Grand Cayman wreck diving - USS Kittiwake

This is a great shipwreck dive in grand cayman and one of the best in the caribbean The USS Kittiwake has been on the reef for a about 18 months ago and the shipwreck site is aging well. The shipwreck has five decks, is a little over76 meters in length amd 12 meters in beam and approximately 50 feet high. The ship was built for submarine rescue and was launched on July 10, 1945 and which was sunk in Grand Cayman in January 2011.

The following is a description of the dive, some history and information regarding the shipwreck and an synopsis of what you can find on the shipwreck. You can see the complete photo gallery on the website and see the blog entry for the USS Kittiwake for supplementary data on the shipwreck along with a history about the ship.

What you will find on the Dive:

The ship was reefed January 5, 2011 off the west side of the island at the end of Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman. There are five decks on the USS Kittiwake. A portion of the upper part of the ship was removed to meet cayman requirements The are two bridges on the upper decks (both an external and internal bridge to allow operations in heavy seas) along with the navigation and radio rooms. The sonar has been removed. The Captain and XO's quarters are located on the upper decks The main deck contains a number of different rooms or work areas including the recompresson chambers, the rec room and toolshop. You will see an a-frame structure on the stern that rescue divers, as well as the diving bell which was used to retun divers to the ship and to then move to the recompression chambers Below the main deck, 2 decks exist that include the crews quarter, medic/hospital station, engine and propulsion rooms,air bank storage and compressors, as well as ammunition lockers, cold storage, barber shop and other areas. While there are now a number of bigaccess holes both vertically and horizontally, all of the space on the ship was used while in service. Make sure to plan your dive adequately. One approach would be to begin at the stern prior to entry into the ship to take pictures around the"USS Kittiwake" logo on the the backof the ship and in addition get photos by the propeller. For Scuba Divers that plan on penetrating the wreck, after you leave the stern make your way to the top of the ship then go into the funnel which is on on the Bridge Deck. Should you not plan on penetrating the wreck you can start your investigation of the ship on the main deck just above the Screw.. The entry through the funnel can be a great location for underwater photography and I would suggest taking the photo looking up from the bottom of the funnel to the top of the funnel. I would suggest silhouetting one of your dive buddies diving down into the shipwreck. You can then exit the shaft on the first platform or in the cargo hold. The hold does not have any exterior exits and should only be entered by advanced divers. When you exit to the first platform you will be able to see the Engineering emblem in the Motor Room section. This section can be accessed easily and can be the subject of  a incredibly interesting underwater photo close to the "Engineering Mural". The sediment may be heavy in this location so you must move gradually to prevent stirring up the sediment. For advanced wreck divers you can also explore shaft alley as well as the front hold areas of the shipwreck. For others you can view the various compartments on the first platform and then start making your way up one deck at a time and then finally arriving at the Bridge (Pilot House) where you can do your safety stop.

Review photographs of additional shipwrecks on http://www.stevenwsmeltzer.com or visit  his blog for evaluations of specific shipwrecks.