I’ve always been a follower of dreams and adventures, many times I have spent days at sea looking for the fishing myths and legends, like a cave full of sharks, some old galleons laden with precious jewels and even a German submarine. What I’ve been able to find are beautiful underwater scenery in which very few people have been, as well as spectacular wildlife.

The story begins during a breakfast; I talk to my young friend Miguel Encalada, passionate lover of the sea and a great fisherman. He tells me that he moved to Campeche to put a fishing company, and who knows someone who knows of a sunken ship off the coast of this city, it would be a treat to explore. I thought the expedition would not give many results, just one more fishing story, as the sea swallows up ships, regardless of their size and leaves no trace of them, but it was better to explore than just keep wondering.

 

 

In the days following we loaded the lightweight trailer with everything you need: compressor, tanks, life lines, lights, photography and video equipment, but above all, looking forward and hoping that the ship’s history was true.

We check the weather conditions were good and went to Campeche by the modern highway that goes through Merida. On this occasion I was delighted with the company of my son Rodrigo, the cheerful Chema Lopez, and the incomparable Armando Gasse.

On the way, strong summer rains made further lower the speed of our heavy truck. Still, we got on time to come to Merida to enjoy a breakfast of panuchos, tamales and papatzules, certainly prepared as nowhere else.

 

 

 

Looking for the derelict

The traffic became less intense when we took the highway to take us to our final destination, the walled city of Campeche.

We hadn’t arrived yet when I got Miguel’s call telling me that was still enough daylight time to visit one of its forts and maybe watch the sunset from its walls full of guns. Our hurry was worth it, because those sunsets from a strong, full of history are not often seen in my beloved Cancun.

We were anxious that he tell us the story from the ship we were looking to explore, and he did while we loaded the boat on which we would move the next day. After the checking we did to our boat and make sure that we had enough fuel and above all, leave a sailor to look after our equipment. We set out to a seafood dinner of which the people of Campeche are so proud.

The night was short. When the alarm rang at 4 am we were already raised and ready. The morning air was very nice, not often the sky was starry and the stars looked wonderful, while we did go to sea to the 45 nautical miles that separated us from our goal. 

The waves rose only a few inches when the sun appeared quiet and we were in the boat to take us to the adventure of the day, search, find and dive on the remains of a large ship.

 

 

 

 

When we got to the point that marked the GPS, our friend Miguel began twirling over the same area, which made me wonder if he knew where we were and if there was actually wreck. A little apprehensive, I asked Rodrigo to put on his basic scuba gear and tuck into the water to try to find some clue. He sank fast as he is, it took several minutes before he appeared again with a smile on his face and yelled to me, “dad, this is the best boat I’ve seen in my life.”

Right away I check my team, and feeling beginner jitters I broke the mirror sea to meet a steel giant, so large that my view did not cover the entire surface. When I got to a depth of 15 meters, the first thing I saw was the railings whites completely covered with hydrocorals, there were so many that it looked like a snowy field. Another thing that caught my attention was the amount of fishing nets that now seem harmless, but I wonder how many deaths have caused. When I reached the stern of our discovery, I noticed the corals and sponges claiming their space in the sea.

It called my attention the large variety of fish that populate the area, first at half water barracudas passed us by. The bracket swam armonically around us, while a huge school of sardines saw fleeing fast. Once in the boat noticed that each species has its territory, while the snook take every nook and cranny of the boat to hide, the cobia and snapper prefer the open spaces of the winery, and angel fish come out of hiding to play with bubble.

 

 

As I toured the great ship, I found endless ropes, cables, pulleys and other devices, which indicate that the derelict was an oil tanker that sank, probably taking crew off guard because they left everything as it was.

When I entered its heart I witnessed the show of the sunshine infiltrating the sea, like silver threads woven by miraculous hands, through the iron bars of the collapsed roof and drawing figures that defy imagination.

For a moment I was intoxicated by the spectacle that presented itself before my eyes, and it gave me the feeling of being in a theater. All images both fish and the boat itself, came from the bottom of the sea to get to the bottom of my soul.

It was amazing to be here in one of the largest and most complete wrecks I’ve seen in my life. I had so much to explore and so little time in the sea I would have liked that there were no computers or decompression laws of become a sea creature to extend my stay in this wonder reclaimed by the ocean. But I have to go back to my reality and wait a long time for my return to continue exploring every corner of our finding in Campeche.

 

 

Text: Alberto Friscione Carrascosa ± Photo: Rodrigo Friscione Wyssman