Dive Review of Ollen Miller in
Cayman Islands/Northwest, by the Turtle Farm

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Ollen Miller: "Shore diving at Ollen's site", Aug, 2016, by Ernie Feleppa Casuarina Aquat, NY, US ( Reviewer 5 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 9233.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	My wife and I have been diving in Grand Cayman at least on one dive trip per year since the early 1980s, and have seen many changes in the 35 intervening years. We dive with Peter Milburn for virtually all those years, but also, when I bring my dive group of 20 to 30 divers to Grand Cayman, we now add Don Foster's Dive as a second dive operator. (Peter's current boat holds no more than 8 divers.) Along the way, we met and got to know and respect a member of Peter's crew named Ollen Miller. When Ollen started up his own business in a unique facility located under the Cracked Conch restaurant and next to the Turtle Farm in West Bay, we adopted it as our premier shore dive site on the Island. Interestingly, before any shore-dive facility existed there, I had dived the Turtle Farm area many times from an adjacent sluice way and abandoned boat ramp. But Ollen has taken over an existing facility and significantly upgraded it. When my wife and I visited Grand Cayman at the end of August, we dove Ollen's site every day and only dove there. The site consists of a sluice way with a ladder for entry and a sequence of shallow underwater ravines in the hard pan that lead to an indent in the mini wall that crests at about 20 feet and drops sheer to 50 feet or so. Descending to the sand gives a choice of turning left or right -- depending on the current direction -- to examine the sponge and little creatures growing under the overhangs while keeping an eye peeled for bigger stuff. Every dive shows something new, in addition to the now, permanent-resident school of 40 or more tarpon to the south and bold angel fish to the north. This time, the new sight was a HUGE Goliath grouper cruising the crest of the mini wall above the tarpon. At other times, it has been schools of monster rainbow parrot fish pounding the hard pan, or a hard pan littered with small lettuce sea slugs. A current tends to be present, and Ollen closes the site when it becomes excessive -- we had to skip diving one day because of it. But it usually is manageable, even though I have heard of it reversing direction during a dive, which led to a swim into the current going out AND back. A very nice, shaded area is set up for gearing up and then rinsing gear and drip-drying it after diving. Divers can rinse salt off in an outdoor shower. A small shop can provide missing or replace broken items. And food is available at the adjacent Macabuca bar and restaurant -- like to re-energize between dives. Unless a surge is present, entries and exits are a snap using Ollen's strong and stable ladder. Admittedly, some things have changed under water over the decades, but the site is still magnificent and fascinating.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman, Providenciales, Curacao, Finger Lakes, Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, various quarries
Closest Airport	Owen Roberts	Getting There	Cayman Air, American, Jet Blue, etc.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	83-85°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Dive with a buddy
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Dedicated rinse tank. Small items in the shop.

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Dive Review of Ollen Miller in Cayman Islands/Northwest, by the Turtle Farm

Ollen Miller: "Shore diving at Ollen's site", Aug, 2016,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Ollen Miller in
Cayman Islands/Northwest, by the Turtle Farm