Salvador & Baía de Todos os Santos · Brazil · Artificial reef · Reef
Maraldi
An 1875 wreck with its boiler at the centre, beside the lighthouse
Photo: Rainer Strehl · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Maraldi is a shallow wreck from 1875 lying among the harbour corals next to the lighthouse at Barra. Ocean water reaches right to the shore here, and the wreck sits no deeper than 10 m with visibility of 5 to 20 m, which makes it a site for beginners and try dives.
Where it is and how deep
13.0085° S, 38.5343° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The Maraldi lies next to the lighthouse, among the corals of the harbour, and the whole dive stays shallow, with the deepest point at 10 m. The ship has been broken up, and its centrepiece is the boiler in the middle of the wreckage, the landmark the dive is built around.
Because ocean water comes right up to the shoreline here, visibility runs from 5 to 20 m despite the site’s position beside the city. The shallow depth makes it a site for beginners and for try dives, and the harbour corals around the wreck are dived from the same beach at Porto da Barra.
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 | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Salvador & Baía de Todos os Santos: Diving runs all year; April to June is Salvador's rainy season, so July to March is the easier window for a trip.
Dive videos
Galeão Sacramento - Naufrágio - Maraldi · Galeão Sacramento on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Maraldi wreck in Salvador?+
The Maraldi is no deeper than 10 m, with visibility of 5 to 20 m, so it suits beginners and try dives.
Sources
- Pontos de Mergulho - Bahia de Todos os Santos — Águas Abertas
- Maraldi dive site — Scubago
Photo credits
- Rocky granite point and tide pools beside blue open sea, with dry grass slope in the foreground by Rainer Strehl, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Salvador & Baía de Todos os Santos
Wreck
A 1905 clipper wreck at 9 m, dived every day of the year
Wreck
Brazil's largest diveable wreck, a 161 m bulk carrier lost in 1980
Wreck
Cannons and anchors from a galleon lost in 1668
Wreck
A whole, upright fishing-boat hull between 33 and 39 m
Reef
Seahorses and morays along a coral wall 3 km (two miles) long
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