wreck

Log This Dive

FERNANDO J-1

The Fernando J-1 is a proper workhorse wreck, not some pristine museum piece. We love it because it’s a big, broken-up tanker, sitting upright at 20 metres, and it offers plenty of space to poke around without feeling cramped. You’ll drop onto the midsection and instantly feel the sheer scale of the thing – it’s impressive. Our favourite part has to be the engine room, easily accessible and full of cool machinery to navigate through. Light filters in through cracks, illuminating schools of small schooling fish that dart between the decaying pipes. The superstructure is quite broken, but that just means more swim-throughs and places for big groupers to hide, often startling you as they burst from the shadows. The bow section is still largely intact, a great spot for hunting out nudibranchs and flatworms clinging to the metal. It’s a site that rewards multiple dives, each one revealing a new corner or a different resident critter. Perfect for divers who enjoy a bit of history with their marine life, and comfortable with overhead environments.