VIDEO of SINKING
The former USS Kittiwake continues to make history after a video of the new dive attraction’s sinking became a hit on Internet video giant YouTube.
To date, more than 56,000 people have viewed the ship’s sinking, which was filmed by Cayman Free Press reporter Brian Wright from a special viewing platform aboard a Red Sail Sports boat on Wednesday, 5 January.
Subsequently, a number of sites worldwide have linked to the video, which is viewable on www.caycompass.com.
Some of those who have pointed their readers to the historic video include international news websites Huffington Post, AOL Travel and Dantri.com - a Vietnam-based news aggregator. Stories have also appeared in Pakistan, Canada and the UK. In the days immediately following the sinking, the Caymanian Compass received enquiries from news sources worldwide, including Russia.
Media coverage around the vessel’s sinking included network giants NBC, CNN, CBS and newspaper behemoth the Washington Post, but the Cayman Free Press video has attracted by far a greater number of views on YouTube.
The 251-foot vessel was sunk in order to provide a wreck dive that professionals across the world have labelled the biggest attraction in the Caribbean since Stingray City. The project was led by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association in conjunction with the Cayman Islands Government and private and public sectors.
The concept had been long mooted, said Cayman Free Press Managing Director Brian Uzzell.
“I was a member of the CITA board of directors for a great number of years; it had been talked about for at least 15 years.
“It’s wonderful to see it has come to fruition and to see this amount of interest in it,” said Mr. Uzzell.