Green Short Challenge

What it takes to dive all 55 sites

Ocean Frontiers Dive Shop on the East End of Grand Cayman has thrown down a dive Fin to see if there are any divers out there willing and able to accept a Challenge. This new adventure challenges divers to run the gauntlet of logging all 55 dive sites within the East End dive zone. Ocean Frontiers has published a custom log book to guide divers on this quest and to check-off each site as they discover new territories of coral reefs and wall dives.

All previous dives count and there is no time limit on completing the challenge. Many of our customers have been diving with us for years and we needed that to be acknowledged. The new East End Dive Site Log Book contains all 55 hand drawn illustrations, taken from our dive site briefings boards, all drawn from the deck of Ocean Frontiers' dive boats.  What makes East End diving special, is the dive sites and how we dive them.  Ocean Frontiers made this log book in to something more than a log and with all the dive site maps it makes the perfect guide book.

Ocean Frontiers' dive staff consider The Green Short Challenge the equivalent of earning your stripes, or in this case, earning your shorts. The name of the challenge comes from the iconic teal green shorts that forms part of the dive team's uniform. The very words 'Green Shorts' at Ocean Frontiers have become synonymous with legendary dive sites, phenomenal service and a dive culture that inspires.

All golfers dream of wearing the Green Jacket of the Masters Tournament, Cyclers aspire about wearing the Yellow Jersey of the Tour De France, but in the dive world, it is all about your pair of Green Shorts. Our divers love this sense of accomplishment.

Once a diver checks off all the 27 wall dives and 28 shallow reefs dives to complete the 55 East End dive sites, the celebrations begin. Each diver is inducted in the the Green Short Dive Tribe at a ceremony on the boat dock at Compass Point Dive Resort. The notable diver receives a special edition pair of Green Shorts, awarded an Ocean Frontiers Gold Medal, a bronze plaque is later cast with their name and then installed on the 'Divers Walk of Fame' to leave a part of them in Cayman until they return. A delicious Green Short Cake is presented along with Champagne to share and celebrate with their fellow divers.

After completing the challenge our customers realize that they belong and truly appreciate the diverse beauty and wonder of the magical East End diving.

To find out more about the Green Short Challenge, stake your claim to the sites you have already logged, and to book your next dive vacation to the Cayman Islands- contact Ocean Frontiers.

Tips and Considerations for those taking the Green Short Challenge and logging all 55 East End dive sites in Grand Cayman

Green Short Challenges-Theoretically, the quickest way to complete all of our 55 dive sites in the Green Short Challenge is to only dive each site once, and over just a few visits to the Cayman Islands you will have chalked them all off. There is no time limit and previously logged dives count. However, divers need to be realistic; factor in and consider the following:

1. Tis' the Season
The 55 dive sites are divided into zones for a number of reasons, first being the distinct geography and topography of that area and secondly because some of the zones are more seasonal than others and are not always accessible on any given day. In the Cayman winter time, November through March, it is typical to have winds prevailing from the North and occasionally this limits access to zones A, B & C on the North coast of East End. In the Cayman summer time it is typical to have winds prevailing from the South and this can limit access to sites in zones D, E & F on the South coast of East End. Spring and Fall provide more varied weather and wind directions are less predictable. As reliable as the weather is not, it is possible to dive any of our 55 dive sites on any day of the year, we'll just never know in advance which day that is.

2. Rinse & Repeat
It takes more than 55 individual dives or 27.5 two tank dive trips to complete the challenge. Depending on Cayman weather conditions and if other divers on the boat have already visited the site you have requested, you will repeat some sites from time to time. Many of our dive sites take multiple dives to see all they have to offer and by just visiting them once, you would be missing out.

3. Best Behaviour
We know that you may have 54 sites logged and you are on your last day of diving before leaving Cayman to return home and simply have to get to that last site or else. If the dive site gods are in your favor, then we will take you there and welcome you join the Green Short Alumni. However, if the planets do not align and your bubbles go elsewhere, we ask that you try not to bite the tabs off your mouth piece and leave the saga.... 'to be continued'.

4. Special Requests
To begin with it may all be new and each site will be a first, but once you have checked off the first 30 sites, you will need to keep a closer eye on your log book and be sure to lodge your requests with our Captains and Crew. Feel free to work your persuasion, ask for sites by name or just by zone if you are lacking sites from a particular area. Gifts, rewards and special favors are typically accepted by Captains, Crew and even other customers, but be forewarned, they rarely yield results - we are all Pirates in Cayman.

5. Leaving the Station
In order to reach some of the more remote sites of East End it is important for the dive boats to depart on time, if not early. We pride our self with our on-time departures, for no other reason that enabling our crew and boats to be flexible with extended bottom times and venturing out to the far reaches of the East End dive zones.

6. Captain's Orders
Our boat Captains have the best interests of ALL divers at heart and will base dive site selection criteria, for each trip, in the following order:

-Weather & Conditions: wind direction, wave height, currents, visibility
-Diver Experience Level: overall skill and comfort level of divers on board
-Non-Return Policy: divers not to revisit sites in the same week
-Availability: the mooring is in service and not occupied by another vessel
-By Request: we do our very best to help you complete the challenge

"Try not. Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda