Grenada/Bianca C

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Garrobo

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Planning on doing a trip to Grenada this summer and diving the Bianca C among other things. Anyone have an account of this dive and what to expect from the trip in general:dork2:?
 
It's deep and dark- not much going for it. But it is all they had for many years. The real treasure of Grenadian diving lies off of the far NE barrier islands. Big critters and current. 95% of Grenadian commerce is located on 5% of the land, in the population center at the SW tip, Grand Anse. The Bianca is within distance of the cruise ship port and all the dive ops.

News Flash... Grenada recently sunk another ship. (The total now is around 15 or so, most diveable with the right dive op and money.) I can't find anything about the new hulk on the internet, but PADI Sport Diver UK had a piece on it.
 
The Bianca C is a large and very interesting wreck. You can dive it without breaking 100 ft, but you'll be tempted to go deeper, much deeper. The bottom sits in about 160 ft of water. I've only dived it twice, but I saw a Caribbean Reef Shark on both dives. You'll likely be dropped on the stern from where you'll drift with the current to the bow. Keep your eyes open for big critters. From the bow, you'll drift across the sandy bottom (way above the bottom) over to the reef which you can drift along and enjoy as long as your NDL and air supply allow. We made the dive both times off a live boat. It's a fun dive, you'll enjoy it.
 
Ah, Doc just doesn't do deep, dark wrecks, whereas I love 'em!

I've dived the Bianca C a good 15 or 16 times now over the past 10 years and it is still an awesome dive thanks to the sheer scale of the thing (600 ft long), but it is deteriorating rapidly. I wouldn't advise any serious penetration anymore. The vis is often a bit crappy (for the Caribbean), due to the silt off the thing making its own silt clouds in the current, but a fast drift from stern to bow is still good fun. If you don't mind dropping to 52m, lying on the seabed looking up at the monstrous bow is pretty cool...

The better dives for me are the Atlantic wrecks, such as the King Mitch, etc, where you get mega-vis, lots of nurse sharks, rays, 'cudas, jacks, etc.

The new wreck we had a news piece on is the 30-metre MV Hildur, bringing the total number to 20 wrecks now.

Check out Aquanauts Grenada, top operation.

Mark
 
Grenada recently sunk another ship. (The total now is around 15 or so, most diveable with the right dive op and money.) I can't find anything about the new hulk on the internet, but PADI Sport Diver UK had a piece on it.

Ah, Doc just doesn't do deep, dark wrecks, whereas I love 'em!

Okay, Mark... it was in your little magazine that I read that article. What was the deal on the new wreck? You prolly wouldn't like it Mark, no Sharks.
 
Ha ha, no sharks yet, but who knows...

It was the MV Hildur that was sunk. 30-metre coastal freighter that was languishing in the harbour half-submerged, and now sits upright in Grand Mal Bay. She was sunk as part of a joint initiative between the Grenada Scuba Diving Association and the Peter de Savary Development Company.

So now we've got 20 wrecks to play on in Grenada and in all sorts of depths, so something for everyone. I'll check it out when I go back in November...

Mark
 
I will be in Grenada in October. Hope to dive the Bianca C while I am there. I was in Grenada last October just after I was certified and dove a couple of the wrecks and reefs with Dive Grenada. For me not knowing anything they seemed like a great outfit but were not very keen on diving Bianca C (not that I was going to with three OW dives under my belt). Is Aquanauts Grenada more willing to schedule a dive to the Bianca C?
 
Do any of the OP's on Gendada want an AOW cert to dive the Bianca C?
 
I will be in Grenada in October. Hope to dive the Bianca C while I am there. I was in Grenada last October just after I was certified and dove a couple of the wrecks and reefs with Dive Grenada. For me not knowing anything they seemed like a great outfit but were not very keen on diving Bianca C (not that I was going to with three OW dives under my belt). Is Aquanauts Grenada more willing to schedule a dive to the Bianca C?

Aquanauts Grenada schedule regular trips to the Bianca C, and the Atlantic wrecks. They are a large, efficiently run operation which treat experienced divers as just that, experienced, so they won't be holding your hand all the time. On the other hand, newly qualified divers will be well supported and developed.

Mark
 
Do any of the OP's on Gendada want an AOW cert to dive the Bianca C?

I am not exactly sure, but I would imagine most would want an AOW card for the Bianca C because of the challenging nature of the dive. You don't really hit the upper deck areas till 26m plus, and most is at 30-34m.

Mark
 

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