51 years "Bianca C"

It's now 51 years ago, that in the early morning 7.00 am of October 22nd 1961 an explosion woke up the people of St. Georges. Looking out of their windows they could see the giant Bianca C, that was anchored outside town on fire. Everybody who had a boat went out to help to rescue passengers and crew of the ship. As common with cruise liners, they did not manage to get the rescue boats down. Back then Grenada had few hotel rooms, so Grenadians offered their homes to the stranded people, gave them food and cloth. So this was the end of a ship, but the beginning of a tradition of hospitality that still lasts today. The ship burnt for 2 days until she finally sank on October 24th at noon. HMS "Londonderry" came from Puerto Rico but could not safe the ship, only managed to tow it away from the port. She sank in a perfect spot, just 50 meter deep, not far from Whibbles reef. Nature must have taken over quick. Here in Grenada coral grows fast and pelagic fish know how to navigate these wrecks. Bianca C has been one of the best kept secrets of Tech divers for many years. When we dicovered Grenada 15 years ago, one had barely heard about this treasure. Imagine, a 600 ft cruise liner within recreational diving limits and nobody knows... It was the time of the Titanic, so we called her the "Titanic of the Caribbean". We got writers from dive magazines from all over the world to Grenada and made it the trademark of Grenada diving. Thousands of divers have come to dive her, experience the sheer size and marine life around. A must on a wreck lovers bucket list. During the last year she has come of age now. The fire and the sometimes strong currents have taken their toll. Hallways that we used to run through with scooters have collapsed. Just a couple of weeks ago the whole starboard side broke down. The funnel with the big C on his side sits now at 50 meter upside down in the sand. While this all sounds sad, she still is a great wreck. The stern is still up and the majestic bow is "my cathedral". I've been there with many famous photographers, but nobody has "nailed" the perfect shot. So there is still work to do! If Bianca is on your bucket list, better come soon.