IDA MARIA - Sandy Island

The Ida Maria is a standout in Anguilla, especially if you love a good wreck. We've seen plenty of scuttled vessels, but this 37-metre motor vessel, deliberately sunk in 1984, has aged beautifully. She sits upright at a modest 15 metres, making her perfect for advanced open water divers who want to explore without deep decompression worries. What makes her special? The Ida Maria is surprisingly intact. You can fin right into the cargo hold, past schools of glassfish that shimmer like a liquid curtain as you enter. Look up, and sunlight filters down, catching the tiny fry that hover in the overhead. We’ve spent whole dives just poking around her bow, finding moray eels tucked into crevices and big cubera snapper patrolling the decks. The wheelhouse is gone, but the engine room offers some tighter swim-throughs, if you’re comfortable with overhead environments and good buoyancy. Our favourite part has to be the stern, where the prop shaft housing is now home to some impressive barrel sponges and anemones with their resident cleaner shrimp. The current here is usually mild, but check with your dive operator; a stronger flow can bring in pelagics, though it makes navigating the interior a bit trickier. It’s a fantastic site for photographers, too – the light plays wonderfully off the barnacle-encrusted metal.

Location

Sandy Island, Anguilla, Caribbean

Coordinates

18.219778, -63.136860

Type

wreck

Maximum Depth

15m

Marine Protected Area: Sandy Island