Looking For Something Florida Keys Related?
Search here for what you want (ads also appear)
Cayman Salvage Master, Unusual Key West Dive With A Strange Past
The Cayman Salvage Master is a Florida shipwreck that has gone by many different names and has a questionable, perhaps even mysterious past.
Known also as Cayman Salvor, her beginning was almost as unusual as her ending. Instead of being a typical assembly line ship she was specifically built.
She was also the first diesel electric vessel that had cable and mine planting capabilities.
There are numerous, conflicting theories regarding the Cayman Salvor's past, but the best reports indicate she was delivered to the Army in 1937.
She was responsible for not just laying mines, but for running communications cable needed at the various fortifications being established throughout the United States.
Since mine laying was somewhat similar to buoy planting, it was relatively easy for this ship to eventually enter service as a buoy tender with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Courtesy of YouTube and dlreedy
It's also believed that a Key West FL commander used her in some capacity as a personal vessel while she was officially acting as a cable layer.
Later, she served under the Panamanian flag as a freighter, before entering the final checkered phase of her career.
Her latter days of service occurred during a period in history referred to as the Mariel boatlift. This event took place between April 15 and October 31, 1980 at Mariel Harbor in Cuba.
It was a mass exodus of Cubans bound for the United States, and these numbers included criminals and mental patients.
While on one of her illegal missions, the ship was seized by the United States government and 1,400 Cuban refugees were discovered on board. She was then towed to Key West FL where she inexplicably sank a few days later at the dock.
Cayman Salvage Master Scuttle History and Wreck Conditions
In 1985 she was refloated with the intent of transforming her into an artificial reef. Her superstructure was removed, and she was properly cleaned. Doors, cables, wires and other entanglements were removed from her frame, and holes were blasted in her hull.
As the Cayman Salvor was being towed to her final resting place in the Atlantic, the cables attached to her snapped. Instead of reaching her intended destination of 300 feet, she sank in 90 feet of water. When she finally settled, she was positioned on her portside.
Later, in 2005, the strong surge from Hurricane Katrina that obliterated New Orleans and the Mississippi coast, repositioned the vessel into her current upright position.
Today, the Cayman Salvage Master is considered one of the more popular sites when scuba diving Key West. The benefits are that she sits at a reasonable diving depth, in upright and good condition.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases such as these items and others listed further below.
You'll notice that she has a number of interesting features that can be discovered while exploring her length and breadth.
First, there are 3 bicycles on board, no doubt left behind by several of the Mariel boatlift Cuban refugees. There's also a payphone, a cable spool and pulley on the bow, and a rudder under the stern.
Coral is developing on the ship, and a vast assortment of tropical and Florida game fish frequent this artificial wreck. Several large goliath grouper and moray eels have also set up permanent residence in her hulking mass of steel.
Even though this Key West diving site is extremely popular with anyone Key West wreck diving, it's reserved for the advanced or technical diver for the following reasons.
Proximity to the Gulf stream means the currents will be strong and unpredictable. Plus, there are still obstructions that can entangle a Key West diver, even though the ship is intact and was properly cleaned.
This is why diving into the wreck is only advisable on the second or third Key West diving trip because orientation is necessary. As an added precaution, it's also wise to scuba dive with someone who's familiar with the Cayman Salvager wreck's layout.
Due to the potential of becoming entangled you'll also need to make sure you are carrying a good scuba diving knife and that you have a flashlight with you.
At-A-Glance Wreck Diving Description and GPS Coordinates
Name
Cayman Salvage Master / Cayman Salvager Wreck / Cayman Salvor - 187' long and 37' wide mine layer built in 1936. When used by the US Army, she was called Lt. Col. Ellery W. Niles and she served as a mine planter and then as an Army Signal Corps cable ship. In 1965 she was refitted and used as a research vessel and her name changed to R/V F. V. Hunt. It finally was changed to her final name which she carried with her to the ocean floor when she was sunk off Key West in 1985 Location
1 miles SW of 9 Foot Stake, 7 miles SE of Key West Florida GPS Co-ordinates
24 27.210N 81 45.980W Markers
Buoy marks the dive spot Level
Advanced Depth
60' - bow
72' - deck
80' - engine room
93' - maximum depth Visibility
Excellent Wreck Diving Description
This Key West diving site is near the Gulf stream so currents can be strong. Ship sits upright and is mostly intact except for super structure which has been stripped clean to make a better habitat for marine life. Intact large cable spool and pulley on bow, a public pay phone, rudder under the stern, and 3 bicycles are some of the favorite dive features Marine Life Snook, goliath grouper, nurse shark, moray eel, grouper, bar jacks, barracuda, silversides, permit
If you're planning a diving holiday, the Cayman Salvage Master will be one of the more remarkable and memorable Key West wrecks you can visit when scuba diving Key West.
Even though she rests at a relatively easy depth, the current and possible dangerous obstructions make this a Key West scuba site that should be reserved for someone more experienced.
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...
Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
Click on the HTML link code below.
Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.
FTC Compliance Disclaimer and Affiliate Program Sponsor Disclosure
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases such as the various items displayed on my website available through Amazon. We also earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to other affiliate sites florida-keys-vacation.com is associated with including but not necessarily limited to Amazon, Conversant/Commission Junction, Fishingbooker.com, Google Adsense, and Sitesell.
Florida-Keys-Vacation.com, does not sell any personal information and you can read about this and the California Consumer Protection Act on our Privacy Policy page.
We are currently testing various affiliate monetization options, including Conversant/Commission Junction, Adsense, Sitesell, Fishingbooker and Amazon Associates Affiliate Program. Expect to see a variety of banner, image, and text link ads throughout this site, in various places, as we try out different sizes, styles, formats, companies and programs, to determine which ones are a best fit for this site. You can expect to see ads moved and changed until we find the ones we feel best fits our goals.
We've been approved by Google to participate in one of their Google ad programs, that displays "intelligent" and "responsive" ads based off of YOUR internet browsing search history, showing you ads based of YOUR interests. These new AI ads are part of Google's artificial intelligence program, known as RankBrain, and are displayed based on which web site you've visited in the last 28 days, as well as items you've bought off online stores, and any search terms you've typed into your browser. We may occasionally opt into this ad program but we have no control over what ads this AI ad program displays, as the ads are based off your browser history and not our web site topics.
Promotions, discounts and offers identified throughout this website are made available through a variety of sources including the above listed affiliates of florida-keys-vacation.com. As such, this website may receive compensation for products and services that are subsequently purchased through the referred affiliate. These monies help fund, operate and maintain this website.
In operating this website we are associated with a variety of other companies. They may be social media websites,
or affiliate organizations that sell a variety of products through merchants such as Conversant/Commission Junction
or Amazon, Google and their different product lines, as well as Fishingbooker.com and Sitesell.
The following list of companies and social media groups we're associated with provides links to their different
pages, which include Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and other important disclaimers.
Comments!
Do you have anything to add? We look forward to feedback on what you've just read so leave me a comment in the box below.