The Will Laurie – one of my favourite wrecks to dive

As I have dived most of the dive sites that New Providence has to offer I feel that I need to try and find some new ones. I have been doing some research and through the grapevine I have heard of several wrecks that I have not dived. After a little internet searching I discovered some information about them.

The Shipyard

The Shipyard is located off of Paradise Island. At this location there is not one but three wrecks lying in 85ft of water.

Three vessels lie on the bottom here, a 150-foot supply vessel called Ana Lise, a 95-foot passenger ship called Helena C., and an oil tanker called the Bahama Shell. All three have been on the bottom for about ten years and are nicely encrusted.

Apparently Bahama Divers goes to The Shipyard on a Friday. I will have to try and find time to go there and do the dive, or perhaps convince them to do it on a Sunday.

ALCORA

The Alcora was a drug smuggling freighter, 130 feet in length. She was confiscated by the Bahamian government and sunk by local dive operators in 1983. She now rests on a sand bottom off Rose Island in 80 feet of water, upright and intact. Divers can swim through her two cargo holds, her engine room or just enjoy exploring the exterior of the wreck. Visibility on the wreck is usually good, but it can at times be a little hazy.

ANTINQUE

The Antinque wreck was another drug smuggler, 40 feet in length. She had been confiscated by the government and was building up a very heavy dockage bill when a local resident decided that he wanted the boat. After paying the dockage fee, he pulled her into the harbor where she sank on him. She was later raised and re-sunk 200 yards west of  The Tears Of Allah wreck (Otherwise known as the James Bond Wreck).

WRECK ON THE WALL

This confiscated drug runner was originally named the Spiyva but is now more commonly referred to as the Wreck On The Wall because of her resting location or Cove’s Rock Trawler. She was a 41 foot wood trawler that was purchased from the government and sunk due south of the Tears Of Allah wreck. The location and surroundings of the wreck make this site very unusual
and interesting. As divers descend, they will find themselves on a coral wall that starts, at 40 feet and plunges down to over 1,000 feet. The wreck’s bow is actually hanging over the edge of this wall. Keith Ipson, an underwater photographer and N.Y. based dive shop owner, says that the combination of the wreck, the wall, and the abundance of fish and crustaceans makes
this site very photogenic.

Descriptions of the wrecks were discovered and copied from the following websites
http://www.bahamas.com/rapture-wrecks
http://www.shipwreckexpo.com/tsbahamanewprovidenceshipwrecks.htm