Puerto Madryn & Península Valdés · Argentina · Wreck
Naufragio Folias
A 60 m fishing boat on its side in 10 m of water
Area photo: ElGuruCesar · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Folias is a 60-metre fishing boat that went down in 1980 off Puerto Madryn and now lies fully heeled onto its port side on a clay bottom, shallow enough that the starboard side and part of the structure stand out of the sea at low tide. Every plate is furred over with algae, anemones and shellfish, and groupers and octopus shelter inside the hull.
Also known as Folias.
Where it is and how deep
42.7944° S, 64.9421° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive starts on Playa Paraná with a surface swim of about 300 metres out to the hull, which rests on a clay bottom in roughly 10 metres of water. Time it for high tide: at low water part of the structure and the starboard side break the surface, and the published advice is to come in at high water, when the entire boat is under. There is no profile to work here — you drop straight onto the wreck and stay at one depth for the whole dive.
Sixty metres of hull heeled fully onto the port side gives you one long line to follow. Every surface is furred over with algae, anemones and polyps, with molluscs packed into the plating — cholgas, mussels and mejillines — and crustaceans working through them: dientes de perro, crabs and spider crabs. Inside the hull, groupers and octopus of nocturnal habit take shelter, so a torch is worth carrying even in daylight. Swim the length, then follow the same bearing back in to the beach.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Folias
- Type
- Fishing boat
- Length
- 60 m (197 ft)
- Sunk
- 1980
- Cause
- Wrecked in 1980; the cause is not published
- Lies
- Heeled fully onto its port side on clay, semi-submerged 300 m off Playa Paraná
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows Puerto Madryn & Península Valdés: Sea lion dives run best Sep–Mar when the colony is busiest; right whales are present Jun–Dec, and winter water drops to about 9°C.
Know before you go
- At low tide part of the structure and the starboard side break the surface; plan the dive for high water so the hull is properly covered.
- The wreck lies about 300 metres off the beach, so the surface swim out and back is part of the dive — judge wind and sea before committing to it.
Dive videos
INCREIBLE VISIBILIDAD en NAUFRAGIO Folias. Buceo en Madryn. SubSur · CHARLY SUBSUR on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Folias wreck?+
It sits in about 10 metres of water on a clay bottom, shallow enough that part of the structure and the starboard side break the surface at low tide. Diving it at high water, when the whole boat is under, is the published recommendation.
Can you dive the Folias from shore?+
Yes. The wreck lies roughly 300 metres off Playa Paraná, so it is reached as a shore dive with a surface swim out to the hull and back.
Sources
- Naufragio Folias dive site — PADI
- Puerto Madryn dive site — PADI
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