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Old ships exciting dives
What can you do with an old ship that has to be retired from service? Why not scuttle it and start an artificial reef? That’s what happened with wrecks of the Theo, Etheridge and LaRose, all of which lie in deep water off Grand Bahama.
The Underwater Explorers Society (UNEXSO), a renowned dive operation in Port Lucaya, sank the Theo in 1982 to make a reef-like home for many sea creatures. She is a 228-ft former cement hauler that rests 100 ft deep on a flat, sandy floor among a few coral banks, adjacent to the continental shelf drop-off.
This wreck is encrusted with multicoloured vegetation and populated by a variety of marine life, including a giant green moray eel, the unofficial greeter. Dives conducted by UNEXSO include two penetrations: into the cargo hold and the engine room. Pre-qualified divers can also do a night dive on the Theo, when the colours are even more spectacular.
Another wreck that divers like is the LaRose, an old-fashioned triple-decker tugboat sunk by the UNEXSO team in 2004. She lies in 95 ft of water near the scenic Moray Manor dive site. Here the reef is “a gorgeous and healthy ensemble of star coral, brain coral and tube sponges, and a big, black coral bush grows from the deep side of the reef,” says a UNEXSO diver.
The vibrant array of marine life that can be seen here includes schools of grunts, yellowtail goatfish and Creole wrasses, along with large groupers and moray eels. In the springtime, loggerhead turtles are often spotted here.
Divers also enjoy visiting the wreck of the Etheridge, a large car ferry that once operated in the Carolinas. It was featured in the movie Halloween. Sunk intentionally in 1992, she rests in an area of scattered coral heads. Schools of grouper, schoolmaster snappers, silversides and shad make their home in and under this wreck.
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Old ships exciting dives
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