Grenada · Grenada · Wreck · Artificial reef
Tyrrel Bay
Grenada's former coast guard flagship, sunk in 2018
Area photo: audi_insperation · CC BY 2.0
The Tyrrel Bay is a Guardian-class patrol boat, once the flagship of the Royal Grenada Coast Guard, scuttled about a mile off Grande Anse beach in September 2018 to make a dive site. She rests at 16 m near Boss Reef with her upper portions within 4.6 m of the surface, which puts the whole wreck inside recreational limits.
Also known as Grenadian Patrol Boat Tyrrel Bay, PB-01.
Where it is and how deep
12.0240° N, 61.7720° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The wreck sits at 16 m near Boss Reef, and because her upper portions come to within 4.6 m of the surface you pick her up from the line long before you reach the sand. Most dives start at the deepest point, working around the hull on the seabed first while the profile allows it, then rise on to the superstructure and stay there for the rest of the dive.
She went down in September 2018, so this is a young wreck, and she was put there for the express purpose of being dived rather than lost in an accident. The shallow top means the last stretch can be spent over the superstructure at about safety-stop depth, with the length of the 32 m hull under you and the seabed 16 m down beyond it.
The wreck
- Vessel
- RGCG Tyrrel Bay (PB-01)
- Type
- Guardian-class patrol boat
- Length
- 32.31 m (106 ft)
- Built
- 1984
- Sunk
- 2018
- Cause
- Deliberately scuttled as an artificial dive site
- Lies
- Near Boss Reef at 16 m, with the upper portions within 4.6 m of the surface
The Tyrrel Bay (PB-01) was a Guardian-class patrol boat, 32.31 m long with an aluminium hull, built at Lantana, Florida and entering service in November 1984. She served as flagship of the Royal Grenada Coast Guard until she was decommissioned in 2012. On 25 September 2018 she was deliberately sunk to create an artificial dive site, a project campaigned for by the Grenada Scuba Diving Association and funded by the Grenada Tourism Authority, the Grenada Hotel and Tourism Association and Clarkes Court Boatyard.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows Grenada: December–May is driest with the calmest seas; June–November is rainier, though Grenada sits at the southern edge of the hurricane belt with comparatively lower risk.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Tyrrel Bay wreck?+
She rests at 16 m near Boss Reef, and her upper portions lie within 4.6 m of the surface, so the wreck can be dived on a normal recreational profile at Open Water level.
Sources
- Grenadian patrol boat Tyrrel Bay — Wikipedia
In The Logbook
- Ships sunk on purpose, and where to dive themWrecks · 14 min read
More dive sites in Grenada
Wreck
A 180 m liner upright, with its deck pool open to divers
Six miles of sloping coral from the harbour to Point Saline
Reef
Finger coral, a small tug and a slope to 28 metres
Reef
Sheltered fringing reef with a sponge-covered wall
Reef
The last reef before the Atlantic, 10 m to past 30 m
The north end of Boss Reef, from 8 m down past 25 m
More than 100 sculptures in Molinere Bay, the deepest at 12 m
Wreck
A 30 m hull in 15 m of water, moved here in 2006
Similar dives elsewhere
Three sunk ships and a retired underwater habitat in one bay
A 1940 Navy fuel barge under a mesh kraken, in 17 m
A 1986 artificial-reef freighter lying in 20 m of bay
A shore-accessible wreck at 20 m, also dived after dark