neptunes goddess:
i am just as confused as the next person in trying to navigate around this site!!
neways, if anybody has personal experience in the wrecks located in aruba, i would be interested in hearing back...scheduled to go there in may...
reg's on~
jan
The "big wrecK' in Aruba is the Antilla. It's the "Must do" wreck. Try to dive it more than once to see it all.
It's a 400' German freighter that was sunk at the start of WWII by it's German crew while at anchor in 55 feet of water in order to keep it from falling into "enemy hands". The wreck protrudes the surface. You can easily swim into the cargo holds and out between the "ribs" of the ships hull which have deteriorated in several places. The wreck is located on the North West side of the island, but most any boat will do trips to it.
Another wreck that is dived often is what's left of the Pedernalis. It was torpedo'd by a German sub in WWII and was brought up into 10-20 feet of water to try to salvage it. the middle torpedo'd section was cut out and the other two ends were welded back together and the ship was then actually used in the D-Day invasion in Normandy years later. What I thought makes this dive neat was all the sea life on it. It was great for taking camera pics as the fish all were "friendly" as the snorkle boats feed them. The shallow depths make this a great beginner, certification, or refresher dive but some might not like it's "shallow depth". If's not overly exciting as all the ships compartments have collasped and you really can't tell it's much of a ship left. Just a good shallow or photo dive.
There is a 100' oil freighter sunk in about 65 feet also right on the edge of Malmook Reef also. Nothing fancy, but it's a wreck. (If it's not on Malmook reef then it was on Arashi reef). Also some parts of an airplane (engine and wing parts) near by.
There are a few sunk wrecks on the south coast, but didn't dive those.
The wreck of the California is on the coast north of the light house, but it's pretty rough water and I think you'd have to do a private charter to get a boat to go to it. (And no it's not the same California ship that didn't answer the Titanic rescue call as some of the travel guides say. This California sank in the 1800's, long before the Titanic ever set sail. So don't let the tourist guides fool ya).
So check out the Antilla and maybe the Pedernalis.
email/PM if you have questions.
-mike
