Wrecks, Reefs and Relaxation
by Matt Mindham


Floating, weightless, at the tip of the mast, the S.S. Stavronikita is visible, twenty metres below, in all its colourful glory.

My wife and I had come to Barbados for a week’s diving, and a respite from the hassles of a typical English autumn. While it was raining as we left Gatwick, it was also raining as we landed at the Grantley Adams airport in Bridgetown. The difference though was welcome, Barbadian rain is warm and a downpour only lasts for ten or fifteen minutes - and this was supposed to be the ‘wet season’.

S.S. Stavronikita
Today though, we are diving the S.S. Stavronikita, and this is a truly spectacular wreck dive. The permanent shotline is fixed to the tip of the forward mast, which sits a mere seven meters deep. The mast itself is covered with bright coral and, as we continue our descent, swarms of colourful fish inspect the new, bubble-blowing, visitors in their home.

The Barbadian government scuppered this 112m Greek freighter with help from the U.S. Navy, in 1978 following a fire, which, starting in the Chief Engineer’s room left the ship a write-off. The Greek owners didn’t want to pay the high recovery costs, and she was left moored, offshore, with ‘SOS’ painted, ironically, on her side. Eventually, the government agreed to buy her from her owners, cleaned out the tanks and oils, and the U.S. Navy provided the pyrotechnic know-how to set five charges along her hull. She was towed out to her present position and scuppered to become an artificial reef. The operation was extremely successful, as she now sits, perfectly upright, with her single propeller resting at 42m.

Reaching deck level, we are stunned by the scale of the ship. Finning towards the stern, and the massive superstructure, shoals of snapper part to allow us passage. Silently, we drop over the port side of the ship and slide gently down the hull, continuing towards the stern, and the seabed. The hull itself provides anchorage for whip corals and a few small gorgonians, lending an almost skeletal feel to this massive wreck. At 30 metres, Marlon, our guide for this dive, disappears through one of the holes blown out of the hull by the U.S. Navy, and we follow him into a cavernous hold. Sacks of cement, part of the original cargo, which had been left on board, were scattered around the floor. Finning across the hold, we emerge from a second opening in the hull. From here the ships propeller can easily be seen, still in place and only a few fin strokes away. Tucked in behind the huge rudder, it has been colonised by young sponges and is patrolled by regiments of Soldierfish. The visibility is a good twenty metres, providing superb photo opportunities for those of us who like to dive with cameras. Looking upwards, the stern of the ship looms over our heads, silhouetted perfectly against the bright sunlight filtering through from the surface.

Rounding the stern section, we ascend by the exterior and re-enter the wreck, following Marlon through a labyrinth of companionways to the cabins and crew quarters, and on to the engine room, where the giant of a power source is still intact. From there, along another series of confusing passageways and hatches, we continue upwards and emerge again on the deck, where an enormous winch and its housing provide shelter to a large moray, with an attendant cleaner shrimp. Looking back, the dappled sunlight reflects off the gigantic construction giving the eerie impression of a leviathan ghost ship, still cruising the calm waters of the Caribbean Sea.

Upon reaching the mast again, we start our slow ascent by circling the upright structure, admiring the marine life that has colonised this mammoth ship relatively quickly. Arriving at the top of the mast, a five-minute decompression stop was spent in reflection on a remarkable dive, and fervently hoping that the photographs would come out.

Wrecks Galore
The S.S. Stavronikita is reckoned to be one of the best wreck dives in the Caribbean, but it is far from the only one you can dive from Barbados. The island’s leeward side is protected by the world’s third largest barrier reef, and the Barbadian authorities, recognising the importance of dive tourism, are never shy of adding to the oceanic attractions here.

Just off the south coast, near Bridgetown, is Carlisle Bay. This small area now contains no fewer than five wrecks, sunk as artificial reefs and, with a maximum depth of sixteen meters; all five are diveable off one descent without racking up decompression penalties.

The barrier reef itself falls within the boundaries of the Folkestone Marine Park, a no-take zone extending one mile from the shoreline for almost the length of the west coast of the island. Most of the dive centres run a two-tank trip in the morning, with an optional, third dive in the afternoon, which leaves plenty of time to explore the island with the non-diving family members.

Brightledge Reef
The barrier reef along the west of the island provides a number of good dive sites for the visiting diver, within a short boat ride of the dive centre. Brightledge Reef is a long, flat section of the barrier which is teeming with life. Descending to 20m, a big turtle joined us for the first couple f minutes of this dive, although I was quickly distracted by a large Trumpetfish that was trying to disguise itself amongst the coral growth, Hundreds of Lunar Fusiliers were schooling, while Butterflyfish flitted past in pairs over the numerous Christmas Tree worms.

Victors & Bombers Reefs
Victor’s reef gave us a nice, relaxing drift dive in a gentle current. Finning gently past clumps of Red Whip Coral and spectacular Fanworms this was definitely a dive in which to simply relax and enjoy the scenery. Thee were huge numbers of Soldierfish, small Wrasse and Grouper and towards the end, a large Lizardfish preened itself for me and my camera.

Bombers Reef is another relaxing drift dive and huge numbers of Long-Spined Sea Urchins filled almost every crack between the coral heads. Along with the ubiquitous Soldierfish and Chromis, the Bushy Coral was growing here at a good rate and, as with all the dives, the life all looked healthy.

The Pamir
While the Stavronikita, for me at least, was the best dive of the week. I can also highly recommend diving the wreck of the Pamir. This 50-meter freighter was sunk in 1985, again as an artificial reef and has been colonized quickly. Lying in less than 20 meters a long dive is possible and it is extremely safe for divers to explore. Easy to penetrate, there is always a quick exit available, unless, like my wife, you nearly get stuck on the ship’s toilet while posing for a photograph. The propeller and rudder are still in place, covered in sponges and coral and surrounded by fish. A field of garden eels were feeding off the starboard side and a fire worm was crawling around on the hull. Again, if you are into photography, this is a superb dive. I used up seventy-two exposures here and, as usual, we were the last to get back to the dive boat.

There are two sides to diving in Barbados. The east coast is open to the elements of the Atlantic Ocean, and conditions here are usually quite rough. Only really diveable in the right season and with many of the dive centres catering for novice divers and cruise ship passengers, the east coast is rarely visited by dive boats. The west coast, however, is protected by the island itself and conditions here are usually calm and tranquil. Without any real tide to speak of, the currents are gentle and diving on this side of the island takes place all year round.

Lots of Life
Barracuda will regularly accompany you on a dive, along with good numbers of turtles. Occasionally, sharks and rays will visit the reef, unfortunately though, they all stayed away for the duration of our diving week. However we certainly couldn’t complain about the marine life.

One of my abiding memories is the profusion of juvenile fish here. Thousands of tiny youngsters were grouped around coral heads on every dive, and there were also plenty of youthful grouper and numerous small wrasse around too. The coral is largely healthy and undamaged, and there are colourful sponges everywhere you look.
The ‘no fishing’ rules in force here are really beginning to come to fruition and long may it continue.

Barbados is unique as a Caribbean island in that it is the only landmass in the chain that was formed from coral reefs, the other islands being the product of volcanic activity. If it’s walls, gullies and fast drift dives you’re after, then Barbados probably isn’t for you. If it’s laid back, easy diving, in relaxed company and generally chilling out for a week or two, then I would highly recommend a trip here.
Matt Mindham

This article and the images that accompany it are the exclusive property of Matt Mindham. More images can be viewed at Underwater Photographs, by Matt Mindham (www.underwaterphotographs.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk)


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