The Caribbean is perfect for both experienced divers and beginners, says KIERAN MEEKE

THE SUNKEN ship lies on the sandy seabed, every detail visible in the clear blue Caribbean waters.

A ragged hole in her side is an uninviting way into the dark interior for a novice diver like me.

Taking my courage in both hands, I plunge in. For most of us, the Cayman Islands bring to mind offshore banking but their true treasures are much richer, and deeper, than that. “We have the purest water in the Caribbean, if not the world, great shallow- water dives and protected marine parks,” says divemaster Ben Webb.

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Swimming among the reefs here is magical. It’s a paradise of bright fish and weird and wonderful coral. You feel like a bird soaring over a tropical forest.

Coughing and spluttering my way through a Padi (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) course organised by Scuba Zone in a pool in London a few days earlier was a very different experience. As I sucked water up my nose, sending me panic-stricken to the surface, I began towonder what the difference was between this and the CIA's infamous waterboarding.

Three days later I was in Grand Cayman, staying at the Compass Point Dive Resort, where I took my first two open-water dives.

Nerves kicked in again at the thought of taking my new mask off on the seabed 30ft down; no bobbing to the surface on this one.

The Caymans are three tropical islands just west of Cuba in the Caribbean Sea. Most of the 56,000 inhabitants live on Grand Cayman, leaving Little Cayman and Cayman Brac as even more unspoiled havens.
Tax-free status makes it the world’s fifth-largest financial centre but there are very few conspicuous displays of wealth.

The pace of life here is slow, with drinks at sunset in a beach bar or a leisurely meal with friends in one of the many excellent restaurants.

The low, pastel-painted wooden houses are surrounded by shady verandas, just like my room at the luxurious Little Cayman Beach Resort where I stayed later in theweek.

The islands are all surrounded by coral reefs close to shore and underwater visibility is excellent, as much as 100ft.

The tourist board claims there is a different dive for each day of the year.

I experienced more than a dozen, ranging from the fantastic coral shapes of Ironshore Gardens, Grand Cayman, where I squeezed through claustrophobic gaps in the coral, to Leslie’s Curl, where I stared into the inky abyss of a 6,000ft drop-off.

I also dived with giant rays in Stingray City, regularly voted the world’s top dive spot. It was hard at first not to think of the late Steve Irwin as barbed tails swished lazily past my chest, but the magic of the moment soon swept me up.

As they swam gracefully around me, unconcerned by my clumsy attempts to stroke them, I started to feel part of their element. Then a bright green moray eel appeared out of nowhere, with ghostly white eyes clouded by cataracts.

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Diving offers the real thrill of being inan environment as alien to us as another planet.

The wonders are not all natural.

In January, a decommissioned US submarine support vessel was sunk for divers to explore.

The USS Kittiwake is 60ft down and perfect for those, like myself, exploring their first wreck.

It was fascinating to twist through corridors and up stairwells, see my masked face in the bathroom mirrors or play with the remains of the steering gear in the wheelhouse.

Back on dry land, there are more natural wonders. The Mastic Trail is a steamy hike on rough ground through tropical forest containing 100 species of trees and 400 native plants.

A guide is essential to bring to life the sights, smells and sounds around you and I was lucky enough to be accompanied by Ann Stafford, an expert on the island’s butterflies. She proudlyshowed me a plant named after her, a shrub found only here.

Equally enthusiastic was warden Alberto Estevanovich of the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme.

He knows each of the lizards by name and they come running when they hear his voice.

The Blue Iguana (inset) is found only on the Grand Canyon but was considered  extinct in the wild by 2005.

This centre breeds them in captivity and has already released 300, with a target of 1,000 animals living free. Doing similar work is Cayman Turtle Farm, which has released more than 30,000 endangered green sea turtles into the sea, no doubt some of the ones I marvelled at during my dives.

You can follow the life cycle of the turtle here, from seeing eggs hatch to feeding 250kg giants.

I held a tiny newborn turtle in my hands, its tiny fins paddling madly in the air until I stroked its chin and it calmed down.

Such experiences are Cayman’s real wealth.

GETTING THERE
Oyster Diving (0800 699 0243/oysterdiving.com) offers seven nights at Little Cayman Beach Resort from £1,790pp (two sharing), full board.

Price includes return flights from Heathrow to Grand Cayman, return flights to Little Cayman, transfers and five days of diving.

Compass Point Dive Resort (dialling from the UK: 001 345 947 0000/compasspoint.ky) offers doubles from £137 per night (two sharing), self-catering.

Ocean Frontiers Scuba Diving Adventures (345 947 0000/www.oceanfrontiers.com) offers a two-tank boat dive trip from £76.

Cayman Islands Department of Tourism: 020 7491 7771 caymanislands.co.uk