Sesimbra Wreck Dive Script
Coming up!
The Bird family explores a spooky shipwreck in Portugal searching for conger eels!
Welcome to Jonathan Bird’s Blue World!
In February of 1989, a Nigerian cargo ship called the River Gurara was steaming north
towards England, when a mechanical failure left her adrift in a storm without power.
She broke in half and sank off the coast of Portugal, taking the lives of 18 crew members.
Today she is a thriving artificial reef, and one of the most popular dive sites in Portugal.
Our friend Arlindo from Portugal Dive has invited the whole Bird family to visit this
historic wreck…
Getting on the plane baby!
Yeah!
…so we’re heading off on another epic adventure.
Our destination is Portugal’s famous Cape Espichel, just south of Lisbon.
We meet up with Arlindo at the aiport, and it’s off to the beautiful seaside town of
Sesimbra.
The next day we arrive at Cipreia Dive Center, ready for an adventure.
Once we have all our gear loaded on the boat, divemaster Ricardo Germano gives us a briefing
on the wreck.
…at five meters.
I don’t know if you use deep stops on your computers.
If you do you can also do your deep stops at 25 meters…
Oh my god look at that!
Liam you’re lookin’ good, you are rocking the fourth element hood!
Oh you look marvelous!
Thank you, long hair and hood is so exciting.
Scuba diving is a fashion sport.
Everybody looks good.
Finally we hit the 61° water.
Yay!
It’s chilly, so we’re glad we brought our warm 7mm wetsuits.
Down on the bottom at around 90 feet, we discover surprisingly good visibility for cold water,
and the bow of the wreck.
Arlindo told us that the wreck is a great place to find conger eels.
This part of Portugal has a mix of tropical marine life such as gorgonians and temperate
water life such as a kelp.
It’s like swimming in two different oceans at the same time.
Elise has discovered one of the bow thrusters, a propeller used for pushing the bow sideways
and positioning the ship.
Ricardo leads us through a section of the hull where the kids can get a little feel
for wreck diving.
On the way out, Elise has found an eel.
But it’s not a conger eel.
That’s a moray!
A huge school of sea bream are hanging around the superstructure.
Ricardo leads us towards the stern, which is a little shallower.
At the stern, we continue our search for a conger eel.
It’s not long before he leads me inside the wreck to find a conger eel hanging out
in a pipe.
Now you might be wondering, how does the eel get in there?
Does it back itself into the pipe, or swim in from the other end?
I actually don’t know.
On the wreckage, we find a spider crab with excellent camouflage.
And nearby, a spiny lobster with no camouflage at all.
Then Ricardo points out one of the massive props.
Elise and Liam swim over to give it some scale.
Below the prop, another conger eel in another pipe.
I guess if you are a long skinny animal, you like a long skinny house.
With our air getting low, we swim along the overturned hull back towards the mooring line.
Another school of sea bream give us a farewell.
And then its up to the line we go to a short safety stop.
That was the first conger eel I’ve ever seen.
They’re kinda cute.
That was fantastic.
That was cool.
How was the water temperature?
It was fresh.
A little chilly.
It was water.
Shipwrecks often begin in tragedy, but over time, as they become home to sea life, wrecks
transform into amazing habitats for hundreds of species.
Exploring shipwrecks always has something for everyone—history, exploration and marine
life.
And it’s even more fun when your whole family gets to join in the exploration of the Blue
World.
Hey Guys!
If you want to learn more about diving in Portugal, check out portugaldive.com.
They’re the Portugal diving experts!