Off to the reef on the starboard side of the wreck! There are a ton of fish above the reef, but what I want to show is the lines that where used to hold the wreck in place when it was scuttled. Just looking around after as we head back to the wreck and make our way back to the boat. A really nice look at the stern gun on our way to the safety stop!
This ship was given to Cuba from Russia after being built in 1984. Cuba ended up having no use for it and sold it to the Cayman government whose sole purpose was sinking it as a dive destination. Jean-Michel Cousteau was there for the cleaning and sinking and went down with the wreck in 1996. It is approximately 330 feet in length. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan pretty much tore the ship in half. The bow now rests on its port side. The mid section is wide open showing a huge turbine engine. The aft part of the ship is mostly upright with a bit of a tilt to port. The two gun turrets are still intact, one fore and one aft. The top of the super structure now lies in the sand on the port side as well. It has weathered many storms, but is still a great dive!
#caymanbrac #scuba #reefdivers