Wreck Diving in northem Chile, IANTD Expedition

For nearly six months with my emblematic buddy dive, Jorge Kitzing, the mythical Old Divers Tech and Commercial Diving company PROYECSUB (http://www.proyecsub.cl), we conducted the training necessary to organize a spectacular diving expedition in order to photograph and film the wreck of the corvette "Esmeralda" in Iquique and a shipwreck interesting and important in the port of Pisagua. This training involves a series of technical diving in the harbor of Valparaiso, talks of procedures and knowledge among other things, and a very important factor "mutual understanding", intended to make the diving activities as safely as possible.

Thus, in the second phase of the expedition, we started the trip from the city of Iquique by road, crossing the beautiful "Pampa del Tamarugal", a place where the brown and dry desert contrast showed diving into the sea, as well as the abrupt change of the road, going at the beginning of a level to finally cross streams and valleys showing the harshness of sharp declines in the mountains reach the sea.

Once in the spring we went to port, crossing the middle of the remains of people who had greatness in the past, but today is just a small town nearly abandoned to their fate. In the dock could be seen as working fishermen loading a truck with algae, and the rest of the boats were resting in their berths, in that we saw a fisherman which asked for an interesting wreck dive, and this after a while we shared over one that was north of the bay.

After negotiating the transfer we embarked in two boats, sailing kicking off about 20 minutes, with a sea quite calm. At the point, the fisherman gave us instructions on where was the wreck, to equip it and down to me looking for was right on it at a depth of 15 meters.

In that interval of time down the rest, Jorge Kitzing, Tito Villa and Ulises Bastías, and following the "Old Divers Tech" who are Alejandro Magni, Francisco Inzunza and Herbert Belmar, plus the son of Alejandro that we had built the day before. The water was a bit of sediment close to the product of current and rocks, the bottom was mostly rocks, seaweed and sand to cover the remains could be seen as the constant pounding had destroyed the metal structure that old wreck, standing out among the rest a very special and long-axis, which after observing indicated that we were facing an old Steam Palettes, possibly late 1800 or early 1900.

Among the twisted irons every inch traveled divers photographed what could be some other models to have a good memory, in that look like between a rock and part of the hull there is a small tunnel or confined space, here Tito admitted following as a guide, and I like Magni that are photographed by Jorge, a good photo Father and Son. Walking through the remains can be seen as a very rich marine life, including rollisos can see, a very nice and tasty fish for those who know. The water temperature is pleasant enough, 14 to 15 degrees celcius.

After an extended bottom time the divers are surfacing of area, and will contrast the rich marine life of the fund and dry the rugged peaks that surround the place, a marvel.

Once they are all in the boats began to return to port for lunch later in the creek ranch or a great lunch with him and share what we have lived. The rest of this adventure outdoors magazine due out in December 2011.

a hug, Daniel Malfanti.