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Grenadines Encyclopedia
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The Wreck of the Bianca C
Bow Ladder
Picture : Rik Vercoe
Description: Cruise ship
Length: 220 metres
Depth: 30 metres to deck, 52 metres to sea floor
Visibility: 20 metres
Rating: *****
A 600ft cruise liner wreck at 167ft depth on a sandy floor. Whibble Reef lies immediately to the south - strong currents - Eagle Rays - soft & hard corals on wreck.
This is an advanced dive due to the strong currents.
The dive site does not suffer from litter as do many Caribbean dive destinations, and is clean making for good diving.
The Bianca C was a 600 foot cruise liner that sank near the coast after a fire broke out in the engine room while moored in the harbour in 1961. After catching fire followed an explosion in the engine room, which killed two people.
All passengers and crew were evacuated and taken to safety by a flotilla of small craft and looked after by the local people. A thankyou for their bravery and generosity is still evident today in the statue of Christ with his arms outstretched to heaven situated on the Carenage in St. George?s.
It was towed out of the harbour so that it would not block the entrance.
On the way to deeper water, the tow ropes broke under choppy seas and the wind turning the ship against the direction of tow and the Bianca C sank into a sandy valley off shore.
Mast
The wreck is now quite broken up, but makes a fantastic dive; the central decking has rotted, exposing rib-like beams, in 1992 severe swells tore apart the rear third of the ship, and there is extensive damage to the smoke stack.
The anchor lies on the seabed, the winches are visible and the forward mast is still upright and usually covered with fish. There is even a swimming pool at 43 metres on the way to the bow. The stern is very beautiful, and is often covered in fish life.
There is a lot of whip coral, black tree corals and sponges on the wreckage and it lies next to a reef, which can be explored during decompression stops. Look out for eagle rays, jacks, barracuda and trumpet fish.
Strong currents are possible and combined with the depth this makes it an advanced dive. At least two dives should be made on this wreck to fully appreciate it.
There are schools of jacks and barracuda, and spotted eagle rays can sometimes be seen. The Bianca C is 600 feet (182 m) in length and lies in about 167 feet (48 m) of water, with its highest point at about 90 feet (27 m). The normal dive profile on the Bianca C is from 90 to 130 feet (27 to 39 m).
This is an awe-inspiring dive, but due to the depth and the possibility of strong currents, it is only suitable for confident divers, and a checkout dive will normally be required.
Reviews
Fish life is very abundant on the Stern as well. Have a swim in the swimming pool as you explore the mid ship. There are a few open sections and rooms to enter and explore. Don't forget to scream 'Riiiicky' at your buddy during the dive!
Carina Hall, PADI Divemaster
Absolutely the best 3 dives I have ever done were on this wreck. Rays, barracuda, sharks and turtles all on one dive. Fanbloodytastic! Wish I could go back, but don't think I could afford La Source again!
Darren
The eagle rays are a highlight and the barracudas are huge. We did a negative entry from the dive boat and were told that we should land on the wreck in the swimming pool area, not only did we 'land' in that area but actually in the swimming pool.
It is difficult to imagine just how big this ship is until you get there.
Worth every effort to have as many dives as you can on her.
Peter Ingham, PADI Rescue Diver (DMT)
Source : divesitedirectory Pictures by Rik Vercoe, Adrian Keene and Peter Ingham.
The Grenadian Government (at the time of writing) has asked that she is not left permanently buoyed.
This means the most usual method of diving her is a free descent through the blue to her decks at an average depth of 33m.
The bottom of the swimming pool is at 38m and the tip of her bow is at 30m. A drift along her length between the two in the prevailing gentle (usually) current takes you past many points of interest.
The collapsed funnel still sporting a large letter C indicating the ?Costa? line. Some of the lifeboat davits make useful landmarks on your way to the bridge.
The bridge has now been completely flattened but the view across the fore deck reveals broken stairs, winding winches, fallen spars covered in soft coral and the remains of the forward mast still standing upright.
Shoals of small fish, which in turn are surrounded by numbers of larger fish, surround this mast.
The top of the food chain is most usually a large barracuda or two, although Black Tip sharks and Bull sharks have been spotted.
Forward from here takes you to the tip of the bow and the chance to hang at 30m and look down the hull to 50m and marvel at the sheer size and realize why she earns the title ?Titanic of the Caribbean?.
Because of her depth a dive on air gives a bottom time of 14 minutes for a no stop dive. Making the short swim to Wibbles reef to enjoy the plentiful coral and fish life that abounds normally extends the total dive time.
Another method to extend your time not just underwater but on the wreck, without having to make decompression stops, (and without fitting half a dozen metal D rings to your BCD), or making any changes to your normal diving equipment, is to dive with enriched air nitrox.
If I am preaching to the converted then all you need to know is that we have the facilities to blend the full range of nitrox mixes.
If this seems dangerous tecky speak, I can assure you that the TDI basic nitrox course allows you to understand what breathing a slightly different mix of gas offers every diver, not just those wanting to push the boundaries.
Source : Scuba Tech - Website
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