Brac today is via Cayman Airway's scheduled service, or to hire
>Island Air as a private charter.
>
>If there's someone else, please let me know.

This is the outfit I meant. They are calling it "Cayman Express" and
it seems to be a sub of Cayman Airways.

http://www.caymanairways.com/trip/schedules4.html


-HW "Skip" Weldon
Columbia, SC

Got back yesterday from Divi Tiara. The boats were running. We had 17 on
ours and were not crowded. We were on the Tiara Fever. Gary and Carl were
the divemasters. They let us dive as we pleased. We did not have to follow
the divemaster around. We did three boat dives a day each lasting about an
hour. They have 5 boats going now. They were finishing the dock. The T of
the dock holds 3 boats so they staggered the morning leaving times. They
did not have much room for wetsuits, but that should be cleared up in the
next week or so. The food was great. Buffets at every meal. The rooms
could use rennovation, but they were clean and cool. Did not spend a lot of
time in the room.

The twin otters from GC to Brac made it difficult with the weight
restrictions. However, there is a 737 flight out at 630 AM three to four
days a week. We switched onto that one Sunday. The bad part of that is
timing the connections in GC.

I did ask Max about them closing. He said since they only had 5
reservations in September, they felt it was more cost effective to move
those reservations and not have to keep the staff there full time. Sounded
like manditory vacation.

Hope this helps,

Lucie
Tucson AZ


"HW "Skip" Weldon" <skip5700removethis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:0qvkb11thk9t2s1dj9dfe6oaqsffpfch3n@4ax.com...
>I understand that Divi Tiara is closing for a month this Fall. Is
> that true, and if so, for how long? Otherwise, are they in full
> operation? How is their dive dock progressing?
>
> Haven't heard much about Brac Reef. Their web site is great. Are
> their facilities in full operation? Is their restaurant a buffet
> style? Would appreciate comments from a recent visitor.
>
>
> -HW "Skip" Weldon
> Columbia, SC