Photos: Cayman Islands Sink 1945 Submarine Rescue Vessel

The latest addition to Cayman's network of artificial reefs is the USS Kittiwake.

Contractors began flooding a decommissioned U.S. Navy ship Wednesday to sink it in the clear waters off the Cayman Islands, where officials hope the vessel will attract tourists and fish.

Plans called for the USS Kittiwake, a 1945-vintage submarine rescue ship, to rest on a sandy bottom off Grand Cayman's Seven Mile Beach. The 47-foot-tall (14-meter) ship will be at a depth of 62 feet (19 meters), so the top deck should be close to the Caribbean Sea's surface, making it easily accessible for snorkelers and divers.

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The ship, which was in commission from 1946 to 1994, was decommissioned on September 30, 1994 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register that same day. The Kittiwake's title was transferred to the government of the Cayman Islands for an undisclosed amount in November of 2008.

Check out the stunning Kittiwake Sinking Pictures by Elly Wray (via Sunset House Cayman)

Here are a few selections:

(click image to enlarge)










Let's dive!

SSI Unveils New Snorkeling Program

From the Examiner:

Fort Collins, CO. August 2009. Scuba Schools International (SSI), a leading scuba diving and water sports education company announces the release of its newly developed Snorkeling Education System

Snorkeling is a great way for people to begin experiencing the amazing underwater world. It is an activity that anyone, young or old, can enjoy. To provide customers with the ultimate snorkeling experience, SSI has created a learning tool that approaches learning to snorkel by applying the 4 critical ingredients to safe and fun snorkeling adventures — proper knowledge, skills, equipment and experience. Snorkelers who learn and apply these ingredients will have what it takes to make the most of any snorkeling experience.

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Snorkeling Fail

Haha!


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Snorkeler Hitches Rides on Great White Sharks

Oh my...


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Hat tip: Greg Amptman

Meet Wolfgang Leander: 50-Year Shark Diver

From This Is London:

The shadowy flippered figure gliding through the water with more than 30 tiger sharks off the coast of South Africa is 67-year-old Wolfgang Leander.

Swimming with sharks is his hobby.

It has led to surprisingly few mishaps, though nonetheless there's something unnerving about the way this steely-eyed pensioner describes a potentially fatal encounter he had with a hungry Caribbean Reef Shark that was drawn to him by the scent of the fish he had just speared.

But mentally? Nothing has changed.

"Wisdom doesn't come automatically with age," he says.

Leander - son of a German-Jewish airman who fled Berlin in 1936 to escape the Nazis and ended up in South America - has been pursuing his perilous hobby since he was 14.

His fascination with the creatures - "Nothing is more aesthetic than their hydro-dynamic shape and grace.

"They remind me of the architecture of the most advanced aeroplanes," he says - began when he was six and read a book about diving and underwater monsters. And that fascination has never abated.

To get as close to sharks as possible, the former banker free-dives, relying on lung-power rather than oxygen tanks to breathe.

"It makes you feel you're not an intruder. And it's more sporting," he says.

To protect him, he has nothing more than a wetsuit, a pair of flippers, a camera and a pole spear that he uses to fend off those that get a little too close.

"I churn the water to get the sharks a little excited," he says,

"enough to make them approach me curiously or even boldly. It's like being on the edge. Some people think I am crazy and they are probably right."

Scuba Diving, Snorkeling Banned off Cape Coast

It's sad, the measures which government officials are forced to take to protect precious marine resources from scuba thieves.

Authorities in South Africa aim to protect marine resources with a new ban on scuba diving and snorkeling along the Cape coast.

Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk told CDNN the ban will take effect on February 1, 2008.

All diving equipment, including scuba and snorkeling gear, will be forbidden within designated areas.

According to the Department of Environmental Affairs, the areas in which diving will be prohibited include: within the Bird Island marine protected area; Quoin Point to Danger Point, from the west bank of the Ratel River to the eastern boundary of Gansbaai harbour's main breakwater wall; from Venus Pool to Olifantsbos on the Cape Peninsula, extending two nautical miles (3.7km) seaward from the high watermark; and around Robben Island, extending one nautical mile from the high- water mark.

The ban on scuba diving and snorkeling will coincide with suspension of all commercial abalone fishing.

While all commercial and recreational divers will be affected, the primary goal of the ban is to thwart organized crime gangs that profit from abalone poaching in South Africa.