wreck

Log This Dive

VASCO D'OREY

Vasco d'Orey isn't your typical pretty reef dive. This is Newfoundland, after all, and we come here for rugged beauty and a touch of history. Sunk in 1977 after a fire, the bones of this 77-meter fishing trawler lie right near the surface, mostly burnt out, as the official records state. That’s actually a huge part of its charm. At just 5 meters, it’s a brilliant shallow wreck, perfect for divers who want to spend ages poking around without rushing their no-decompression limits. We love how accessible it is; you can often see parts of the superstructure breaking the surface, a good reference point for the dive. The water, predictably, is bracing, but visibility can be surprisingly good on a calm day. We’ve finned through schools of capelin here, silver flashes against the rusty hull, and the kelp forests growing on the wreck itself are dense with life. Look closely within the collapsed sections and you’ll find sculpin tucked into crevices, maybe even a curious lumpfish observing you from the shadows. Our favourite part? The sheer scale of it, even in its reduced state. It's a proper wreck, not just scattered debris, and you get to really absorb the story of it without feeling rushed.