Scuba Diving Grand Cayman - 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 less than two years ago and the shipwreck site is maturing well. The ship has five decks, is a little over76 meters in length amd 12 meters in beam and about 50 feet high. The vessel was built for submarine rescue and was launched on July 10, 1945 and which was sunk in Grand Cayman on January 5, 2011.

The following is an overview of the dive, some history about the ship and other data concerning the vessel and an guide of what you will see on the wreck. Review the entire photo gallery on the website and see the blog article for the USS Kittiwake for supplementary data on the shipwreck along with a history about the ship.

The Dive:

The boat was sunk January 5, 2011 off the north end of Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman. There are 5 decks on the 47 foot tall USS Kittiwake. To meet caymanian law regarding reefed ships, a portion of the upper mast was removed. The upper decks accommodate the 2 bridges along with the navigation and radio rooms. The sonar was also 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 also see a large a-frame structure on the stern that supported submarines and hard hat divers, as well as the diving bell that was used to bring back divers to the ship and to then move to the recompression chambers The crews quarters, the engine room and medical facilities are located below the main deck along with ,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, every space on the vessel was utilized when the boat was in service. Make sure to plan your dive adequately. One approach would be to begin at the stern before entry into the vessel to take photos around the"USS Kittiwake" logo on the the backof the ship and also 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 enter via the main funnel which is located on the Top Deck. If you do not intend on entering the wreck you can begin your exploration on the deck just above the Screw.. The funnel entry can be a great location for underwater photography. try silhouetting your dive partner in the shaft diving down into the wreck. You can exit into the ship on several of the decks including the first platform or in the hold. Note the hold deck does not have any exterior exit points and is not recommended for divers that do not have an advanced certification and prior wreck experience. When you exit to the first platform you can see the Engineering logo in the Motor Room section. This section can be accessed easily and can be the subject of  a very good underwater photo near the "Engineering Mural". The sediment may be heavy in this location so you should move slowly to prevent clouding up the water. For advanced wreck divers you can also look at shaft alley as well as the front hold sections of the shipwreck. For others you may explore the assorted compartments on the first platform and then start making your way up deck by deck until finally coming to the Bridge (Pilot House) where you can do your safety stop.

Check out photos of other shipwrecks on http://www.stevenwsmeltzer.com or visit  his blog for reviews of other wrecks.