Dario & Zor

Out of focus, but captures the loftiness of this entry! Photo by Marina, Tenerife Island 2013

Dive Journal: Janel sent me photos from these dives from Spain. Notes are sparse - Janel can fill in more details. The visibility looks fantastic.

Fauna: Nudibranchs, crabs hidden in shoreline rocks, pufferfish, bearded fireworm.

Log from Janel: Huuuge wreck. We descended into the engine compartment, totally surreal. Could wake our way through a couple other rooms as well, perspective crazy/disorienting as the boat is lodged at a severe angle. Slight narcosis at the bottom (whee!). Regretted shortie here as it kept me from exploring too much for fear of scraping up against the boat.

GIANT giant stride for sure! bunches of bathers all around, am told this is in the spanish tourist area of the island. shallow (approx 5m) rocky outcroppings bordering the shore, then a steep descent down to maybe 15m. a pipeline rests on the sloping bottom and leads the way out to the wreck. we float along above it around 10m so as to conserve nitrogen. when the wreck comes into view, my eyes pop wide and i make the best signal for "HUGE" that i can muster. i can see Zor's eyes crinkle in laughter behind the mask, and we approach from the highest point, the bow.

the wreck is fairly intact, although the middle's been blown out so as to allow divers to penetrate to the area with the inner workings, including the motor. the whole thing leans way to one side, which means surrounding yourself with the machinery feels all-encompassing and almost immediately induces mild vertigo. reminds me of urban exploration, particularly the shenanigans i sometimes got up to in college beneath the student center. coooool.

because i'm in a shortie, i'm ultra cautious of hitting any surfaces with my bare skin (poor choice for wreck diving, but i didn't know there was going to be the opportunity to actually penetrate the boat). this takes some seriously advanced buoyancy control at certain points, and i'm particularly proud of floating unscathed through a narrow doorway at what amounts to a 60 degree angle. this leads to the "cockpit" of the boat. there's a staircase heading down/sideways, and Zor heads through it, motioning for me to follow. i make the little X with my fingers and point to my bare legs - nah. he nods, plunges in, and meets me out on the other side.

we proceed to the deeper stern end, then descend to 30m, where the hull of the boat rests on the sand. i definitely feel a touch narced, although part of my elation is just due to how cool exploring the ship is. we check out fish, a small moray, and make our way up to the bow end once more, rising in depth as we go.

just in the front of the ship is something blurry that i can't quite make out. i make a "what is it?" signal to Zor, and he motions that we should go check it out. the object comes into focus: a Christmas tree and a small dog statue. yes, really - a nearby dive operation evidently enjoys submerging oddities for their students. a pufferfish plus a smattering of nondescript little fishies swirl around the foreign bodies.

we meander our way up the slope, trawling the bottom for interesting specimens. we're both good on air and can take our time - such a pleasure to dive with someone else so comfortable and relaxed. i spot a bearded fireworm, something new to me as of yesterday. a couple nudibranchs turn up, and urchins line the pipe connecting the wreck to the shore. messing around the rocks we find heaps of skittish crabs, not sure what kind.

we emerge beaming. a couple kid bathers help us out with our fins, grabbing them as we hand them up the ladder.

Note: Because these dive pages for Janel are "spliced" into Rich's Dive Log, special numbers are given , e.g. "140J." The light blue dive numbers at top still refer to Rich's index. For Janel's index hit "INDEX" above and then click on Janel's photo.

Mini-index to these three dives:

Canarias #1
Canarias #2
Canarias #3
Janel's Dive Log

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