The Kittiwake

The Kittiwake is Grand Cayman's most famous wreck dive — a former US Navy submarine rescue vessel of 251 feet in length that was deliberately scuttled off Seven Mile Beach in January 2011, becoming instantly one of the Caribbean's most significant artificial reef dive sites. The planning, preparation, and execution of the Kittiwake's sinking involved years of work by the Cayman dive community, and the result is a wreck that was designed from the outset to be a world-class dive site — hatches opened for diver access, surfaces cleaned for marine colonisation, and the vessel positioned and oriented to create the best possible diving experience. The Kittiwake rests upright on the sandy seafloor with her main deck at approximately 15 metres and her communications mast rising to near the surface — a depth profile that makes the wreck accessible to beginner divers on the upper sections while providing intermediate depth for those exploring the lower hull and the areas around the propellers. The vessel's upright, intact condition makes her profile immediately recognisable from any angle: the bridge, the flight deck, and the distinctive silhouette of a purpose-built naval rescue vessel preserved in the clarity of Grand Cayman's water. In the years since her sinking, the Kittiwake has been colonising rapidly. The prepared surfaces have been colonised by encrusting sponges that have reached impressive coverage, and the fish community has established with the density typical of a well-sited Caribbean artificial reef. Schools of Atlantic spadefish hover above the deck in formations of impressive size. Grouper have occupied the interior compartments that were opened for diver access. And the cleaning stations that operate on the bridge structure attract a constant procession of client fish. For beginner divers on Grand Cayman, the Kittiwake is the wreck dive — the vessel whose size, accessibility, and accumulated biological life make it the definitive Cayman wreck experience and one of the Caribbean's most compelling arguments for the deliberate creation of artificial reef habitats.