Jackson's Bight, Little Cayman, Ilhas Cayman

Sailfin Reef

Sailfin Reef is a shallow reef-top dive within Jackson's Bight on Little Cayman, sitting on the reef plateau just landward of the wall lip. The site is named for the sailfin blennies (Emblemaria pandionis) that perch on the coral heads, displaying their tall sail-like dorsal fins as territorial signals to rivals. The dive sits in roughly 12 to 21 metres of water on a healthy hard-coral reef of brain coral, boulder coral, sea plumes and sea fans, scattered across white sand patches. Resident wildlife includes the namesake sailfin blennies, hawksbill turtles foraging on sponges, green moray eels in the crevices, southern stingrays cruising the sand, schools of yellowtail snapper, schoolmaster, sergeant majors, blue tangs, queen and French angelfish, midnight parrotfish, Creole wrasse, and Caribbean reef squid. The shallow depth, near-zero current and consistently excellent visibility (commonly above 30 metres in the protected Marine Park) make Sailfin Reef an ideal beginner dive and a perfect second dive after a deeper Bloody Bay Wall morning.