Wreck Diving Grand Cayman - Uss Kittiwak

This is the top wreck dive in Grand Cayman and one of the best in the Caribbean. The USS Kittiwake was reefed a about 18 months ago and the shipwreck site is aging very well. The ship has five decks, is 251.6 ft (76.7 m) in length, 42ft (12.8 m) in beam and approximately 50 feet high. The vessel was designated for submarine rescue and was launched on July 10, 1945 and she was reefed in Grand Cayman on January 5, 2011.

This article provides a description of what to expect on the dive a little history about the ship and other data about the shipwreck and an overview of what you will see on the wreck. Plese see the entire photo gallery on the web site and/or see the blog article 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 vessel 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. To meet caymanian requirements for wrecks, a portion of the upper mast was removed. The are two bridges on the upper decks along with the radio and navigation room. The sonar was also removed from the ship. The Captain and executive officer's quarters are located on the upper decks

The main deck contains the mess hall, toolshop, recompression chambers and rec room. 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 then 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, in addition to the steering gear, shaft, gyro, ammunition lockers, cold storage and barber shop to name a few areas. While the USS Kittiwake has been opened up with large access holes both vertically and horizontally, all of the space on the boat was used when she was in service.

Be sure to lay out your dive adequately. One approach would be to begin at the stern before entering into the shipwreck to take photos near the "USS Kittiwake" logo on the the backof the ship and in addition get photographs by the propeller. For Divers that intend on entering the shipwreck, after you leave the stern make your way to the top of the ship and go into the funnel which is located on the Bridge Deck. Should you not intend on entering the shipwreck you can begin your investigation of the ship on the deck just above the Propeller.

The funnel entry makes an excellent underwater photograph 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 exit into the ship on several of the decks including the first platform or in the hold. The hold does not have any exterior exits and should only be entered by advanced divers. On the first platform you will see the Engineering logo in the Motor Room section. This section can be accessed easily and can be a good location for a extremely good underwater photograph close to the "Engineering Mural". The sediment can be substantial at this point so you must move slowly to prevent stirring up the sediment. For experienced divers you may also explore shaft alley as well as the forward hold areas of the ship. For others you may view a variety of compartments on the first platform and after that start going up deck by deck and then finally arriving at the Bridge (Pilot House) where you can do you safety stop as it is at about 5 to 6 meters or 15 to 18 feet.

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