East Chute is one of the named wall sites along Cayman Brac's north side, where sandy channels cut through the shallow coral and end at the top of the wall, 14 to 15 m down. A swim-through breaks up the reef, and the small Cayman Mariner wreck lies out on the sand at about 17 m with enough life on it to fill the second half of a dive.
Where it is and how deep
19.6931° N, 79.8906° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
You drop onto the shallow reef and follow one of the sandy channels that run out through the coral. The channels end at the lip of the wall, 14 to 15 m down, and the face falls away from there into blue water. Work along the top of the wall first, then swing back onto the reef, where a swim-through cuts through the coral.
The Cayman Mariner lies on sand at about 17 m, close enough to fold into the same dive. It is a small wreck rather than a set piece, and it earns the stop for what has colonised it: the structure carries a lot of macro life. Around it there are cleaning stations and reef fish — barracuda, pufferfish, parrotfish and angelfish — and the shallow coral between the channels is where the last of the bottom time goes.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Cayman Brac: Seas are calmest Nov–May; Aug–Oct is hurricane season, when sites often move to whichever shore is in the lee.
Questions divers ask
How deep is East Chute?+
The top of the wall sits at 14 to 15 m (45 to 50 ft), reached by sandy channels across the shallow reef, and the Cayman Mariner wreck lies on the sand nearby at about 17 m (55 ft).
Sources
- East Chute — Scubago
More dive sites in Cayman Brac
Reef
Two anchors grown into the reef at 24 and 27 m
Reef
A large pillar coral standing over a 15 m reef floor
Reef
An inner reef cut by multiple swim-throughs
Reef
A sloping mini wall from 10 m down to sand at 16–20 m
A Soviet frigate broken in two on sand at 27 m
Reef
Stairs at the boat launch, then telephone cables west
Reef
Coral fingers and sand channels, usually with some current
Reef
Hawksbill and green turtles along a mini wall from 9 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Wall top at 15 m with a lobster-covered sand flat at 21 m
Two facing walls a quarter mile apart, cut by a prehistoric river
Wall
Ancla del Pirata
María la Gorda · Cuba
A two-ton eighteenth-century anchor grown into the coral
Garden eels on the sand, then a wall that falls past 914 m (3,000 ft)