The recent strong storms in the Caribbean have really impacted dive sites in the region, with some being permanently altered and others only recently reopened for visitors.
Cayman 27 reports that the wreck of the USS Kittiwake has been toppled onto its side by tropical storm Nate. Not only has the ship fallen onto its port side, but the storm has also pushed the ship onto a nearby reef, with the reef sustaining multiple impacts from the wreck during the storm. The wreck now lies 6m/20ft deeper than before the storm.
Although we reported that Florida’s Key Largo was relatively unscathed by hurricane Irma, other destinations were more affected by the spate of storms that battered the region, resulting in a hit to diving tourism in general.
Efforts to return to normality continue across Florida and Caribbean, with the iconic Key West southern point marker which marks the most southerly point in the US is getting a facelift with a new paint job, while events like Key West’s Fantasy Fest, Marathon’s Stone Crab Eating Contest and Key Largo’s Humphrey Bogart Film Festival are scheduled to go ahead as planned, as local communities try to get back to a normal.
Check out a video of the sinking of the Kittiwake below.