A couple of months before the end of 2004, nine people booked a weeks diving in the Maldives, however due to the Tsunami on 26th December 2004 that trip was cancelled and the only replacement holiday the travel company we booked with had available to offer us was St. Lucia. None of us were happy with that so we were refunded. It’s now two weeks before our original departure date and four of us were still determined to go away for a weeks sun, scuba diving and relaxing so the hunt was on to find a different destination that was close enough to be worth going for a week plus be warm enough. With the amount of locations affected by the disaster our options were significantly reduced to the Caribbean and Mexico being top of the list. After reading through lots of old BSAC magazines I found a few good reports about Grenada and its many wreck’s most famously the Bianca C! I was sold so all I had to do now was find a bargain which was made very easy by http://www.divechannel.co.uk who I can thoroughly recommend; we even managed to get the same departure date!
We stayed at True Blue Bay Resort Hotel and dived with Aquanauts (very well run and efficient) who were located right next to the hotel so a one minute stroll every morning from the breakfast table was all that was required to get to the boat and our kit that was usually always setup and ready to go. After two dives we were usually back around midday which left us the whole afternoon to explore the island, go sailing around the bay in Hoby Cats or just relax and have a swim. Oh, if only things were that simple in the UK!
Day 1 (Veronica wreck and Northern Exposure Reef, Caribbean Sea)
Our first dive was the wreck of the Veronica which was an old Freighter. The dive guide took us on a quick tour along the wreck to the reef and then back to the wreck for a better look around. We were told there was no penetration on this wreck but luckily I was with our resourceful D.O. Gavin who found an entry point, inside which we found a large puffer fish that was not exactly happy to see us in there shinning torches at it! Not used to visitors obviously. After exiting that part of the wreck we had a quick tour around the rest of it before rejoining Jo and Jenny and beginning our accent. By far the best warm-up dive I have ever done!
The second dive of the day was a reef called the Northern Exposure, there was swarm after swarm of blue fish that kept shooting past us, which looked quite impressive, also saw another puffer fish although this one was nowhere near as big as the one inside the Veronica and a giant Lobster.
Day 2 (Bianca C wreck and Kohani Reef, Caribbean Sea)
Today was the day we were most looking forward to, as we were diving the Bianca C. The plan was for everyone to get down to the wreck at about 35 meters as quickly as possible and once we were all there to then take a quick 10-15 minutes tour around it before heading off to the reef on a gradual accent. Well the BSAC 1620 members did their part and got to where we were supposed to be but when we looked back the others were not there. We waited just looking around for about 5 minutes and then decided to do our own thing but that had wasted about half of our time on the wreck. Gavin and I met up with one of the dive guides, who was in the swimming pool chiseling away at some of the tiles, he gave us both one as a souvenir. Shortly after that it was time to begin our gradual accent to the reef. Bit of a disappointing dive but we were determined to return later in the week to do the Bianca C properly. The second dive was at Kohani reef, which is surrounded by a number of sandy channels. We saw lots of fan coral, sponges, swarms of more blue fish and a nice sting ray that past right by me. It was a nice gentle dive.
Day 3 (Shakem wreck and The Valleys Reef, Caribbean Sea)
The first dive of the day was the wreck of a cargo ship called Shakem that had its concrete cargo still intact, sitting upright at 30 meters. Visibility was excellent and I was taking pictures like mad as we approached it. We circled the ship starting at the bow working our way around the prop and then back to inspect the cargo. I have never taken so many pictures of concrete! Got several nice shots of some Barracuda, as they went by, on our way to check out the crew accommodation area and the bridge, which was great! My first bit of real wreck penetration! Total time on the wreck was well over 30 minutes so I felt like we had seen it all by the time we began our accent but I was still taking pictures as it faded into the distance. By far my favourite dive so far!
Our second dive of the day was a reef called the Valleys. Because the maximum depth was only 20 meters the plan was to do an hour’s dive which would be a first for me. The dive consisted of lots of colours, swarm after swarm of fish and a baby Moray eel. Total dive time was 63 minutes which was a record for me and it was an excellent dive!
Day 4 (San Juan wreck and Shark Reef, Atlantic Ocean)
Today was going to be our first day diving in the Atlantic and our first dive was the wreck of the San Juan which was an old fishing vessel. We descended down as fast as we could as the current was very strong. We then had to fin for a good 5 minutes to get to the wreck which was exhausting! It took me a couple of minutes to get my head together once we got to the wreck, which you had to hold on to quite tightly so as not to get dragged off by the current. The water colour in the Atlantic was a deep blue compared to the green/blue of the Caribbean Sea which made the visibility much clearer. There were a few nursing sharks around the wreck and a large swam of Spade fish which looked amazing! We circled around the wreck a couple of times and then began our accent. A hard dive that one. The second dive of the day was Shark reef which was a nice drift dive. I saw my first Eagle Ray which looked very impressive they way it swooped by so graciously in the distance, I tried to get a picture but there was not enough time. We saw lots of baby nursing sharks sleeping under rocks and coral. I got some nice pictures of a Box fish which did not seem to mind the attention.
Day 5 (King Mitch wreck and Shark Reef, Atlantic Ocean)
Jenny and Jo were not diving today which just left myself and Gavin from our group on the dive boat. Gavin was on Nitrox so he got paired with the other Nitrox diver on the boat and I was paired with two relative novices which was a first for me! Ugo had only completed his Paddy open water the day before after seven dives and Philippa who was a holiday diver who had not dived for over a year and there we were doing a wreck dive, at over 30 meters, in a strong current. The wreck was called the King Mitch and it was an old US Navy Mine sweeper, it took our guide 2 attempts using a DPV to get down to the wreck attach a line and send a marker buoy up to let us know that all was clear for us to join him. Once we got onto the wreck I noticed our dive guide laying very still watching in the distance so I looked over him and saw the biggest Barracuda I had ever seem it must have been over six feet long! I got a great picture of him but I just wish I had got the dive guide in the picture as well so that everyone could appreciate the size. As we were on air we were advised to stay on the top part of the wreck at 30 meters while the Nitrox divers went down to explore the bottom part of the wreck but if I had known I was going to come back with over 100 bar I would have joined the Nitrox divers at the bottom for a couple of minutes so as not too miss out. It was still a great dive though even though I had to keep and eye on my two buddies. For the second dive that day we were back to Shark reef for another relaxing dive, we saw more baby nursing sharks, Box fish and I got some great shots of a Sting Ray that glided past me.
Day 6 (Bianca C wreck part 2 and Purple Rain Reef, Caribbean Sea)
For our final day of diving we were going back to the Bianca C and this time I was determined we were going to do it properly! We hired two DPV’s and as Gavin and Jenny were on Nitrox and Jo and I were on Air I suggested that Jo and I take the DPV’s in and 10 minutes into the dive we would find Gavin and Jenny and pass them over to them. It sounded like a long shot that we would be able to find them on such a big wreck but I was sure that if we knew roughly where Gavin and Jenny were going to be, we would find them. Jo and I descended onto the wreck and worked our way along the starboard side around the stern and back along the port side. At 10 minutes into the dive we were halfway along the port side and I signaled to Jo that we should head back up to the deck and attempt to find the other two. As we did I saw these yellow fins in the distance which I recognised, we handed over at 11 minutes into the dive so the plan had worked! Jo and I then had another 5 minutes as we headed to the bow before beginning our accent. An excellent experience! Our final dive of the holiday was a reef called Purple Rain, there was still plenty of battery life left in the DPV’s, so we thought we might as well use them again. This time Jenny and Gavin took them in first and the plan was for them to hand over to us, like we did for them but I was not convinced they would be able to find us. I was wrong 10 minutes into the dive I heard this noise in the distance getting closer and then they appeared. Jo and I were then off to explore using our new toys. The only problem we found was that they scare most of the fish away. I ended up chasing a Sting Ray that Jo was trying to take a picture of! Sorry Jo. The batteries must have lasted for a good 25 minutes and when we eventually surfaced we realised we had gone just slightly off course, as the boat was nowhere to be seen! So we put our SMB’s up and just waited. I had this slight memory of the film Open Water for some reason but 10 minutes later we saw the boat coming for us. Another great dive and an excellent way to end the holiday!
Matthew Oliver-Mayho
You can find more pictures of the Grenada trip in the ‘Gallery’ section of our website
This article first appeared in the March 2005 edition of Billericay Diver
