Carrie Lee
The Carrie Lee was an island freighter commissioned out of Grand Turk that carried supplies between Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac. The ship was traveling between the two islands and capsized in heavy seas. The Carrie Lee had become unstable because it had a load of containers on its deck, but nothing in her holds below. This altered the stability of the ship such that it was top-heavy. In 1985, the Carrie Lee capsized while en route to Cayman Brac, about 10 miles east of Grand Cayman. Several unsuccessful attempts to tow the vessel to port were made before she finally sank in 100 feet of water of the Southern tip of the West side of Grand Cayman. As a result of strong ocean storms, the Carrie Lee has slid down a steep slope towards a ledge, dropping off to an abyss. If you look closely, a grooves are visible from where the Carrie Lee carved out a trench as she slid down towards the wall. Today, the Carrie Lee sits in approximately 165-240' of water nearly at the base of a ledge at 260. A few more strong ocean storms, and the Carrie Lee may be no longer.
Photos are from video by David Caldwell
© Copyright 2004, Northern Atlantic Dive Expeditions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The sun glistens down filtering through the deckhouse and wheelhouse. This structure is totally intact and a beautiful part
of the wreck. This is also the highest portion of the wreck, about 165-170' at the highest. At right, Heather swims up
the deck, this point is about 200' to give an idea of the angle.
The rudders - you can actually see the trench carved out from the wreck sliding down the slope.
The propeller still on the wreck (L) and at right, a large towing bit, which looks just like the one on the USS YF 415
adjacent to a door leading to the interior.