More info about the wreck from:
Shipwrecks of the Cayman Islands
By Wood Lawson
http://tinyurl.com/kirkpride
(there are some photos you might be able to do projections from)
and SHIPWRECK DIVING Guide By Capt Dan Berg
http://www.shipwreckexpo.com/tscarib...kdirectory.htm
"KIRK PRIDE
A visit to the wreck of the Kirk Pride is definitely the highlight of any wreck diver's trip to Grand Cayman. The Kirk Pride was a 170foot cargo vessel weighing 498 gross tons. In 1976 the Kirk Pride was docked in Georgetown due to engine trouble. A Northeaster was building up, and, in an effort to save the ship from being banged up at dock, it was decided to move her to deeper waters where it was thought she would be much safer. The ship's engines were started, and she was backed out from dock. Unluckily, it was necessary to turn her engines back off in order to switch into forward gear. It was at this time that fate struck. The engines would not start again, and the ship was helplessly driven into a reef. The damaged vessel was now in serious trouble as the ocean water quickly began to seep in. In another attempt to save her, she was fitted with pumps and towed into deeper water. While awaiting a calmer sea that would allow more extensive repairs, the Kirk Pride was left anchored in 60 feet of water with drainage pumps running. During the night, the wind changed direction causing the ship to swing around and hover defenseless over the Cayman wall which drops down into 3,000 feet of water. By morning, the pumps had been overcome with sea water, and her two cargo holds were filled. At 9:30 AM January 9, 1976, the ocean once again held an empty surface as the Kirk Pride plunged down into unknown depths.
It was not until 1985 that the Kirk Pride was rediscovered. While on one of their underwater expeditions, Research Submersibles Ltd. came upon the Kirk Pride. She had not fallen into the depth of 3000 feet as it was believed but instead became wedged into her final resting place by two huge pinnacles in 800 feet of water. A small pinnacle or haystack trapped the stern, while a large 60 foot high boulder trapped the bow.
Today, this wreck is far beyond the limits of a sport diver but can be viewed through the use of Research Submersibles Ltd's two passenger submersible. The submarine ride will last for about one hour and 30 minutes. This once in a life time adventure of dropping to the great depths of the sea and viewing the wreck of the Kirk Pride is a memory that will be long lived in anyone's mind.
The wreck is clearly visible and still sits upright. Her name can easily be read on the stern as well as on the bow. She has two cargo compartments. The aft hold still contains a Volkswagen Thing and some sacks of cement. Portholes, cage lamps, the ship's telegraph, a spare anchor, and a deck winch were all pointed out to us by the operator of the sub.
In November of 1988,National Geographic published a remarkable stern photo that captured almost the entire wreck in one image. To get the photo, two submersibles were used along with two glass floats each filled with four dozen flashbulbs. The combined flash and lights were over five times the intensity of a standard Coast Guard lighthouse. It was one of the most powerful photo flashes ever taken underwater.
Don't be worried, decent photos of the wreck can be taken by anyone using a high speed film such as 400 or 1000 ASA or video. They will not show the entire wreck in one photo but will document your dive. The entire experience was a perfect way to wrap up a great week of diving on Grand Cayman's shipwrecks."
An amazingly poor quality movie dubbed to video on the sinking of the Kirk Pride in 1976 in Georgetown harbor. I almost erased this but if you look closely, you might get a feeling for what went on.
From the youtube post: "Footage of the sinking of the cargo ship Kirk Pride in the harbour off Georgetown, Grand Cayman in 1976. The ship had been in dock when strong winds and rough seas rose up and it was damaged. It was towed out just offshore, where it sank. Includes later footage showing the wreck on the sea floor, taken from a submersible."
There is an article from 1986 on a submarine dive to the Kirk Pride at:
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/198...rsl-robot-subs
.