Kittiwake Penetration

[tkaelin]

In the end of the day, the force of sea always wins.

So I don't want to seem snarky but as "caretakers", your plan is to rely on chains and anchors which have proven ineffective, that your are resigned to the fact that the ship may very will crush against and destroy parts of the neighboring reef and dive site and there really is nothing you plan to do about it. Hmm.

Is it also true that Sand Chute is now closed as a dive site or that dive ops are otherwise discouraged from using it? I just heard this recently as well.

 

[Doctorfish]

I agree completely with caydiver and tkaelin. Sinking a ship near a beautiful dive site was a bonehead idea. Sinking ships to become artificial reefs is something that most places do because of limited natural environment. The Easterbrooks were happy to take the credit for the Kittiwake when it was thought to be a good idea. They seem to be keeping a low profile on this now.
Sinking or for that matter diving the Kittiwake is like ordering a cheese sandwich at a gourmet restaurant. Cayman has so many natural attractions underwater that purpose sunk wrecks do not make sense. That includes the Russian Frigate on the Brac and the Oro Verde which are now piles of jagged junk. At least they aren't about to bash a prime stretch of wall.

 

[Divetech Cayman]

Hi Tkaelin,

You're not not coming off as snarky. Divetech has the current contract for Kittiwake maintenance, which means we are the company who actually goes out and does the work CITA asks us to do. The real 'caretakers' of the Kittiwake are the CITA. Divetech advises CITA on what we think should be done, as do other operators involved with CITA. They make their decisions on what tasks we are to perform, and we go execute it.

Sand Chute is not closed, however as of a few days ago, the mooring is no longer there. This is not unusual, moorings are torn out by wave action all the time, and are replaced as soon the Cayman DOE can get to them. As I write this (having just driven one of our boats 2 days ago,) several moorings are missing from dive sites all around West Bay and the northwest point. DOE will fix them shortly, including Sand Chute.

Eventually, no matter what steps are taken for the Kittiwake, she will succumb to the sea. One only needs to look at what remains of the Oro Verde, just a mile south of the Kittiwake (or any other aging shipwreck for that matter.)
Eventually the Kittiwake will suffer the same fate, and end up as nothing more than rubble. The sea is a very powerful force.

Tony

 

[tkaelin]

Thanks for the reply Tony.

 

[Divetech Cayman]

It was just brought to my attention by Drew, who is our liaison between us and CITA for the Kittiwake maintenance contact - Sand Chute actually falls under the CITA, as that mooring considered part of the Kittiwake. It is not the responsibility of the DOE.

Tony

 

[Divetech Cayman]

the ship is secured with anchor chains to prevent it moving too much.

It’s worth noting that there are a few of us who have access to the Divetech scubaboard account. Menno wrote this post, which was somewhat accurate, so rather than edit the post I’ll clear it up here. (I’ve asked everyone who uses this account to sign their posts from now on.) The Kittiwake was sunk with anchor chains, but as some of the storms that passed through here made it clear, the chains are not match for mother nature. As of right now the starboard chains remain broken.

In my opinion, the way the Kittiwake now sits, there is a tremendous amount of sand that is piled up on her port side, which is the side facing the reef. It’s unlikely she will move much, if at all toward the reef. If a storm of this magnitude comes through, she will likely break up before she moves anymore.

There has been rumors and talk about trying to move the Kittiwake. In my estimation, this would cause more damage than it prevents, and as Menno pointed out, I don’t think we have the lift capability here in the Caymans to accomplish that. To try and move this would cost a lot of money, and even with all the money laundering we do here in the Cayman Islands, it’s not something CITA could really afford.

The Easterbrooks were happy to take the credit for the Kittiwake when it was thought to be a good idea. They seem to be keeping a low profile on this now.

I would not say the Easterbooks are keeping silent, rather they have retired from the diving industry in 2015, and have little occasion to visit Scubaboard.

Hindsight is always 20/20. Nancy Easterbook was (still is) an avid ocean conservationist. I’m not sure how much input any one person had on the location that the Kittiwake was to be sunk, but I can say with absolute certainty that no one on that committee ever wanted the Kittiwake to damage any of Cayman’s natural beauty. Having the ship move this much I’m sure never entered anyone’s imagination.

Tony

 

[caydiver]

Tony thank you. Who advises CITA on the situation. Don’t think any of them are in the water doing visual inspections on her? Is it DOE? What is the eta on the chain being replaced? There surely must be some money from the fees charged for entry by guests and membership dues.

 

[chibracdiver]

Is it just me or are there others out there that feel the Kittiwake should have been sunk in a deeper location? I mentioned this to a few friends down on Grand at the time and they were of the belief is was sunk there to entice cruise ship snorkelers to the site. Both of my local friends thought it should have been sunk deeper. Just our .02...

 

[caydiver]

Lots of us!

 

[Doctorfish]

IMO, should not have been sunk at all. It's just more trash that has been dumped in the ocean.