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Dive Grenada and Carriacou
Off the tiny Windward islands of Grenada and Carriacou John Eastman found the largest wreck in the Caribbean: the Bianca C (pictured right)
GRENADA is home to one of diving's best-kept secrets. This is the largest
shipwreck in the Caribbean and one of the most spectacular in the world - the
Bianca C. The island is a British Protectorate, nestling in the southern end of the chain of Windward Islands in the Caribbean. Its popularity with British tourists is on the rise, so get out there now before they all decide to go diving!
The Bianca C, a huge Italian cruise liner, sank after a fire in 1961 and lies just off the popular Grand Anse beach. Eighteen thousand tonnes and 200m long, the vessel sits upright on an even keel.
From its forecastle to the swimming pool at its aft deck, the vessel has masses of interesting parts to explore. Because the top of the wreck lies at 30m and it is usually swept by a current of about one knot, it makes a dive suitable only for more advanced divers.
For this reason it has not become popular with the great American diving public, but it is the sort of dive that the British wrekkie can easily take in his or her stride. It normally requires an ascent with deco stops either with the aid of a delayed SMB or by a controlled ascent up nearby Wibble Reef.
More than a decade has passed since the Grenadans experimented with a Socialist-run state, which ended in the untimely death of their leader, Maurice Bishop, and precipitated an invasion by US forces to rescue American students at the medical school. It caused a furore at the time.
Now everything is very much back to normal and, not surprisingly, Grenada's main industry is tourism. But it has more to offer the visitor than sunny palm-fringed beaches and pina-coladas by the pool. Its turquoise sea offers some of the best diving in the world.
On the Caribbean side you will find calm water and fabulous, well-preserved coral reefs teeming with life, while on the more arduous Atlantic side you encounter endless nurse sharks and the creatures on which they prey - spiny lobsters.
Grenada has numerous other interesting shipwrecks, too, and these are now well colonised by marine life. There is the Quarter Wreck, which is what its name suggests; the Buccaneer, a motor yacht; and the Veronica L, a freighter. All of them make exceedingly easy dives suitable for a novice, but enjoyable by any diver.
On the sister island of Carriacou (not to be confused with Curacao or karaoke) to the north, life carries on much as it did before World War Two, almost untouched by tourism. You can get there by ferry from Grenada in about three and a half hours (or in 20 minutes by plane).
In the Arawak language Carriacou means "Land of Reefs" and its spectacular coral
reefs have entered scuba-diving folklore. It has some of the most prolific
growths of soft corals anywhere in the world, and they have yet to be damaged by
too much diver activity.
Notable dive sites are the Sister Rocks (otherwise known as the Two Brothers and
not to be confused with the Two Sisters!), the deep drop-off at the Two Sisters
themselves, Mabouya Island, and Hillsborough's home reef, directly opposite the
main town.
Between the two islands is a dive site called Kick 'em Jenny, near the Isle de
Rhonde. It is the site of an old submarine volcano and a favourite with local
dive guides. It is quite a lengthy ride from any of the dive centres but most
seem to use fast pirogue-style boats which are virtually unsinkable.
Both these islands are mountainous, with areas of rainforest that make the
climate equable and supplies of fresh water plentiful. From July to September
the rain can be heavy yet sporadic, so it does not spoil the diving. There is
always plenty of fresh water to rinse off your equipment and yet there do not
seem to be many rivers to spoil the underwater visibility with run-off. Large
areas of ecologically important mangrove act as a nursery for the juvenile fish
life.
Both of these islands maintain strong links with Britain. However, it takes one
a little by surprise to find some of the younger locals speaking with English
regional accents. That is because many of them grew up in Britain, or are
visiting family on the islands.
Grenadians are so relaxed that they are almost horizontal, with a dry British
sense of humour.
Appeared in DIVER - January 1998