I'll be on Grand Cayman from Dec 4-11 and would love to dive this wreck. Anyone know what dive ops will be diving there the first week? I would think the first few days will be very busy, so I'm hoping to get a reservation in. Sounds like we can't dive it until after Tuesday the 7th, if it actually is sunk on the 5th.
USS Kittiwake-Grand Cayman
- Thread starter willfitz
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The wreck was suppose to leave the USA on November 19, as of this morning the 21st per DiveTech the wreck had not yet left the USA for Cayman. I would contact DiveTech as Susan is involved in the Watersports Association that is organizing the festivities. Almost all the operators will be diving the wreck and the proposed date is December 07, but alot is riding on when the ship leaves the USA and when the ship arrives in Cayman. Even us dive operators and instructors who live and work in Cayman don't know for sure when things will happen. Good luck and see you underwater.
Sunset_House
Registered
The retired submarine rescue vessel USS Kittiwake was supposed to be sunk on Sunday, 5 December off Seven Mile Beach in the vicinity of the West Bay dock. But weather in Norfolk literally has her departure hour by hour right now. The realistic date will hopefully be 9 December, 2010. Stay Tuned!
USS Kittiwake (ASR 13) Wreck - Grand Cayman
USS Kittiwake (ASR 13) Wreck - Grand Cayman
AggieDiver
Contributor
Glad to see it moved to the 9th. I was thinking that sinking a former US Navy ship on the 69th anniversary of Pearl Harbor would not be a good public relations choice...
Just saw this today... :depressed:
http://www.caymannewsservice.com/science-and-nature/2010/11/30/kittiwake-hits-more-troubled-waters
Kittiwake hits more troubled waters
Posted on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 07:32 in Science and Nature
(CNS): The sinking of the former naval ship USS Kittiwake has been delayed again organizers say, as the ship has hit stormy weather off the US coast. The project which will create an artificial reef off Seven Mile Beach has been more than seven years in the making and the sinking was planned for July of this year. Getting the vessel to Cayman caused delays for the summer sinking however, and the event was reset for Sunday, 5 December. But poor weather has foiled the attempt at getting the boat on the seabed once again. The ship left the US from the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia and is being towed along the eastern seaboard of the US from Virginia, to southern Florida.
From Key West, the Kittiwake will be towed along normal shipping lanes around the western side of Cuba to the west side of Grand Cayman over 1400 nautical miles and this journey is expected to take more than a week but no new date has yet been set for the sinking.
The 251-foot, 2,200 ton, five-deck military vessel, which served the United States Maritime Administration (US MARAD) for over 50 years after it was commissioned in 1945, will, if it ever makes it to Cayman, create an artificial reef and a new dive attraction. The vessel was expected to arrive in Grand Cayman yesterday before a number of events were scheduled to happen to mark the occasion.
The project is a joint venture between the Ministry and Department of Tourism and the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA). Premier McKeeva Bush recently said that the sinking represents the single most significant occurrence in a decade for Cayman's dive industry and stakeholders were naturally very excited.
Since the last year, the Ministry and Department of Tourism, CITA and Kittiwake Project Manager, Nancy Easterbrook, have been working hand in hand through many processes to ensure the cleaning and safe movement of the vessel to the Cayman Islands, in preparation for its sinking and I am pleased to see that we are almost at the finish line, the premier said recently. This public-private sector partnership is a good example of the kind of meaningful collaboration that results in necessary and exciting enhancements to our tourism product, such as the Kittiwake will bring.
http://www.caymannewsservice.com/science-and-nature/2010/11/30/kittiwake-hits-more-troubled-waters
Kittiwake hits more troubled waters
Posted on Tue, 11/30/2010 - 07:32 in Science and Nature
(CNS): The sinking of the former naval ship USS Kittiwake has been delayed again organizers say, as the ship has hit stormy weather off the US coast. The project which will create an artificial reef off Seven Mile Beach has been more than seven years in the making and the sinking was planned for July of this year. Getting the vessel to Cayman caused delays for the summer sinking however, and the event was reset for Sunday, 5 December. But poor weather has foiled the attempt at getting the boat on the seabed once again. The ship left the US from the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia and is being towed along the eastern seaboard of the US from Virginia, to southern Florida.
From Key West, the Kittiwake will be towed along normal shipping lanes around the western side of Cuba to the west side of Grand Cayman over 1400 nautical miles and this journey is expected to take more than a week but no new date has yet been set for the sinking.
The 251-foot, 2,200 ton, five-deck military vessel, which served the United States Maritime Administration (US MARAD) for over 50 years after it was commissioned in 1945, will, if it ever makes it to Cayman, create an artificial reef and a new dive attraction. The vessel was expected to arrive in Grand Cayman yesterday before a number of events were scheduled to happen to mark the occasion.
The project is a joint venture between the Ministry and Department of Tourism and the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA). Premier McKeeva Bush recently said that the sinking represents the single most significant occurrence in a decade for Cayman's dive industry and stakeholders were naturally very excited.
Since the last year, the Ministry and Department of Tourism, CITA and Kittiwake Project Manager, Nancy Easterbrook, have been working hand in hand through many processes to ensure the cleaning and safe movement of the vessel to the Cayman Islands, in preparation for its sinking and I am pleased to see that we are almost at the finish line, the premier said recently. This public-private sector partnership is a good example of the kind of meaningful collaboration that results in necessary and exciting enhancements to our tourism product, such as the Kittiwake will bring.
nipi
Contributor
I wonder if the delay might be caused by the increase in the price of fuel since the towing agreement was first reached & the Govt not being keen on paying the current price?
The best place to get updated info on the Kittiwake is at The Official Website for the Kittiwake Shipwreck - Cayman Islands - The Latest News & Updates. The Cayman Islands Tourism Association updates this site and they are in charge of getting the ship to Cayman. There is also a Facebook page. There last update stated that the tug that was bringing the Kittiwake down broke, as of Sundays post the tug was fixed and was going to begin the tow again. Yet the seas are unpredictable due to cold fronts off of the US and changing winds. Several of the small boat operators here in Cayman have requested that the CITA stop posting sinking, diving dates and wait until the wreck actually makes it here. It makes it very frustrating for our customers when they keep booking or trying to book trips based on pseudo dates. Stay updated by checking the Kittiwake website often.
nipi
Contributor
I hear that the 22 Dec is being touted as a more likely sinking date now.
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