East Chute - Cayman Brac
Prony Bay is full of surprises, but Jardin de Marc holds a special place in our logbooks. It’s a drift dive, which we always appreciate for the effortless sightseeing, starting shallow and letting the current guide you along a gentle slope. The reef here, a broad channel really, just keeps giving, falling from 6 metres to a stated maximum of 24. We’ve found the average visibility of 25 metres to be pretty consistent, offering long views of the action. The site is named for Marc, a diver who loved this spot, and his memorial, a ray-shaped stele, is a poignant sight. But the real draw is the marine life. We often find ourselves gliding past huge schools of blue and gold fusiliers, so thick they almost dim the light. Keep an eye out for patrolling blacktip reef sharks – they’re a regular sight. We’ve also spotted reef manta rays cruising through the blue, and the healthy table corals are home to plenty of common coral trout and cheeky bandcheek wrasse. It’s a site that really rewards a relaxed pace, just letting the water carry you and taking it all in. If you enjoy a good drift and plenty of pelagic action with healthy corals as a backdrop, Jardin de Marc is our top pick in Prony Bay.
- Location
- Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands, Caribbean
- Coordinates
- 19.693100, -79.890600
- Type
- drift
Marine Protected Area: Scotts Anchorage - White Bay (Cayman Brac)
Best Time to Dive in Cayman Brac
The warmest water temperatures in Cayman Brac occur in September, averaging 30.5°C. The coolest conditions are in February at 27.1°C.
Monthly Water Temperatures
- January: 27.4°C
- February: 27.1°C
- March: 27.2°C
- April: 27.9°C
- May: 28.8°C
- June: 29.3°C
- July: 30.0°C
- August: 30.4°C
- September: 30.5°C
- October: 30.1°C
- November: 29.0°C
- December: 28.0°C
Nearby Dive Sites in Cayman Brac
- Bloody Bay Wall (reef)
- Bloody Bay Wall (wall)
- Buccaneer Reef (reef)
- Buccaneer Reef (reef)
- Capt. K. Tibbets
- Cayman Brac (reef)
- Cemetery Reef (reef)
- Coral Anchors (reef)
- Double Wall (cave)
- Fisheries
- Jackson Wall and Reef - Grand Cayman (reef)
- Kissimmee
- Lighthouse Reef - Cayman Brac (reef)
- LILLY PALMAR (POSSIBLY) - 1m (wreck)
- Little Cayman (reef)
Nearest Dive Centres to East Chute
- Little Cayman Divers - PADI, NAUI, SSI, SDI, IDEA
- Reef Divers - PADI
- Reef Divers II - Cayman Brac
- Scuba Shack
Marine Life in Cayman Brac
Home to 141 recorded species including 111 reef fish, 23 hard corals, 2 whales & dolphins, 2 other, 1 sea snails & nudibranchs, 1 seagrass & algae.
Notable Species
- Mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides) - Hard Corals
- Finger Coral (Porites porites) - Hard Corals
- Blue Doctor (Acanthurus coeruleus) - Reef Fish
- Gutong (Sparisoma aurofrenatum) - Reef Fish
- Massive Starlet Coral (Siderastrea siderea) - Hard Corals
- Dark Green Parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) - Reef Fish
- Great star coral (Montastraea cavernosa) - Hard Corals
- Barber (Acanthurus bahianus) - Reef Fish
- Sammy Johnson (Scarus taeniopterus) - Reef Fish
- Gutong (Scarus iseri) - Reef Fish
- French grunt (Haemulon flavolineatum) - Reef Fish
- Graysby (Cephalopholis cruentata) - Reef Fish
- Blackfish (Melichthys niger) - Reef Fish
- Grooved brain coral (Diploria labyrinthiformis) - Hard Corals
- Sheephead (Microspathodon chrysurus) - Reef Fish
- Butterfly (Chaetodon capistratus) - Reef Fish
- Schoolmaster (Lutjanus apodus) - Reef Fish
- Yellowtail Parrotfish (Sparisoma rubripinne) - Reef Fish
- Doctorfish (Acanthurus chirurgus) - Reef Fish
- Blue Parrotfish (Sparisoma chrysopterum) - Reef Fish
Recommended Packing List for East Chute
Based on average water temperature of 28.8°C, currents 6 cm/s.
- Shorty or Rashguard - warm 29°C water needs minimal exposure protection
- Mask - essential for every dive
- Fins
- BCD - buoyancy compensator
- Regulator - your most safety-critical piece of gear
- Dive Computer - tracks depth, time, and NDL
- Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) - essential for boat pickups
- Dive Torch - useful for crevices and colour at depth
- Underwater Camera - capture your diving memories