Grand Cayman · Cayman Islands · Reef · Sand slope
Sunset House Reef
A bronze mermaid and a landing-craft wreck on one shore dive
Area photo: c&rdunn · CC BY-SA 2.0
Sunset House Reef is a fringing coral reef off the Sunset House dive resort in George Town, entered from the resort's own pier. Hard corals, sea whips, sponges and gorgonians cover a gentle slope that ends on white sand, with a bronze mermaid statue and a landing-craft wreck within reach of the same shore dive.
Also known as Sunset Reef.
Where it is and how deep
19.2866° N, 81.3913° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Divers climb down the ladder from the pier and swim out to the reef, which begins at 9 m (30 ft) and slopes down through hard corals, sea whips, small sponges and gorgonians to 15 m (50 ft), where it flattens out onto white sand. A bronze mermaid statue stands at the base of the reef.
A short swim out from the reef across the sand leads to the wreck of the LCM Nicholson, a landing craft set on the bottom in 18 m (60 ft) of water, before the route turns back towards the pier.
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 | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Grand Cayman: December to April is drier and calm enough for the exposed south side; August to October is hurricane season, and the rain peaks in October.
Photos from Sunset House Reef
Dan Schofield · CC BY 4.0
Sources
- Grand Cayman's 10 Great Shore Dives — Scuba Diving
- Top Dive Sites in Cayman Islands — DIVE IN
- Sunset House Reef — ScubaGo
Photo credits
- Head-on close view of a red and white banded shrimp with long white antennae. by Dan Schofield, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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
Cave & cavern
Two long tunnels that empty out onto the open blue
Wall
A coral arch on the wall, named for a Cayman photographer
Ladder off the dock, then a long critter hunt to a coral-topped mini wall
Cave & cavern
Coral chimneys that fill with silversides in high summer
Sponge-crusted cable winches on a ship named for the island's chamber doctor
Wall
An elephant sculpture on a ledge at 26 m (85 ft)
Similar dives elsewhere
Coral bommies from 15 to 24 m, with eagle rays and garden eels
Taganga's main training ground, with a deeper wall close by
Green and hawksbill turtles over seagrass by the Blue Lagoon
Rays and turtles in the sandy shallows