Celebrating 30 Years
From a single dive boat to the Caribbean's most-awarded operation: Three decades of pioneering diving, conservation leadership, and the Green Shorts philosophy.
Thirty years ago, a dive boat named Nauti-Cat slipped into the waters off of Grand Cayman's remote East End, where Steve Broadbelt, Mo Fitzgerald, and Troy Burke opened Ocean Frontiers, a little dive operation that would grow into something much larger.
On Valentine's Day 2026, Ocean Frontiers and Compass Point Dive Resort will celebrate its 30th birthday. What started as three people, a hand-built dock, and a hand-built dive boat has grown into the Caribbean's most-awarded dive operation—but what hasn't changed in those 30 years then is the philosophy they started with: the best dive boats, the best staff and the best dive sites, making scuba diving and snorkelling safe, easy, and fun, for the experience of a lifetime in the Cayman Islands.
The impact they have made by following this philosophy is embodied in Ocean Frontiers' history during the three decades it has served the East End and the Cayman Islands.
I started diving with Ocean Frontiers in 1998 and we've had a lot of great adventures down the years. What has kept me coming back is their dedication to being outstanding. They made their name with a superior dive experience, but they've never settled, improving the customer experience every single time I've visited. I've lost count of how many it has been, but I've run 33 underwater photography workshops weeks at East End, and I look forward to many more.
MASS Diving has been running group trips wth Ocean Frontiers since 1996. In May 2026 we will celebrate 30 weeks and 30 years with Ocean Frontiers. Why does MASS Diving keep going back? Professional limousine style service, great friendly hard working staff, beautiful condos, amazing dive boats, great dive sites and more. As a MASS Diving group leader, Ocean Frontiers makes my job of taking care of my customers easy! This is one trip I promote that my customrs keep coming back for!
I've been in the scuba diving industry since the late 80s, and I still remember when Steve and Mo first began shaping their vision for what would become Ocean Frontiers and Compass Point. From the very beginning, Steve and Mo believed in the East End of Grand Cayman when few others did. What they have built over the past 30 years is nothing short of extraordinary — a world-class PADI dive operation that wins multiple Scuba Diving Readers' Choice Awards by our readers every year. Ocean Frontiers' dedicated dive resort delivers adventure, professionalism, and genuine Caymanian hospitality at the highest level. Through passion and leadership, they've introduced thousands of divers from around the world to the wild, unspoiled reefs of Grand Cayman's East End, creating unforgettable experiences and lifelong memories. Congratulations to Steve, Mo and their team on 30 remarkable years and on the incredible joy they continues to bring to the global diving community.
30 Years of Diving Adventures
Open For Business
Co-founders Steve Broadbelt and Mo Fitzgerald hand-built and delivered the Nauti-Cat to the Cayman Islands, launching Ocean Frontiers on Grand Cayman's then-unexplored East End.
Laying Roots
Acquires oceanfront property and builds a new dock.
Milestone: Begins offering Nitrox.
Building the Foundation
Construction begins on the dedicated Dive Shop, Pool & Workshop.
Shark Programme
Cayman's 1st and Only Shark Diving Programme established with Guy Harvey Research Institute.
Coral Spawning
First observed & documented by Dr. Alex Mustard and Steve Broadbelt.
Compass Point
Construction begins on the land-based liveaboard experience.
Expansion of Compass Point
Expansion of Compass Point Dive Resort, Phase 2 Poolside Accommodations.
Launch Greenshorts Challenge
Grab your punch card and face the challenge of diving all 55 dive sites of the East End.
Lionfish Initiative
Invasive Red Lionfish culling initiative begins. Over 12,000 culled in first 5 years.
Eagle Ray's Opens
Transforming Compass Point into a dive, dine, & unwind experience.
Installation of Coral Nursery
Ocean Frontiers announces the installation of Grand Cayman's largest Coral Nursery in East End.
Signature Trips
Ocean Frontiers pioneers a series of signature trips including the X-Dive, Dawn Stingrays, Glow UV Night Dives, 3 Tank Safari including Kittiwake Wreck, Reef Roamer and Macro Mania
Fleet Transformation
Huge Investment in 3 custom-built 46 foot "Dive Limo" Newton vessels: Gun Bay Diver, Sparrowhawk Diver & Half Moon Diver.
Little Cayman Trips
First to offer Grand Cayman-based day trips to Bloody Bay Marine Park in Little Cayman.
Best Overall
Voted #1 in all 7 Scuba Diving Magazine Caribbean & Atlantic dive operator categories - first-ever sweep in Scuba Diving Magazine history.
Time Capsule
In celebration of our 30th anniversary, three retired 100-cubic-foot scuba tanks are beginning their 'longest dive' not into the sea, but into time itself. Transformed into capsules representing the Past, Present, and Future, these tanks will safeguard the stories of the Ocean Frontiers family for the next three decades.
We invite you to contribute your own memorabilia and letters through the end of 2026 before they are sealed and buried beneath our East End shop. All contributors will be cataloged and named on this journey to 2056, and every submission enters you into a special prize draw.
Dive Down Memory Lane
