One of the best Caribbean wreck dives is the wreck of the C/S Charlie Brown on the island of Statia (St. Eustatius). Statia is only a quick 10 minute plane ride from Saba. I truly love vacationing on Saba. It is well away from the crowded reefs like Bloody Bay Wall on the Cayman islands or Palancar reef on Cozumel.
In its hay-day the C/S Charlie Brown spent almost 50 years lying fiber optic cable around the world. She was built in 1950 and is 327 feet long with a beam of about 41.4 feet.
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While Aruba may be better known for its beaches and casinos, it is also a good destination for the scuba diver. In fact, Aruba was voted the second best wreck diving in the Caribbean by Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine in 2006. So if you like wrecks, you may want to consider a trip to Aruba. Plus, you can always check out those casinos and beaches in-between dives!
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Have you done much cold-water wreck diving? If you’re used to Caribbean diving, this is a whole different experience. You’re going to want to get trained and certified for drysuit, and you’ll want to either buy one (check eBay), or find a shop that has one for rent in your size. You can try, but it’s really hard to rent a drysuit. If not integrated in your drysuit, you’ll also need a hood, gloves, and boots. If the conditions are just right, you might get away with a 7mm wetsuit on shallower dives, but when the water temps at depth get down into the 60s, 50s, and even 40s, you’ll be uncomfortable without a drysuit. You’ll need open-heel fins (slipper fins don’t work well with boots), main and backup lights, a tank light, and a wreck reel. Signaling devices are also a good idea, such as a safety sausage or a whistle. Many wreck divers carry a knife or shears, too, in case of entanglement. If you want to do more serious wreck penetrations, you should train for Wreck certification, too – you’ll live longer.
I’m not some serious, expert, North Atlantic wreck diver – I’ve only done two 2-tank excursions here in the NY Metro Area, and three dives one day in Lake Michigan (which is surprisingly similar), but I’ve logged over a third of my 91 dives at a cold local quarry called Dutch Springs, plus two at another quarry called Brownstone. I’ve also done the PADI advanced and Rescue courses, and completed the specialties to earn PADI’s Master SCUBA Diver certification, but I have no professional or technical training. I know I’m only a couple of North Atlantic wreck dives ahead of the rank beginners, but from my experience, I have two suggestions…
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