Martinique · Martinique · Wreck
Biscaye wreck
A copper-sheathed cod schooner once mistaken for La Gabrielle
Photo: Marc Verstraete · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Biscaye is a wooden three-masted schooner built in Bilbao in 1878 that sank at anchor in Saint-Pierre bay in the 1902 eruption, with a cargo of cod in barrels. Divers long knew her as La Gabrielle until research identified the hull. Her copper-lined hull now rests on a slope at 30 to 38 m.
Also known as Le Biscaye, La Gabrielle, Biscaye.
Where it is and how deep
14.7396° N, 61.1828° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The hull rests on a slope on an east-west line, bow to the east, lying on her port side so that the starboard frames and the copper-lined planking show clearly. Divers explore her between 30 and 38 m, the bow being the shallow end. An anchor about 2 m long lies some 20 m off the bow and probably belonged to her.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Biscaye
- Type
- Wooden three-masted schooner
- Length
- 32 m (105 ft)
- Built
- 1878
- Sunk
- 1902
- Cause
- Sunk at anchor in the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée, by fire or by the wave that followed
- Lies
- On her port side on a slope off the Saint-Pierre pontoon, between 30 and 38 m
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows Martinique: February to April is the best window; the wet season runs June to November, with cyclone risk in September and October.
Know before you go
- Between 30 and 38 m decompression stops build up quickly; watch air consumption on the hull.
Sources
- A Papa D'lo dive club — sites — A Papa D'lo
- Wrecks of Saint-Pierre harbor — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- A low mound of collapsed, encrusted wreckage on a pale sandy seabed in clear blue water by Marc Verstraete, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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