The Kittiwake

The Kittiwake spent forty-nine years in United States Navy service as a submarine rescue ship, including recovering the flight recorder from the Challenger disaster, and in 2011 she was cleaned, stripped of hazards and sunk deliberately off Seven Mile Beach as an artificial reef. She was sunk upright in about twenty metres with the superstructure reaching to five, shallow enough that divers can work the whole vessel and snorkellers can see the top of her. Doorways and hatches were cut to make the interior safe to swim through. Hurricane Nate shifted her onto her side in 2017 and she has settled that way since.

Highlights

• The wreck - a full ship sitting in twenty metres of clear water.
• The cut-open interior - hatches enlarged to make it safe to swim through.
• The superstructure - shallow enough for snorkellers to see from above.
• The growth - coral and sponge colonising the hull since 2011.

When to go

November to May is the calmest and clearest. Trips run from George Town and Seven Mile Beach daily in settled weather. Mornings usually have the best visibility. It is diveable by anyone with open water certification.

What to expect

She lies on her side after Hurricane Nate, which changed the dive considerably from the upright configuration in older descriptions. Penetration is easy by wreck standards but is still overhead environment and should be treated as such. A marine park fee applies on top of the dive. Snorkellers see the superstructure only.

Nearby

Seven Mile Beach is inshore; George Town is south.