Few wreck dives can match the majestic
tranquillity of the Bianca C.

Known as the Titanic of the Caribbean
due to her sheer size, she now sits in 50 metres of water about a
mile off of Grand Anse beach, Grenada.

Bob Watts, a local
diving enthusiast, describes his recent visit to this landmark dive
site 50 years after a tragic explosion and fire consigned her to
the seabed.

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Originally called the Marechal
Petain, this merchant vessel was first launched in Southern
France towards the end of World War II in June 1944.

In August of the same year, on her way
to be completed at Port de Bouc near Marseille, she was torpedoed
and sunk by the Germans.

Salvaged intact, she was towed to
Toulon and subsequently refitted as a cruise ship. The Arosa
Line of Panama bought her in 1957 and she became the company’s
flagship.

She was chartered to bring US exchange
students to and from various points in Europe.

Two years later she was acquired by
the Italian company Linea C and renamed Bianca C
after one of the owner’s daughters and once again enjoyed a
complete refit to ply the Italy to Venezuela route, including
exotic stops in the Caribbean.

In the early hours of October 22 1961
an explosion ripped through the engine room while she was at anchor
outside the port of St. George’s, the capital of Grenada.

Nine crew members were injured, one
fatally, and fire started to engulf the ship.

The remaining 672 passengers and crew,
including the eight injured seamen, scrambled to abandon ship.

The explosion awoke the town and
fishermen and other boat owners rushed to help and successfully
saved all 672 souls.

At the time, Grenada was not equipped
to fight a fire on such a scale so a call for help was sent to a
British frigate, the HMS Londonderry stationed at the time
in Puerto Rico.

In the two days it took for the
British navy to arrive, the Bianca C had begun to sink.

In an attempt to avoid blocking the
port, a boarding party attached a towline and burned the Bianca
C’s anchor lines so that the Londonderry could tow
the stricken vessel to deeper waters.

After six hours of towing they had
only managed to move Bianca C by three miles.

A combination of the rudder gear being
jammed and set by the heat and the vessel listing precariously made
progress difficult.

A squall severed the tow lines and
Bianca C sank quickly into 50 metres (165 feet) of water only a
mile from the popular tourist beach of Grand Anse.

An accolade that no vessel owner would
ever want for one of their ships, the Bianca C is now
rated by some as one of the top 10 wreck dives in the
world.

I had agreed to buddy with a French
diver called Frederique Marsat who I met at the hotel La
Source.

We set off from the hotel’s beach
(Pink Gin beach) for the short trip to the site of the Bianca
C on the morning of May 24.

It was a bright, sunny day and there
was very little swell or tidal movement to complicate the dive.

We planned to arrive on the stern of
Bianca C in 40 metres (130 feet) of water, to level off at that
depth by establishing neutral buoyancy, and then to swim the 185
metres (600 feet) length of the once magnificent ocean liner.

The dive-master was a local man called
Reece who I had dived with before and knew him to be an excellent
diver.

Along with my new
French friend (who lives in New York), we were joined by an English
diver called Stuart who was also staying at the hotel La
Source.

As it was to be a deep dive, we
decided to dive as a tight four but notionally Reece paired Stuart
with me and Fredo with himself.

As Bianca C is not marked with a buoy, the skipper of
the Aquanauts dive boat used a GPS to put us directly over the
wreck and, at his signal; we commenced a swimming descent so as not
to miss our target below.

Bianca C is not visible from the surface so we had to make a
rapid descent on the exact GPS co-ordinates.

This requires almost constant equalisation of the air spaces in
the inner ear (hold the nose and push) and the air in mask which is
equalised by releasing air though the nose.

Even though I have been diving for 35
years, it is always a thrill as the bulk of a sunken vessel looms
into sight.

It’s a feeling that is difficult to
adequately describe but is a combination of excitement and a little
bit of trepidation.

The waters around Grenada are
beautifully clear so Bianca C was visible from about 25
meters but, as I was busy dealing with my equalisation and buoyancy
control, she was upon me and dominating the seabed before I
realised.

As per our dive plan, we arrived at the stern section of the
ship. The rear third of the vessel broke off in a storm some years
ago and lays listing to the starboard side.

Most wrecks that I have had the privilege of diving have been
broken up, on their side or upside down.

Very few wrecks sit upright on the seabed as is usually depicted
by Hollywood. Bianca C is substantially intact and mostly
sits upright in her watery grave.

Considering her 50y years submersed in the warm waters of the
Caribbean, she is in remarkably good condition.

Completely covered in coral, sponges and an array of aquatic
life, she has become a living part of the ocean floor and a haven
for reef, shoaling and free swimming pelagic hunters. Sightings of
Spotted Eagle Rays, Barracuda and Nurse and Reef sharks are common
on the wreck.

As we progressed to the mid-ships area, we came
across the ship’s swimming pool – arguably the deepest swimming
pool in the world!

It lies twisted and haunted by happier
times. Fredo couldn’t resist the temptation to take a dip. The
bridge is still discernable and no doubt plays home to a large
number of giant Moray Eels and Octopus.

Looking deep into the interior of a
wreck always inspires my imagination to picture as it might have
been before the disaster that consigned the ship to the deep.

The forward mast now lies almost horizontally overhanging the
port bow and is home to an impressive outcrop of life and is a
focal point for shoaling fish.

As we reached the bow section, we were investigated by a giant
Barracuda. It was difficult to accurately assess the size of this
magnificent hunter but as he came up behind Stuart but it was
clearly as big as him.

Barracudas are not naturally aggressive towards humans so we
were not concerned about coming to any harm.

My biggest frustration was that it didn’t come close enough for
me to take a good photograph.

I did manage to get some distant video footage of it but I would
have preferred a good close-up still shot. It soon lost interest in
our little group and disappeared into the blue.

The bow section is the most intact
section of the ship and stands proud and defiant against the
elements.

Giant sponges stand sentinel amongst
beautiful fan and branch corals that now bedeck this once proud
ocean liner. As we crested the bow a school of several thousand
yellow fin tuna paid us a shimmering visit.

To hover amidst a school of this size
can be quite mesmerising. All changing direction in a split second
and altering their position relative to the light source above
produces the most unbelievable light and colour show.

As we left Bianca C a smaller
shoal of Jacks bid us farewell and we made our way to a coral reef
in shallower water to begin our decompression procedures.

We made safety stops at 10 metres and 5 metres and then emerged into the beautiful sunshine to await collection by the dive boat. There is a short video of my dive that includes for distant footage of the Barracuda on YouTube or key word search Bianca C Bob Watts.

Diving the Bianca C was a
privilege that I’ll never forget and one that I fully intend to
repeat. I’m sure that there will be commemorative dives around the
50 anniversary of the sinking in October. If business
permits I’d love to be one of those going down to pay my
respects.