Grand Cayman · Cayman Islands · Wall · Reef
Dumbo's Drop-Off
An elephant sculpture on a ledge at 26 m (85 ft)
Area photo: c&rdunn · CC BY-SA 2.0
An East End wall dive marked by Dumbo, an elephant sculpture sitting on a small ledge at 85 ft (26 m). The mooring pin is at 65 ft (20 m), a sloped miniwall descends to it from 55 ft (17 m), and the main wall drops from 65 to 85 ft (20 to 26 m) with multiple ledges along the way.
Where it is and how deep
19.2880° N, 81.1157° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The pin sits at 65 ft (20 m), with a sloped miniwall descending to it from 55 ft (17 m) above. Below the pin the main wall drops from 65 to 85 ft (20 to 26 m), offering multiple ledges on the way down, which gives you places to stop and hold depth rather than one blank face. The layout means depth accumulates quickly, so watch the computer from the moment you leave the line.
Dumbo is the destination. The elephant sculpture marks the site from a small ledge at 85 ft (26 m), and the standard dive is a traverse out to it and back. That is the deepest point of the profile, so it is taken early, and the return along the wall and up over the miniwall to 55 ft (17 m) puts the shallow part of the dive where it belongs, at the end.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Grand Cayman: December through April brings the calmest seas and best visibility; September and October carry the highest hurricane risk.
Know before you go
- Current can pick up here, so check conditions with the crew before splashing and plan the traverse out to Dumbo into it rather than with it.
Sources
- Dumbo's Drop-Off - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Grand Cayman
Reef
Massive sponges on the drop at 21 m (70 ft)
Wall
A pinnacle rising off the North Wall into the Cayman Trench
Wall
A coral arch on the wall, named for a Cayman photographer
Cave & cavern
Coral chimneys that fill with silversides in high summer
Cave & cavern
Long tunnels full of tarpon, straight off the shore
Four pinnacles at the foot of the coral slope
Reef
Spur and groove ground with a miniwall at 11 m (35 ft)
Cave & cavern
Canyons and tunnels, a mini wall and a white sand plain
Similar dives elsewhere
Near-continuous schools of grunts and snappers on the wall top
Coral gardens on the shelf, steep drops below to 27 m
Swim-throughs between massive coral-covered boulders
A sand gully out to a coral wall dropping to 30 m