Look out below: Exploring the Cayman Islands' newest attraction
As posted on USA TODAY
By Laura Bly
"No Trespassing," reads the warning plastered prominently across the hull of
the USS Kittiwake a 251-foot,
2,200-ton Navy submarine rescue ship built in 1945. So much for obeying
authority: On this sun-drenched morning in late January, I'm one of more than a
dozen scuba divers gleefully winding through the bridge, mess hall, and other
formerly off-limits areas of the Kittiwake, now the Caribbean's newest - and
arguably most accessible - wreck dive.
The Kittiwake, whose missions over five decades of service included
recovering the "black box" from the Challenger space shuttle disaster, is the
first decommissioned Navy ship donated to a foreign country for use as a dive
attraction. It was sunk in early January, 60 feet down and about 800 yards off
the north end of Grand Cayman's fabled Seven Mile Beach, and tourism promoters
hope it will be the first of five in an eventual "Shipwreck City."
As a recreational diver with a basic "open water" certification, my
explorations were limited to the top three of the Kittiwake's five decks. But I
had a blast gliding through the wheelhouse windows to play "Captain Davy Jones"
at the ship's wheel, admiring the juvenile blue tangs already starting to
congregate around the deck hatches, and checking out my bubbles in the mirrors
still affixed to the walls of the sailors' head (bathroom in marine-speak).
Fellow scuba enthusiast David Weishuhn of Toronto, a veteran of more than 40
wreck dives, says the Kittiwake's relatively open spaces make it "a pretty
forgiving wreck - most ships are broken apart, but this was deliberately sunk,
and in absolutely beautiful conditions." And, since portions of the ship rise to
within five feet of the surface, it's easily visible to snorkelers as well,
notes Rod McDowall of Red
Sail Sports, one of the dive operators that lead trips to the Kittiwake.
Both divers and snorkelers must pay an entry fee ($10 and $5 per day,
respectively). Tour prices run about $60 per person for a snorkel excursion or
$100 for a one-tank dive, which includes the marine park fee.
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