Tarragona · Spain · Wreck
El Vapor del Miracle
A burned wooden steamer on sand at 16–17 m, dived at Open Water level
Area photo: User:Vmenkov · CC BY-SA 3.0
The remains of a wooden coal-fired steamer — the Vaporet to locals — that caught fire and sank, now spread over a sandy bottom at about 17 m off Tarragona. It is an easy Open Water boat dive with a long species list: octopus, cuttlefish and conger eels in the wreckage, and moonfish, yellowtails and the odd ray passing through the year.
Also known as El Vapor, Vapor del Miracle, El Vaporet.
Where it is and how deep
41.1076° N, 1.2705° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
You descend onto a sandy bottom at about 17 m at most — the local club lists the dive at 16 m — where the remains of the wooden steamer lie scattered rather than standing as an intact hull. The flat profile and modest depth make it a comfortable dive to take slowly, working from one patch of wreckage to the next across the sand.
The remains concentrate the life. Octopus, cuttlefish, conger eels and schools of fish live among the wreckage, with groupers, bream, salps and nudibranchs also reported on the site. Through the year the sand around the wreck turns up moonfish, yellowtails and some rays, so it is worth lifting your eyes off the debris field now and then before you finish the circuit and ascend.
The wreck
- Vessel
- El Vapor del Miracle
- Type
- Wooden coal-fired steamer
- Cause
- Caught fire and sank
- Lies
- Scattered remains on a sandy bottom at about 17 m
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Groupers
- Nudibranchs
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Tarragona: Sea temperature falls below 14 °C from December to March and passes 24 °C from June to September, the practical shoulder of the local season.
Sources
- Scubago — El Vapor (Wreck) — Scubago
- Scubago — Vapor del Miracle — Scubago
- Mar de Hielo — Tarragona dive booking site — Club de Buceo Mar de Hielo
More dive sites in Tarragona
Small caves and walls at 9 m off the Salou headland
Wreck
Tarragona's signature wreck dive, an 18 m ship a few minutes from the quay
Wreck
A Luftwaffe He 111 bomber at 30 m, with a resident conger named Sam
Wall
A 10-to-26 m vertical wall at the tip of the port breakwater
Reef
A cathedral-shaped rock at 22–24 m where the groupers are always around
Pinnacle
A lone rock pinnacle on sand, circled by seabream and salema
Artificial reef
Concrete corridors at 14 m, minutes from the Port of Tarragona
Similar dives elsewhere
A small wreck at 22 m reached over rock clusters full of macro
A shot-down jet fighter scattered over 50 by 50 m at 19 m
A scattered cargo wreck on a reef running from 2 m to 35 m
A 1905 trader broken in two on sand at 18 m