Wed 21 May 2014
I recently (finally …) had the opportunity to dive the USS Kittiwake. The USS Kittiwake is a decommissioned US Naval ship that was sold to the Cayman Islands Government and sunk a few hundred feet off Seven Mile Beach to become an artificial reef and wreck dive.
The USS Kittiwake was commissioned in 1946 and decommissioned in 1994. Although this ship was involved in all kinds of operations during its service, the most interesting fact about it for me is that it recovered the “black box”‘ of the Space Shuttle Challenger after the 1986 disaster. Quite a historical boat we have here. It’s also quite a big ship @ 251ft long.
Great day for a dive ; calm ocean
Here is the USS Kittiwake. The first few pictures are from the surface while snorkeling around the boat.
The smoke stack ; remember this for later.
Wheel house
My favorite picture. That is me swimming along side of the boat. You can get a sense of how big it is.
The propeller & rudder.
At the wheel 🙂
From the inside of the smoke stack
I am not sure why it took so long for me to dive this site ; it was great! I loved the fact that you can go inside the ship and explore it. There are many fish and all kinds of stuff to see. Just the history of this ship alone was enough to make me want to see it. I would probably need another dive or so to be able to explore the whole thing. Highly recommended if you are diving in Cayman.
We had the opportunity to dive the Kittiwake last year during our annual visit to Cayman. To clarify, my husband and daughter (15) did the diving, while my other daughter (15) and I snorkeled above. She and I had a completely different perspective but much like the photos you’ve posted! While the other two loved the dive and will do it again, my daughter and I loved seeing the ship from above. And because it sits just 15 ft below the surface at it’s most shallow, it’s great for both divers and snorkelers!
Micho,
Great pictures! Thanks for sharing. Wish I could be there!