There you go! [splash]
[music]
THESE DIVERS ARE VISITING THE MOST COMPLEX ARTIFICIAL REEF
TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE DEPT. HAS EVER CREATED.
IN JUST 1 YEAR, THOUSANDS OF FISH HAVE MADE THIS THEIR NEW HOME.
THE TEXAS CLIPPER HAS BECOME AN OCEAN OASIS.
[music]
Okay, guys, today’s dive as you know is to the Texas Clipper.
There are 3 must-see parts of this dive. The first . . .
TIM O'LEARY OWNS AND OPERATES THE AMERICAN DIVING CENTER
ON SOUTH PADRE ISAND.
HE TAKES SPORT DIVERS OUT TO EXPLORE THE TEXAS CLIPPER
WHICH NOW TEEMS WITH MARINE LIFE.
Texas Parks & Wildlife has taken a section of the Gulf of Mexico
that was once a barren dessert
and created an enormous ecosystem of some 180,000 sq. feet of substrate
to bring new life for both the fishermen and the divers.
I never thought it would happen. [laughs]
I am ecstatic.
And for me this is like an unbelievable dream
come true for south Texas and I'm just shocked it’s in my own backyard.
[music]
OVER THE PAST 60 YEARS THE TEXAS CLIPPER
HAS HAD 3 VERY DIFFERENT LIVES.
SHE TRANSPORTED TROOPS DURING WWII,
CARRIED THE WELL-TO-DO ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
FOR LEISURE DURING THE '50s.
AND THEN TAUGHT MARITIME CADETS HOW TO COMMAND A SHIP.
NOW SHE WILL SPEND HER 4TH AND FINAL LIFE AS AN ARTIFICIAL REEF
ATTRACTING MARINE LIFE, SCUBA DIVERS AND ANGLERS.
This is a world class wreck.
I want Texans and Texas to get excited.
[sound of helicopter]
WHEN TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE ACQUIRED THE CLIPPER,
THEY SPENT A YEAR CLEANING IT OF ALL HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
AND CREATING OPENINGS FOR WATER FLOW AND WILDLIFE.
SHE WAS THEN TOWED TO THE LOCATION OF HER FINAL HOME
17 MILES FROM SOUTH PADRE ISLAND.
[helicopter]
WHEN THE SHIP STARTED TO SINK,
NOT EVERYTHING HAPPENED ACCORDING TO PLAN.
We spent 10 years planning this and everything rides on the sinking.
And we’re going to do controlled flooding
to eliminate the use of explosives to protect marine life.
But, by using controlled flooding,
at any point in time something could go wrong
and the ship can roll over on its side or roll upside-down
which would be the last thing that we want to happen.
The ship started to take on water on its port side, the left side,
and we assumed that the water would go across the ship
to the other side, the starboard side, and equalize itself out.
That wasn’t the case.
It should be in an upright position, it should be going down evenly.
[rushing water]
This was not what we had bargained for,
this is not what we had planned for for 10 years.
[helicopter]
[rushing water]
As soon as the ship went down,
it was obvious that it was laying on its port side.
[music]
The sink plan called for controlled flooding
which would allow water to come in on both sides of the ship evenly.
And as the ship took on water,
the water never transferred to the starboard side
and it kept listing to port.
So that as the vessel went down it basically went down bow first,
the bow hit the bottom and then it laid on its port side on the bottom.
[music]
[Radio Announcer] Hurricane Ike expected to make landfall
late tonight or early tomorrow along the Texas coast line
including the possibility of... [fades out]
IF SINKING ON ITS SIDE WASN'T ENOUGH,
JUST 10 MONTHS LATER HURRICANE IKE FLANKED THE TEXAS CLIPPER.
IT'S BELIEVED THAT THE VERY STRONG CURRENTS CREATED BY THE HURRICANE
CAUSED A CRACK IN THE STERN, CREATING A 15-FT. WIDE OPENING IN THE SHIP.
From the perspective of being an artificial reef or marine habitat
the ship is functioning.
It would be much better if it was in an upright position
where most of the marine life could be up in the higher water column
where there’s more light.
We’re in early discussions on a method to upright the ship
and to discuss whether this is even feasible.
I’ve been told through consultants and other contractors
yes it can be done. It’s not a cheap thing to do,
it’s a little bit difficult but it certainly can be done.
It’s really important to have the ship in an upright position
because it was strictly designed to be a dive attraction
and keep most of the diving 80 feet and shallower.
That’s also important for the marine life
because the majority of the marine life
is going to be in the higher light zone
that’s up around 50, 60, 70 feet or so.
[waves] [music]
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND... [kids squeal]
NOW ADDED TO ALL THE THINGS YOU CAN DO HERE
ARE DIVING AND FISHING THE TEXAS CLIPPER
It’s a blast, I mean to see all the different type of fish life
and the various marine life because you never know.
Each dive is different.
We saw a manta last time we were out here.
So there’s no 2 dives that are exactly alike
no matter how many times you do it. It’s different every single time.
There will be a huge economic impact
for both the town of South Padre Island
and the dive shops throughout Texas as well as the restaurants, the bars,
the campgrounds, the gasoline station.
Impact of the tourist dollar increase in this area will be enormous.
Here at South Padre Beach Resort we definitely have seen a positive impact
ever since the Clipper has been sunk.
The Clipper’s been a great benefit to us
you know, it’s bringing in divers in November and December
when we’ve never seen them before.
Come here, fishy...
AND THE FISHING AT THE CLIPPER...
It couldn’t be better, the fish come in and they come in
and they just keep coming in and keep coming in
and they breed there.
This Clipper’s going to be fantastic for this area. It really is.
Artificial reefs are real, real good huh?
See this fish? Yeah, they're great.
Wooo!
Fishin’ Texas, baby!
Ha-HA!
[music]
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT BROWNSVILLE
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES IS CONDUCTING A MONITORING PROGRAM.
Morning everyone.
THEY ARE STUDYING THE HEALTH OF THE TEXAS CLIPPER AS AN ARTIFICIAL REEF.
DAVID HICKS AND CARLOS CINTRA-BUENROSTRO
ARE THE CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS.
Our role is we have a monitoring program
in which we’re basically documenting
the transformation of the Texas Clipper
as a steel ship into a living biological reef.
One aspect of our research is looking at the species
that actually colonize the hull of the ship.
And to document this we are using a photographic technique.
We also scrape certain areas of the ship
and collect these same plants and animals
and bring them back to the lab for more definite identification.
This ship is actually functioning as it is supposed to.
It is becoming an artificial reef.
We already start even seeing changes in the type of creatures
that are moving into the neighborhood.
And yes, it is working as it is supposed to be.
[music]
THE TEXAS CLIPPER NOW RESTS AT HER NEW HOME
OFF THE SOUTH TEXAS COAST.
IN HER PREVIOUS 60 YEARS OF LIFE
SHE WAS A MILITARY SHIP,
A CRUISE LINER,
AND A TEACHING VESSEL.
SHE TOOK CARE OF HER PASSENGERS AND CREW
AND CARRIED THEM TO PORTS ALL AROUND THE WORLD.
NOW SHE IS AN OASIS FOR HER NEWEST PASSENGERS,
THE MARINE LIFE OF THE GULF OF MEXICO.
Just because it’s sunk doesn’t mean it’s over.
The ship has a whole life ahead of it.
This was more than a ship, it touched so many lives.
Now it’ll live on as an artificial reef
where it will benefit marine life and future Texans.
[music]