The Bianca C was built during World War II in France and launched in June 1944. The ship was scuttled by the Germans in August. The hull was raised and remodeled in July 1949. On Sunday, October 22, 1961, an explosion occurred in the engine room when the ship was anchored off Grenada in the Caribbean. As fires broke out, approximately 700 passengers and crew scrambled to abandon the ship while Grenadian fishermen near the harbor of St. George’s rushed to help. One crewman died immediately, and eight others were injured. The ship burned for two days awaiting a fireboat and many were worried that it would sink and block the main harbor. A team boarded the burning ship to attach a towline. As the ship was sinking, she was dragged offshore, with the anchors still sitting in the entrance of the harbor. As she listed, a squall moved in. The towline broke and she sank in 165 feet of water just 5 km from where she first caught fire.
I visited the wreck of the Bianca C on a press trip to Grenada. I was diving recreationally on the tour, but to dive the deeper wreck I would need technical dive gear – two tanks and a decompression bottle filled with oxygen. It is unusual for a diver to rent a full technical dive gear package, but it was worth it for the chance to see the large ship. To dive the Bianca C, the dive plan requires you to jump in and use the current to push you along the hull, surfacing on the far end. Before my dive, I checked my scuba gear and everything seemed in order. A young divemaster offered to carry my twinset from the shop to the boat. It was his first day and he was eager to help out. I wasn’t going to ignore an offer of assistance and thanked the new employee. Right before my dive, I checked my gear one last time, being extra paranoid since it was not my own. The water was clear and the wreck took shape as we descended to the depths. The current was swift, and I started rolling off pictures and we drifted along. I noticed that I was using gas rather quickly — perhaps a few nerves from using borrowed gear? As we reached the far end of the ship, I knew there was no time to hang around. I signaled to the rest of the team to begin our ascent. They looked surprised since I rarely called a dive first. I was surprised that I had such a short bottom time, but the others were getting close to turn time so I thought nothing of it until I reached the surface.
Topside, the Divemaster asked me why I had used up so much gas. It was then that I checked my tanks one more time. The isolation valve on the manifold that connects the two tanks had been turned off. I knew I had checked it. I had done the entire dive on the equivalent of a single tank. I looked up to see the new employee looking puzzled. As it turned out, he had disabled the valve connecting the two tanks when I stood on the swim platform ready to jump in the water. Behind my back, he had turned off the manifold mistaking the closed open position for closed. He had never worked with double tanks before and made a mistake that he will never forget!
I still had a nice dive, even though it was short, and I have this photo to recall the beautiful place. If you want to purchase a download of this image to print for yourself or if you want to buy an art print or printed product, please follow the links in the YouTube description. I truly appreciate your support for my creative work. For more info about what I do, check out www.IntoThePlanet.com Buy a print or product with this image here: https://jillheinerth.smugmug.com
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