What's new at Sunset House

Come See Us at the Toronto's Ultimate Travel Show

Thursday, January 12, 2012, 12:31

Discover why you can't miss coming to Sunset House...without leaving Toronto!

As the Canadian winter weather arrives, what better way to escape the winter blues than exploring warm and exotic vacation opportunities, or home-grown escapes? Discover cultures from around the world through our exciting exhibitors, seminars and entertainment from around the world.

Toronto's Ultimate Travel Show has everything you need to inspire you to plan your best vacation ever! Including your next stay to Sunset House and the Cayman Islands!

JANUARY 28 & 29, 2012

METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTRE, SOUTH BUILDING

Hours: Saturday - 10am to 6pm; Sunday - 10am to 5pm



Also, tune in to the Chris Robinson Show on the 21st and catch Keith on the radio live talking about Sunset House and how you can win a 7 Night Stay for two, including diving! For more information go to http://www.totravelshow.com/

Cayman Islands Celebration Of EX-USS Kittiwake Sinking

Thursday, January 05, 2012, 17:41

A year after its perilous tow and triumphant sinking, the ex-USS Kittiwake rings in her first anniversary in the Cayman Islands from January 3-6, 2012. On behalf of the Cayman Islands and the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA), we invite you to join us for daily dives, a cannon salute and other festivities to honor the thriving shipwreck.

Glorify in the January 3-6 celebration, including:

January 4

Join us for an evening at the Governor's House, brought to you in part by the Hon. Premier McKeeva Bush, with hors d'oeuvres and a special presentation dedicated to sponsors and supporters.


January 5

Embark further into the celebration with a 1-tank Anniversary dive with a boat parade and cannon salute from the Jolly Rogers with Dive Tech, Red Sail Sports and Off the Wall Divers, or register with CITA to sail the seas with your own boat in the afternoon. (Site will be closed to the public from 2pm, unless registered with CITA)


Enjoy an evening under the stars at Camana Bay Cresent with hors d'oeuvers, refreshments and a slient auction of a special Kittiwake souvenir and other items. Purchase an ORIS Kittiwake Limited Edition ProDiver watch, and you can receive an original item from the ex-USS Kittiwake as a gift. The night is presented by Island Companies Ltd and ORIS Swiss Watch, make of the limited edition Kittiwake watch for sale.


Many from near and far, will be reaching the celebration via the divers' airline-Cayman Airways-flying from Miami, New York and everywhere in between.

For more information on diving options and accommodations, please contact Kim or Pete via email at pete@sunsethouse.com or reservations@sunsethouse.com

Congratulations to Sunset Divers for Winning the Parade of Lights!

Monday, December 12, 2011, 18:47

Boats of all shapes and sizes decked out for Christmas float into Camana Bay bringing joy, laughter, and a few surprises to young and old.

Cayman 27’s Parade of Lights continues to be a holiday favorite attracting thousands of people for a night of wonderful music, a spectacular boat competition, and an out of this world fireworks finale.



And, once again, Sunset Divers won the Commercial class (3 years in a row now) with their stunning display on Sunset Diver II
Congratulations to all the crew in the Dive Center!

More pictures on the resorts Facebook site at www.facebook.com/SunsetHouseCayman

Oceanview Rooms Renovated (400 block)

Wednesday, December 07, 2011, 11:43

As previously stated we invested over US$250,000 into our Oceanview, Suites and Apartments by doing a complete upgrade and added amenities taking the rooms to a whole new level of service. "We renovated all of these rooms with new bathrooms, including fixtures, travertine tile, vinyl covered concrete ceiling tiles with recessed lights and hair dryers and putting programmable safes, ironing boards and irons, microwaves, larger refrigerators to replace the existing fridges, along with the coffee makers in the spacious rooms" states Ken Thompson, hotel manager for the resort. The rooms also got HD flat screen TV's (34" for Oceanview and Apartments; 42" for Suites), along with business desks with plenty of outlets and new soft goods.

One of the key updates for the Wi-Fi system was the purchase of LTX Series Antennafier™ Outdoor Wi-Fi Amplifiers to boost the Wi-Fi signals throughout our spacious 4.5 acre property.

With these updates and the free Wi-Fi service, these rooms have become a huge hit, especially with our lady divers! “We thought the rooms were clean, spacious and perfect for divers as they were, but this renovation really caught us by surprise on how far the owners and management took the renovation!” stated a long time female Sunset House guest. “Very eloquent”.

“One thing that is really a great value for 2012, is even though we made these huge renovations, we kept the prices the same in these classes of rooms as 2011, remarks Keith Sahm, Director of Marketing for the famed dive resort. “These are the exact rooms that are featured in the 2012 Group Special we offered at the DEMA Show in Orlando a few weeks ago.” We also like to remind folks that while not featured, the smaller Courtyard room class is also on sale for group travel. These rooms were also the beneficiary of the smaller refrigerators from the oceanview rooms.

To get a view of these upgrades, click to the oceanview room page or Click Here!

Sunset House Understands Caymankind

Monday, November 21, 2011, 17:56

In each issue of Scuba Diving Magazine, the magazine publishes a winning letter and awards a prize donated by a gear manufacturer. In the November/December 2011 issue, a letter submitted by Jenna Brimmer was chosen as their “Win This!” prize winner. This was no ordinary letter, but a letter sent by the heart to help a scuba loving husband find some sense of home in the war torn regions of Afghanistan. The prize that SPC Brimmer and Jenna won from the magazine was two DCT dive lights donated by Moray Dive Gear. Moray’s Trevor Theriault had the light custom–made; a pink one for Jenna and a camouflaged one inscribed with SPC Christopher Brimmer.




The story (copied below) moved the staff and management at Sunset House so much by Jenna's innocent and heartwarming request to make her husband's deployment easier, that they could not wait to get involved and are treating this lovely young couple to a wonderful complimentary stay in one of their beautifully renovated oceanview rooms and all the diving the couple can do, even a trip to the ex-USS Kittiwake after Chris's deployment in Afghanistan is over. You see, Grand Cayman is one of Chris's favorite destinations.

Little Piece of Home
My husband, SPC Christopher Brimmer, is on his second deployment in Afghanistan (after a deployment in Iraq) with the 14th engineer battalion. I have his current subscription to Scuba Diving sent directly to him and he reads it all the time, saying it helps him remember the fun times from the past, and that it allows him to have a little piece of home in such a crazy, unfamiliar place so far away. An advanced open-water diver, he loves scuba diving and has gone more times than I can count, including his favorite destinations in Grand Cayman and Baja, Mexico. I’m writing with the hope that you might put this letter in; it would lighten his spirits and put a smile on his face. Thank you and keep up the good work on an awesome magazine. Jenna Brimmer — Brooklyn Center, Minnesota

“This was one of those moments where we looked at each other and all said the same thing, “Let’s thank them as well with a dive vacation!”, the staff at Sunset House said. Come to find out, some of SPC Brimmer’s fondest memories of diving in Grand Cayman were the shore dives right off the Sunset House in 2008.

In a phone conversation with Director of Marketing, Keith Sahm, Jenna related how Chris and she had been sweethearts since 9th grade and after a long engagement, got married two months before Chris went overseas to war. Jenna also related that her father-in-law (a scuba instructor) was teaching her how to dive and could not wait to do her open water check out off the shore of Sunset House alongside her husband in the clear warm waters of Grand Cayman!

With momentum buzzing after the word of Sunset House offering the free stay, the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism is getting on board and so is Cayman Airlines. Once the lovely couple gets on island, there will be even more outpouring of Caymankind!

To see what SPC Brimmer has to think over all of this from Afghanistan, go to Sunset House’s Facebook site http://www.facebook.com/sunsethousecayman for his reaction. You will definitely want to “Like” this page to see how this story continues.

Sunset House encourages others in the industry this Thanksgiving to reach out to a military family and thank them as well. “Whether they be from the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, where ever, a kind gesture is not that hard to do, especially this time of year”, Sahm says. We owe a lot to these men and women!

Storm shifts Kittiwake 60 feet

Tuesday, November 01, 2011, 00:45

Strong waves resulting from Hurricane Rina have shifted the Kittiwake wreck about 60 feet out to sea, divers who dove the site over the weekend have reported.

Divers said the former USS Kittiwake, which was deliberately sunk as a dive attraction off West Bay in January, is now sitting 10 feet deeper in sand and 60 feet closer to the sea wall than before the storm.

The wreck is now much closer to the Sand Chute dive site.

“The thing that struck me was how close it now is to Sand Chute. Before, when you did the Sand Chute dive, you could just make out that there was a wreck on the sand flat. Now, it’s about 30 feet from the wreck. You can see it clearly.”

“The whole wreck is about 10 feet deeper than it was. At the wheelhouse at the helm station, prior to the storm, it was in about 15 feet of water. Now, according to my depth gauge, it’s at 26 feet, about 10 feet deeper than she was.”

Rod McDowall, operations manager of Red Sail Sports, said a team had gone to check the moorings and confirmed the seven moorings were intact, but the wreck had indeed moved, although he was unable to say how far.

“We’ll be checking that in the next day or two,” he said.

He said the wreck was still upright and positioned the same way as it had been before the storm.

“It’s surprising it moved in the way it did,” he said.

The great Kittiwake Camera Mystery

Monday, October 24, 2011, 11:57

Divers are scratching their heads up in Florida after a camera washed up on Crescent Beach, St. John’s County.
Finder of the barnacle-encrusted piece of equipment was Mike Golubovich, who works for St. John’s Country Beach Services in St. Augustine.


Do you recognise this diver? We asked his friend, but she wouldn’t talk. – Photo: Submitted - Story by Joe Shooman, Cayman Compass

“During an inspection on 7 October, 2011, of a Sargassum wrack line that began to form on Crescent Beach, I found the housing,” he told the Caymanian Compass exclusively.

”I took the housing back to our work shop and pried it open with a screwdriver. I was completely astonished when the housing revealed a bone-dry camera. The batteries were not working, but after I changed them, the camera turned on and 153 photos were available for review.

“The camera contains an assortment of images including reef fish, coral, divers, the mermaid statue, and the Kittiwake dive site – a photo of the placard on the wreck,” Mr. Golubovich said.

No date record

As the camera had run out of battery power, the time and date defaulted to zero, therefore there is no date record of when the camera may have been first lost.

“I did notice that there wasn’t a substantial amount of algae growing on the wreck in the photos, possibly suggesting that this dive happened shortly after the sinking of the Kittiwake ... I believe this camera was only used on two dives in the Cayman Islands before it drifted to Florida,” he said.

The ship was sunk on Wednesday, 5 January, to form a special wreck dive as well as serve as an artificial reef for marine life. The project was some eight years in planning and negotiation and drew worldwide interest from media and divers intrigued by the Caribbean’s newest dive attraction.



Calling all divers

As soon as Mr. Golubovich was able to get the photographs off the camera he uploaded them onto the Facebook page of the Kittiwake, where a call was put out by his wife, Angie, to divers who may have lost the camera.

“The housing was covered in barnacles suggesting that it spent some time out at sea,” she wrote. “Did this camera float to Florida from the Caribbean? Do you recognise the diver in the photo?”

Although the distance is more than 1,000 miles, it is not unusual for items to make their way to Florida sands, Mr. Golubovich said.

“We find all kinds of things that wash up on our beaches. We see increases in debris after large storm events and sustained southeasterly to easterly winds,” he said. “We have collections of common household items from many Caribbean Islands.”

The sea, it seems, holds many mysteries – but this is one that people of the Cayman Islands and the wider dive community may well just be able to solve. Sea sleuths, to your computers!

Some of the picture are viewable on the Sunset House Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SunsetHouseCayman

Latest news.... the camera is about a 10 year old point and shoot SeaLife Camera.

Anyone Remember When Little Texas was at Sunset House?

Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 16:53

For those of you who are not Sunset House junkies over the years, back in the 1990's, Sunset House was the back drop for many videos, TV Shows and a lot of up and coming celebs... Travis Tritt, Cindy Crawford and the band Little Texas, to name a few.

Anything look familiar to you in this 1994 Country Video of the Year?

Little Texas's "My Love"!

"My Love" was the title of a song recorded by the American country music band Little Texas. It was co-written by the band's keyboardist Brady Seals (who also sang lead vocals on it) and guitarist Porter Howell along with Tommy Barnes. It was released in January 1994 as the third single from the album, Big Time. The song reached the top of the Billboard country singles charts, becoming the band's only Number One country hit. The song features lead vocals from Brady Seals, then the band's keyboardist.

In the video, you will easily make out the Sunset House sign along the shore, Stingray City, Smith's Cove and more. What some folks don't realize, the water fall feature in the video, is actually the water fall in the Sunset House pool, with a black back drop covering the wall!

Rooms getting MAJOR Renovations

Thursday, August 25, 2011, 13:03

Sunset House is investing a US$250,000 into their Oceanview, Suites and Apartment class rooms in the form of a major renovation. "We are renovating all of these rooms with new fixtures, tiles, ceilings, recessed lights and attached hair dryers in the bathrooms and putting safes, ironing boards and irons, microwave, larger refrigerators to replace the existing fridges, along with the coffee makers" states Ken Thompson, hotel manager for the resort. The rooms will also get a flat screen TV's (34" for oceanview and Apt, 42" for Suites), business desk with outlets and new soft goods.

With these updates and the Free Wi-Fi service, these rooms will be an excellent alternative for the business traveler! Only one mile from the heart of George Town, a great bar and restaurant and a great view of the Caribbean, corporate travellers will find this an easy and affordable solution to their stay in Grand Cayman.

Renovations are to be complete by the end of September, to where a busy October is in store for the famed dive resort!

Irene "No Problem" for Cayman, but Getting Here ....

Tuesday, August 23, 2011, 09:49

Airlines servicing the Cayman Islands are keeping a close watch on the progress of Hurricane Irene.

And Cayman Airways customers who may be affected by the weather have the option of altering travel plans, confirmed the national airline.

“Due to the projected path of Hurricane Irene, Cayman Airways is offering passengers the convenience of changing their travel plans without penalty if they have already purchased tickets to travel between Grand Cayman and Miami or Tampa, Florida between August 22nd to 27th, 2011,” said Olivia Scott-Ramirez, marketing and public relations manager.

“For tickets issued no later than August 21st, 2011, passengers will be allowed one change free of charge. Passengers who made a previous change are allowed this additional change at no charge. Passengers who wish to cancel their ticket but do not have alternate travel dates at this time may be given a voucher for the value of the ticket, good for the next 12 months,” she explained.

“Cayman Airways is continuing to monitor the development and path of this storm and will advise the travelling public if flight schedule changes become necessary over the next few days.”

As of Monday, British Airways flights operating through Nassau to Grand Cayman operated as normally, albeit that the hurricane continues on its course through the Caribbean which could impact future air services.

“We are monitoring the situation very carefully,” said Adrian Barton, district manager for Bahamas, Turks & Caicos and Cayman Islands.

British Airways recommend passengers check arrivals and departures online for the latest information as the situation develops.



Miami cancellations

Models from the US National Hurricane Center predicted the storm would continue to pass through Hispanola on Tuesday, then hit Cuba and the Bahamas on Wednesday and Thursday before reaching Florida on Friday and Saturday, disrupting air traffic in and out of the area.

Continental Airlines services to and from Grand Cayman operate on Saturdays, said Mary Clark of United/Continental Media Relations.

“We don’t anticipate any impact to our flights at this time,” she said, advising customers to confirm their flights prior to travel.

Delta Airlines reported there were no disruptions to Grand Cayman services.

Peter Fitzpatrick of Air Canada said the company was vigilant.

“We are keeping an eye on hurricane Irene in the Caribbean with all destinations operational [Monday]. Obviously, we will have to see how events unfold,” he said.

Westjet representative Robert Palmer said the company had not yet experienced any impact, but confirmed they too were watching the weather closely.

Caribbean flights through Miami that were cancelled on Monday included San Juan, Puerto Rico; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; St. Maarten, Virgin Islands; St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Santiago, Dominican Republic; St. Croix, Virgin Islands and Punta Cuna, Dominican Republic. Caren Thompson-Palacio of the Cayman Islands Airports Authority added that they were ready to spring into action.

“The Cayman Islands Airports Authority is closely monitoring the storm’s projected path and is prepared to activate our hurricane plans should the 
need arise.”
By: Joe Shooman CFP

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