| |Photo by Doug Sloss|

In the search for diving's Endless Summer, all roads lead to the Cayman Islands.

Whether you're a once-a-year diver or a hard-core blue adventurer, Grand Cayman has secured itself as a must-do in the Diving Hall of Fame. For notoriously transient young divemasters and instructors, this dive mecca is also becoming the ultimate place to hang your fins. Andrea Stockert sets out to discover what keeps this legendary destination atop the wish list for both divers and divemasters year in and year out.

An entire global community of divemasters and instructors travel, work and experience the world on their terms, a sort of saltwater sabbatical before the need for an office sets in. Grand Cayman, with its wide spectrum of diving, is full of them. They're the backbone of the Cayman dive experience, and they come from everywhere: colleges, small towns, big towns, Europe, Asia, the Pacific, Kansas, Florida, Canada and even other Caribbean islands.

Secretly, deep in our diver hearts, we all admire people who set out to experience the world like this. Probably, if we're honest, we all wish we had the guts to jump off the edge of our workaday comfort zones and follow the same blue path — if only for a couple of years — to see what it's like to live the ultimate dive life. Divemasters seem content, happy with sucking as much life and friendship as can be had out of each and every day. And with the frenetic pace of today's world, their high-tide, low-tide immersion in island time seems like the lifestyle of kings. On the dive boats and at the bars, we listen to every nuance of their stories of things they've seen as global citizens. That's why I'm here: to get fully into the Cayman dive experience. Because Grand Cayman is an oddity. DMs and instructors don't pass through — they stay, as if the waters around Cayman are enchanted.

| |Photo by Ty Sawyer|

Ringmasters Sophie and Chopper

Sporting the typical plumage of the Cayman dive lifestyle, a mix of blonde and tan, Sophie Anderson shrugs on a 3-mil.

Ten minutes later, her boat has coasted to a stop in Grand Cayman's North Sound at a site whose place atop scuba diving's all-time list is uncontested: Stingray City.

To calm any jitters people might have about the "sting" in "stingray," Sophie's divemaster friend Chopper has pulled out a large polka-dot bowtie and rock-star sunglasses.

"You've got to be full of bubbles," he tells me just before he starts in on the pre-dive brief. "People spend 51 weeks out of the year trying to get here. They come with an expectation. It's my job to make sure they have a good time." He then weaves through the history of Stingray City as if he's just heard the story and is passing it along to mates at the bar. He adds to the brief with a stuffed-animal stingray he affectionately calls Gary, feeding off his audience's energy as he quips in his Brighton English accent, "Stingrays don't have ears. They can't hear you, but I can. Please don't scream."

You know she's seen this all before; she has to have seen it all before, because between snorkeling parties, cruise-ship day boats and the thousands of scuba divers who make the pilgrimage to Grand Cayman every year, Stingray City is a place that most Grand Cayman divemasters know better than the backs of their hands. But the look on her face tells a different story. "It's absolutely my favorite," she says. "I could never get tired of it."And he's passionately joyous about Stingray City, as well. Roused by his brief, the boat's entire complement — everyone but the boat-sitter — happily giant-strides into the pale blue, 12-foot-deep water, and the three-ring circus that brings divers from around the world begins. A rollicking interspecies party is under way as southern stingrays of every conceivable size swoop in with stealth-fighter grace to Hoover bite-size bits of frozen squid off the divers' outstretched hands. Armed with a housed Olympus camera, Sophie heads down the ladder and wades into the melee.

There's a whimsical delight as Sophie morphs into work mode: The divers are smiling. Sophie is smiling. Even the southern stingray is probably smiling, but it's hard to tell; its mouth is on the bottom of its body.

Chopper, of course, is still in the middle of the group, making sure everyone gets their fair share of photo ops, stingray hickies and caresses on the velvety undersides of the these elegant creatures. He's a comedian, a showman, an educator and a marine biologist, all rolled into one. For Chopper, Stingray City is not only his office, but his stage — with a new performance every day. And right now he's placing a piece of squid or two on the heads of willing divers. When the stingray sucks in the morsel, for a moment it looks like the diver is wearing a stingray bonnet on his way to Easter service.

"You can always feel the vibe on the way back to the dock — I love it when you have a boatload of strangers who share this incredible experience and then," Chopper looks around, "everyone's family."

The divers cheer. It's a happy family, at that.

| |Photo by Ty Sawyer|

Roosters and Bikes

If you'd looked for Sophie and Chopper just two hours earlier, you would have found them jumping on their bicycles for a good old-fashioned unhurried pedal to work. They probably passed other divemasters doing the same. Whatever the day brings, most divemasters rise with the crow of the roosters — quite literally: The island is peppered with feral chickens that strut for treats and crow at the slightest hint of sunrise.

For these dive professionals, it is quite a change of pace from the bustle of traffic and the typical morning rush of "real life" back home — wherever their home once was. For Sophie, it was Newcastle, England. And she doesn't miss the dreary English weather one bit. As happens with many divemasters and instructors, at some point the lure of seeing the world worked its way into her mind, past the turn in the road where most of us opt for a traditional job and twice-a-year dive trips.

Once at her job, Sophie spends her mornings with her hot tea as she prepares her bunker of video gear known as Bone-Dry Photo. The printer whirs and skips, spitting out double prints of divers and snorkelers face-to-face with giant, hooded-eyed stingrays. Sophie checks her dive watch, grins and snaps her housing closed. It's obvious: In her head, she's already back in the water.

Sophie "Spielberg"

Guides, local authorities, fish-finding geniuses, a traveling diver's new best friend — for the brief time a visiting diver is there, the Grand Cayman divemasters are all of these things. Right after lunch, we're following Sophie to the Oro Verde, a scuttled drug runner that has completed the metamorphosis from purveyor of reefer madness to just plain old reef. Several hurricanes have moved the 184-foot ship south since her sinking, but the hull is still partly intact and provides a plate-coral-encrusted habitat for countless squirrelfish and gray angelfish.

In 40 feet of water, a battalion of French grunts hangs, vigilant, between pieces of wreckage, their little faces seemingly stern, like Foreign Legionnaires on duty in a far outpost. At home in this netherworld, Sophie shadows the explorations of three separate groups of divers, piecing a story together in her mind as she goes. She nails a shot of a feisty damselfish, a sea turtle passing through a diver's bubbles, divers prowling through the wreck, the sunlight dancing through the surface — the Cayman experience. With the twist of a wrist, she tilts her video camera up and is off again to make it topside before the others surface.

One thing about videographers: With one kick of their fins, they seem to zip past even the quickest of divers. It's an acquired skill. Sophie was the first one in the water on this dive, and now she has to be the first out to properly capture every aspect of the dive — but you can tell she would much rather stay down as long as her computer would allow. She'll have a full-blown movie of the dives before the end of the day, complete with soundtrack and credits.

| |Photo by Ty Sawyer|

Into the Sunset

Their day of stingrays and shipwrecks complete, Chopper and Sophie take the van back to Don Foster's and jump on their bikes to ride to their favorite haunt, Sunset House, and the equally legendary My Bar. It's the perfect place to wind down, watch the sun's fiery display as it slips off into infinity and applaud the day. The place buzzes. It's like arriving at a family reunion, with everyone swapping tales with the divemasters from other PADI shops, guests and friends as they watch the sun go down and sip on one of the many wicked rum concoctions that the Caribbean is famous for.

As for me, I'm tag-teaming. As Sophie and Chopper unreel their stories, share insider information on topside attractions and steer guests to the best places to eat, I meet up with Meghan Dingham from Sunset Divers, a PADI Gold Palm Instructor Development Center about 60 feet from the shore entry point for Sunset Reef.

Meghan is a bubbly 19-year-old divemaster who is all smiles. We sit at the bar, and I instantly catch her excitement for diving. We agree to meet up in the morning, and then I head back to my room, anxious to live like the divemasters and to wake with the roosters.

| |Photo by Ty Sawyer|

Diver Haven

A lazy tropical sun pushes its way up through the mangroves. Coffee in hand, I explore the pastel hues of Sunset House, a beacon for any cold-weary diver. Just minutes from the airport, there's a steady stream of well-traveled apostles who have been making their pilgrimages here for decades. Framed magnificently by ironshore and palm trees, the recently refurbished diver-friendly accommodations are punctuated by a top-notch dive staff.

I round the corner to find Meghan descending a small flight of stairs past the conch shells that line her balcony. It's only 6:15, but her dive gear is neatly prepped and awaiting the morning activities. Even a non-morning person can't be immune to her cheerfulness. Two years ago, Meghan was lifeguarding in Alberta, Canada, and hadn't even tried scuba. But when she talks about her open-water experience, she's like an uncorked bottle of champagne. "It was so cold, but it was incredible. I knew I'd want this. Who wouldn't want this? It's the best decision I've ever made."

Moments later, Meghan's fearless students arrive for their pool refresher — and say good morning to their daughter. Meghan's mom, dad and sister have made the trek from sub-zero temperatures to spend a week in paradise becoming part of the tribe, the extended family of divers. Within an hour, we switch out tanks and climb down a ladder into the Caribbean. Forty feet down, this PADI pro and her family are eye-to-eye with the Sunset House mermaid.

| |Photo by Ty Sawyer|

Off the Beaten Path

Whack! The heavy crack of tile on tile slices through the greenish glow of fluorescent lights. A domino is emphatically laid to rest on the table. My host, Kaz Vickery, watches the local slide his hand away to reveal the game-winning tile — double five. I've been invited to join a typical evening on the east end of Grand Cayman at Pirate's Cove — and, surrounded by 10 other tables filled with East End Caribes, I'm starting to sense that there is much more to divemastering here than filling tanks and driving boats.

Kaz has been working on the island for just over a year. His tousled hair and amber eyes light up on two occasions: first, when he talks about the water, and second, when he's cracking jokes with his mates. He seems equally at home doing both. Justin, the young videographer, and Steve Broadbelt, his boss, are taking shots at Kaz while he braves a match with a born-and-raised Cayman Islander who seems to have a bit of ESP. "How can you know that?" he sighs when the local tells him to put down the five-three in his hand.

Confidently, Meghan signals mom to slow down her breathing a bit after completing her mask removal. Her professional presence is not lost on her family. Dad and sister demonstrate the skill, and I sense some relief when the underwater handshakes are complete. Meghan's eyes smile, Now for the good stuff. We start to explore the finger of reef.

As one of the island's most accessible shore dives, Sunset House Reef offers up some of the best diving. A scrawled cowfish motors slowly over the reef, and a curious French angelfish follows dad for the rest of the dive. We kick past a sandy patch of garden eels to a spot where a fluorescent school of blue tangs moves in fighter-jet formation. There's always something new here, for those with new eyes.

Once dry, the Dingham family gathers around a wooden table and Meghan ceremoniously hands out temporary cards. With a handshake and a signature in their logbooks, everyone seems proud, even Meghan. "That was harder than I thought! There is some serious pressure when you teach your family," she confides. "I was harder on them than anyone." Dad smiles and nods, "She takes fun very seriously."

Morning dives complete, we jump on the Manta, Sunset Divers' big boat. We moor up at Trinity Caves off Seven Mile Beach, a hands-down favorite on this side of the island among divemasters. A series of swim-throughs and cuts in the reef, Trinity Caves shows off its secrets best if you take it slow.

We curl around a coral overhang at about 90 feet. Our lights reveal vivid orange sponges, purple and yellow encrusting sponges and deep-red gorgonians. A school of jacks idles on the wall side of the passage. On my second round, the unhurried sweep of my light exposes a lobster I'd missed on the first round, plus several nudibranchs, shy longspine squirrelfish and even a small spotted moray. As my time runs out at this depth, I ease up along the narrow cuts in the reef, winding through them like an undersea maze.

Like the divers after Stingray City, I feel a cheer ripple through me as I settle in at 15 feet for my safety stop. Looking down, I can see tiny bubbles swarming over the coral as our exhalations work their way through the overhangs — a perfect denouement to Grand Cayman's West Side.

Topside, I pack up, vow to meet Meghan at the end of the week and head off to the island's East End. I've been told it's a completely different scene from the West End. Little do I know that it comes with its own soundtrack.

Steve grins devilishly. "Looks like you're going to need a bit more practice. You're not doing so well."

Pirate's Cove is not the sort of place you'd bring a date, but it is the sort of place you can start to scratch the surface of what it's like to call Grand Cayman home. As things wind down and cars pull out of the sand parking lot, I'm looking forward to spending time with Kaz and a few other dive pros who have chosen to spin the compass rose and set up shop in Grand Cayman's out-of-the-way East End.

| |Photo by Ty Sawyer|

The Wild Side

I awake to the gentle clang of tanks being loaded onto a dock cart and step onto the balcony for a front-row seat to a sorbet sunrise at Compass Point Dive Resort. By the time I make it down to the dock, Kaz has counted out weights and is loading gear onto the Nauti-Cat for the morning dive. If there is a stereotype for a Caribbean dive pro, he fits it. His flip-flops, deep tan and laid-back, professional demeanor seem to help people slow down. His character complements this side of the island — less Wall Street, more bare feet. But casual doesn't imply complacent. The entire PADI Gold Palm IDC Ocean Frontiers staff has a knack for details. A father and teen daughter dive pair hang on each word Kaz shares with them. The teenager, on one of the greatest adventures of her young life, is clearly smitten and well on the way becoming a lifelong diver.

With the engines powered up, we motor out through the shallow reef and stir up three eagle rays that flash us a moment of topside grace. As we head north, away from the wind, the east end of the island looks considerably wild in contrast with the metropolitan bustle of Seven Mile Beach. Kaz wouldn't have it any other way. He chose Ocean Frontiers because of its remote location — and because he likes divers who wander off the beaten path. "I've had guys come over to dive after going to the West End for 15 years. They didn't even know we existed. And they get blown away on dive one. That's why I'm here."

As the twin diesels push north toward the mooring ball at Anchor Point, Kaz briefs his two-person group and oversees dad and daughter as we all giant-stride into the infinite blue. We follow the reef down to a series of steep overhangs where the North East Wall shows off its rugged best: Volkswagen-sized star corals, yellow tube sponges arching up to the surface and thick crevasses slicing deep into a sheer cliff face.

Just above the reef, Kaz gives us the OK sign as he follows his two open-water students through a compass run. He finds a comfortable distance from the pair, allowing them to steer, but within arm's reach if someone should go astray. With a turn of the bezel they're off in a different direction — nothing but bubbles and fins. A curtain of horse-eye jacks spills out of a swim-through to reveal a grouper, mouth stretched wide to accommodate several tiny cleaner wrasse. I wander along the wall past forests of black coral trees. The wall here drops off like the side of a skyscraper, and every inch of the reef looks pristine. Like the first-time East End divers Kaz spoke about, I didn't know much about this side of the island. And like those before me, I'm blown away on dive one.

Back on the boat I hear his students rattling off all of the critters they encountered. Kaz grins and praises their skills as the daughter pulls out her digital camera. "I need a picture." The three bunch up and smile for the kind of picture that is pulled out for holiday bragging sessions.

Back at the dock, Kaz watches as they walk down the dock, chattering away. "I love teaching students because they feel it. Sometimes more seasoned divers find it harder to get the buzz — but I love the guys who come down here, have a good time and can acknowledge that they're having a good time. Students, though, always feel it."

| |Photo by Ty Sawyer|

Never Goodbye

Leaving behind Kaz's wild-side charms, I head west, through Bodden Town, where brightly dressed women fan themselves on their porches. We pass the famous Lighthouse restaurant, toward the modern conveniences of George Town. Mangroves fly past the window and I notice an old man pushing his bicycle up an unpaved driveway. A hand-painted sign tucked between palm fronds offers, "Get your Jerk Chicken, Here."

In typical Cayman fashion, I return to the West End to My Bar to say farewell to my newfound friends from the east and the west. I've seen first-hand their enviable lives. Although they come from all over the world, the pull of Cayman unites them. Inevitably, many divemasters leave the island to return home. But they all say the same thing: "Something about that place brings you back, one way or another." Like the stingrays each morning, they always return. Whether it is the crow of the rooster, the white-sand beaches, the lovable rays or the instant friends who seem to become old pals, I can see why.

| |Photo by Ty Sawyer|

Deco Stops Grand Cayman

Don't forget breakfast. Feast on the English breakfast at Fidel Murphy's or stop by on Friday night for a pint and their free buffet with all the fixins. Do as the locals do and jump on a bike: Cayman Cycle Rentals offers bikes and scooters to help you glide through the streets with ease. Get to know the local craftsmen at the open-air market on South Church Street and then head south to Smith's Cove, your very own blue lagoon. Snorkel or catch up on your newest Clive Cussler novel. Practice your ollies at Black Pearl Skate Park, or if you're feelin' a bit of stoke, jump in and try a surf session at the wave park. For some serious air, Cayman Island Helicopters will give you an aerial view as they take you over the the North Sound and the multimillion-dollar hotels on Seven Mile Beach. Back on terra firma, grab a plate of conch fritters or a fresh mahimahi wrap at Paradise Grill. Wash it down with a Deep Sea Diver, a new take on the old piña colada favorite. Ready to rough it a bit? Head toward the East End and stop by Chester's for some jerk chicken and fried bread. Once you get there, caving and mountain-biking tours top the list of ways to get dirty at EcoVentures. Get up close and personal with Cayman's endangered blue iguana at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, a beautifully manicured 65-acre nature preserve. Want to help? Sponsor your own iguana to ensure the captive breeding program stays (ahem) fruitful. And if you want to end the day right, stop by Cafe Med for some dinner and salsa dancing. On Thursdays, they'll even teach you how.

Like the stingrays, Chopper is a staple on the island — and don't let his tattoos and name fool you. Chopper may be the resident Cayman divemaster, but he gets his name because he is also the resident divemasters' hairdresser. When the fringe gets too long, dive-op staffers will arrive at his home on the water for a haircut as they watch the sun go down. In typical fashion, payment is usually low and occasionally includes beer, dinner or gear instead of the regular CI dollar. His textured, sunburned skin shows off his blue eyes, and he can't hide his passion. Any diver who has visited Grand Cayman in the last five years has crossed his path or shared a Stella Artois with him at the local beach bar. He is passionate about his job and the island — which explains why he is still there.

FROM THE EXPATS:

**MUST DO
**Sunday Driver After a week of exploring the reefs, pack a picnic at Fort Street Market, punch up a local radio station and follow Queens Highway east around the island to Rum Point. Local divemasters come here for some much-deserved R&R. On Sunday, you might have the entire road to yourself.

**MUST DIVE
**1. Anchor Point
2. Chub Hole
3. Stingray City
4. Round Rock 5. Oro Verde/The Aquarium

CAYMAN PROS SHARE THEIR STORIES ...

David Doubilet, the world's foremost Underwater Photographer, talks about …...

The Cayman Mystique "The Cayman Islands are one of the few places in the world where customs and immigration officers check you through with the phrase, 'Have a nice dive.' The Caymans are about international banking, tourism and diving, and they don't mess around. They are the diving experts. The island territory is located in the heart of the Caribbean next to some of the deepest water in the region, the Cayman Trench. The islands are surrounded by brilliant white sands, walls and dropoffs flooded with clear blue water, making the area one of the best oceanic studios in the world. It draws me back again and again like a magnet. The islands offer a diving menu for everyone from the professional to the cruise-ship passenger, and the dives and diving operations never disappoint. The Cayman Islands reliably offer some of the best diving in the Caribbean; after a quarter of a century (is that possible?) I am still surprised and inspired with each dive." Check out Doubilet's images at www.daviddoubilet.com.

Special thanks to the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism (www.divecayman.ky), Aquasition (www.aquazure.net), Boatswain's Beach (www.boatswainsbeach.ky), Bone-Dry Photo (www.bonedryphoto.com), Budget Car Rental (www.budget.com), Cayman Airways (www.caymanairways.com), Don Foster's (www.donfosters.com), Ocean Frontiers (www.oceanfrontiers.com), Sunset House (www.sunsethouse.com) and all of our friends in Grand Cayman, Boatswain's Beach 345-949-3894 www.boatswainsbeach.ky, Cayman Airways 800-G-CAYMAN www.caymanairways.com, Cayman Islands Department of Tourism www.divecayman.ky

DIVE CENTERS

Cayman Diving School www.caymandivingschool.com

Don Foster's Dive Cayman 800-833-DIVER www.donfosters.com

Divetech Ltd.888-946-5656 www.divetech.com

Eden Rock Diving Center 345-949-7243 www.edenrockdive.com

Ocean Frontiers 888-232-0541 www.oceanfrontiers.com

Red Sail Sports 877-RED-SAIL www.redsailcayman.com

Tortuga Divers Ltd. www.tortugadivers.com

DIVE RESORTS/HOTELS Cobalt Coast Resort 888-946-5656 www.cobaltcoast.com

Compass Point 800-348-6096 www.compasspoint.ky

Sunset House/Sunset Divers 877-854-3232 www.sunsethouse.com