Today was a very eventful day once again. We woke up, ate, and then headed to the marina like usual to go on our dives. But when we got there, we found out we were going to be diving down to an old ship wreck that had been there since 1876. When we got to the site, our dive instructor gave a us a brief history on the ship and why it sank later during our dive. The ship wreck was in two places fearly near to one another. First we dove down to see the port of the ship. It was by far the coolest thing we saw. We saw several fish, large surgeon fish, and numerous blue tang. We got to swim inside the old wreckage of the ship. There we found crabs hiding in dark places, and also many young schools of fish hiding from bigger predators. But what we also noticed was that the ship had become a huge artificial reef within the area, housing several of fish species. We later ascended to our boat. We then went to a calmer area because the waves were to massive to even keep your balance. When we got there, our diving instructors told us that that the ship was one of the first ships ever to have a propeller. It was about 310 feet long and it was claimed unsinkable by the British. We laughed a bit because they also claimed a later ship unsinkable, the titanic. The ship was responsilble for transporting cargo, but it was also a luxury liner. The ship sank due to a storm, the second worst hurricane ever recorded within the area. The ship sank due to captain Willie losing his anchor, so he tried to secure the ship by heading towards open water. They pushed agains the strong current and massive 50 feet waved for 4 hours. But they were to strong to make any difference, but captain willie didn’t think so. One of his crew members had shouted land to port! He thought it wasn’t right because he assumed they were in open water. As he came out with his tea cup and spoon stirring, he was pushed over board by a massive wave and was never seen again. The ship had crashed against the rocks, but that wasn’t what sank it; the boiler did. As cold ocean water mixed with hot boiling water, it created a massive steam explosion, spitting the boiler in half as well as the ship. The ship sank within minutes. But as the ship sank, so did the passengers. Back then to secure the passengers from walking around the ship and hurting themselves, they would lock first class people in there cabins, and tie the lower class people to their beds. So we can assume that none of the passengers survived. But when the boiler blew, the explosion had hit an Italian gentlemens cabin, propelling him away from the sinking ship. The port hole to his cabin is still at the bottom. They now rub the port hole for good luck and Italian riches. We also found old floor tiles, and old captain willies spoon. Although none of the passengers survived, all of the crew members did. After the wreckage, there many riches that washed onto salt island. The people who lived on the island harvested salt that was on the island and sold it. When they found Optus riches they gave it to a British cargo ship and sent to the Queen. She was so touched that she declared that anyone from those islands or could prove there heritage wouldn’t have to pay tax, but only have to give a bag of salt. There is a man that lives on the island Tortola that can claim his heritage. We then explored the cabins and the stern of the ship. We then went to lunch on copper island, had lunch, and then snorkeled within the bay, trying to find seahorses for 50 bucks. We then went back to our cabins to discuss our projects. Then we had dinner on the beach. After dinner we once again had our classmates who had forgotten things have a dance off to songs such as, Jessica Simpson “these boots were made for walkin.” When the sun set we all went night snorkeling and saw huge lobsters, several octupuses, and some squid. I can’t wait for tomorrow.
