Mike Diving 2021
Here are a few collage images of the three weeks we spent on Roatan during Feb/March 2021. Not only do we DIVE DIVE DIVE, but we also take time to have fun, tour the island, and make good friends on the island.
Quick Tour Collages
Robert Herb's Video of us at Turquoise Bay Feb/Mar 2021
Robert Herb, of Subway Diving (& a good friend of Mike & Larry) shoots video of all the diving visitors at Turquoise Bay. Below is his video of Mike & Larry (& others diving with us at the same time) which shows a lot of the resort and some outstanding UW video of some of dives. This trip he captured us working on the coral restoration project. Outstanding job, Bob!!!! You will enjoy watching this. (Link:) Roatan 2020 Subway Video
Diving the Prince Albert Shipwreck
Join Mike & Larry as we dive and penetrate the Roatan Prince Albert shipwreck. After leaving the wreck we move to a sunken DC aircraft near the shipwreck.
History of the Prince Albert Shipwreck
The prince Albert is an island freighter with an intact superstructure. that was intentionally sunk in Roatan sometime in 1987. The tanker, owned by a group of Nicaraguans. left Nicaragua with a cargo of war refugees, headed for Roatan. After escaping its war-ravaged country and delivering the refugees, the ship remained in French Harbour, where it was stripped of valuables and left partially submerged.
Bill Evans. owner of Coco View Resort. saw an opportunity to remove a hazard and gain a wreck for the benefit of his diving guests. Securing government approval proved difficult for Evans. but not impossible with assistance from local businessman Albert Jackson. Evans hired clean-up and welding crews and set about the task of preparing it for sinking.
Three weeks later. a local shrimp boat towed the tanker to Coco View. The sea was rough. and during the effort to transfer lines. they snapped and the ship ended up on the reef. Efforts over several weeks to release it were unsuccessful. and resulted in severe damage to the shrimp boat Finally. in January 1985. a new steel-hulled shrimp boat owned by Jerry Hynds was commissioned for the task. and the ship was successfully pulled Ott the reel A joint effort between the shrimp boats and the Coco View fleet tied the bow into the wind, then pumped water in until it sank. Soon after. a Coco View guest suggested that Evans name the ship Prince Albert. in appreciation of the assistance Mr. Jackson provided.
Nineteen years later. the tanker is in remarkably good shape, sitting upright in 18m of water. Many years of algae and soft coral growth now cover the 42 meter hull and a large collection of fish species have found their home in the cave-like structure. She is an interesting and save wreck to explore and no lights are required to enter the wreck The deck hatches are open and penetration is possible through most openings.
There is also a DC-3 airplane With an intact fuselage close by. You may find thousands Of silversides hovering inside and drift together in large schools. forming a shimmering synchronized display for the watcher. Near the wreck life's a colony Of garden eels & Eagle rays
The stunning prince Albert Wreck an island freighter that sank in Roatan in 1987 and has been under water long enough for an amazing amount Of coral to have grown on her, Every part is covered With a great variety Of soft and hard coral and lots Of fish have made it their home, The wreck is 140tt long and lies on a sloping shallow sand patch from 40 — 70tt in depth. It you visit in the summer you can sometimes find of silversides inside her. Close by is the wreck of a OC3 airplane.
Dive Site: The Prince Albert, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras
A hulking shadow loomed not far into the channel. In the early 1980s the ship was known as the Maas, and it arrived in Roatan filled with Nicaraguan refugees before falling into disrepair and being abandoned to rust in some mangroves.
Breaking waves moved me from side to side as I tried to stay within the roped path and out of the rippling sea grass. Even though I was mostly submerged in comfortable 82- degree water, heat from the afternoon sun soaked into the dark material of my 3mm shorty. A striped eel passed a few feet away as it snaked along from one part of the grass to another. The swim from a small, wooden platform just off shore seemed to take forever as the ocean floor slanted downward at a leisurely angle. Thick sea grass thinned and gave way to jumbled rocks as I continued to kick forward. The narrow path finally opened into a wide channel, and a buoy bobbing up and down on the surface 15 feet above marked where night divers could hang individual tags on the rope to indicate they were exploring the wreck. At this resort, “the pool” was open 24 hours a day for divers to explore the local wreck known as the Prince Albert.
A hulking shadow loomed not far into the channel. In the early 1980s the ship was known as the Maas, and it arrived in Roatan filled with Nicaraguan refugees before falling into disrepair and being abandoned to rust in some mangroves. In 1984, local businessman Albert Jackson offered to tow the wreck to Coco View resort for divers to use as an artificial reef — it’s for Jackson that the ship was renamed the Prince Albert. After running aground on a reef in late 1984, the ship was finally sunk in CoCo View Channel in 1985.
On this day, strong winds and waves reduced visibility to about 40 feet, so much of Prince Albert’s lower portion was lost in the murky depths while streams of sunlight flickered along the bridge and upper hull. After almost 30 years underwater, sponges, coral and lots of sea life call the Prince Albert home. I spent most of my first dive fascinated by the pockmarked hull. A buck-toothed parrotfish swam near the bottom while I focused on a tiny cleaner shrimp staring me down from inside its home. A flash of silver streaked a few feet away as a long, silver barracuda dove down with some unknown purpose before leveling off to resume his tireless patrol of the wreck.
Around the stern and then to the port side I explored this behemoth. I enjoy watching large species, but sometimes there are great rewards to be had by looking for the little stuff — my efforts were vindicated by finding a small, pinkish seahorse hiding among the coral, its tail wrapped around a small branch.
As my air gauge dropped to 1500 psi, I began my ascent. Hovering at the height of the bridge, I imagined sailors going about their daily duties back when this ship had a life and purpose. Now Prince Albert serves as a submerged playground while the sea nibbles away at the metal husk. Over time it will whittle away into component elements, but for the foreseeable future this ship is a must-dive when in Roatan. An hour passed faster than I wanted and it was time to head back to shore. Lucky for us this pool is always open.
PRINCE ALBERT
Off the south side of Roatan lies the wreck of the Prince Albert. This 140 foot long, steel hulled island freighter had exhausted her useful life and sat unattended and rusting for quite some time. She was finally donated by the owner, a Roatan business man, to be sunk as an artificial reef.
In preparation for her sinking, The Prince Albert's hatches were removed and several four foot by six foot holes were cut through her bulkheads. These steps assured easy and safe diver exploration of the ship's interior.
The Prince Albert was then taken in tow by the shrimp boat Sheena Mc. While under tow, the freighter became unmanageable and ran aground on a reef where she remained for over a week, refusing to budge and actually snapping the tow cable of the struggling shrimp boat. The trawler Lady Eleanor and her volunteer crew with the benefit of favorable weather conditions were finally able to pull the Prince Albert off the reef and towed the ship to her present location. The crew opened her valves, and within an hour and a half she sunk to the bottom.
The wreck now sits upright and intact in 65 feet of water in a sand channel. She seemingly invites divers to explore her pilot house, passageways, cargo holds, and compartments. Visibility at the site changes with the tides, ranging from excellent to a little murky.
Within the next few years this wreck is going to develop into a stunning reef supporting an eco chain that ranges from plant life to large predators.
Prince Albert, Roatan, Honduras
Intentionally scuttled in 1987 by the owner of the Coco View Resort in Honduras, the island freighter known as the Prince Albert had an eventful past. It was used by Nicaraguans to take refugees fleeing their war-torn country to Roatán, the largest of the Honduras Bay islands.
However, while docked in the harbor, the 140-foot tanker was stripped of her spoils and abandoned, partially submerged in the water. It was then that Bill Evans saw an occasion to turn the old vessel into a diving wreck for his guests. After a mishap that saw a shrimp boat stranded and severely damaged on a reef while it was towing the Prince Albert in rough seas, at last the Nicaraguan ship was sunk, and subsequently given its present name.
Revisiting the Dolphin's Den Map Project
For the second year in a row Mike (SST) make an attempt to update the Dolphin's Den caverns & tunnels map. (See the header for 2020 Diving page to see last year's map.
This was our first real attempt to do a "disciplined" approach to mapping the cavern system. We collected the following data:
o Depth
o Compass Heading
o Approx. distance for
each leg on the
compass heading
o Note if the passage was
(W)ide (N)arrow or
(T)ight.
This was our first real attempt to do a "disciplined" approach to mapping the cavern system. We collected the following data:
o Depth
o Compass Heading
o Approx. distance for
each leg on the
compass heading
o Note if the passage was
(W)ide (N)arrow or
(T)ight.