St. Barths Diving: The Wreck of the Dakar

Thus entry should really be called “A Nice Day On The Wreck.” This is because Wednesday was a day to see trumpetfish, pufferfish, a turtle, and a beautiful sea anemone, among other interesting sealife, while visiting thewreck of the Dakar. The Dakar sits upright in 50 feet of water just outside Gustavia harbor. As with the Marignan that I visited last year, the wreck sits in the regular harbor traffic lanes, which means that dive boats must anchor in a protected area, divers then submerge to depth and swim underwater until they reach the wreck. Divers must return the same way without surfacing in an area where they might be struck by a motorcraft. The wreck attracts thousands of fish and one large barracuda lorded over the wheelhouse when I was there. Did he eat the captain?