Tabaiba is a town located in the North-Eastern part of Tenerife, near the capital of Santa Cruz. Tabaiba offers fantastic views to the visitors as it faces the ocean. It is famous for the boat that was sunk near the shore: «el Peñón».
What is the story of that ship?
«El Peñón» was a tugboat in the port of Santa Cruz until its activity was stopped in 2005. One year later, they decided to sink it near the coast of Tabaiba. The initiative was taken by a local dive club «El Pejín» along with the Canarian government. They put it there in order to regenerate the marine life of the site and create an interesting and challenging place to dive. Therefore, after an active career of more than 40 years, the boat is still useful while resting at the bottom of the ocean.
How is the dive site?
It is easy to get to the site as we reach it from the shore and then it is only a short swim along a pipeline before getting a panoramic view of the giant shipwreck. Everyone who dives there for the first time is amazed when this image suddenly appears in front of them! The «Peñón» lies at around 25-35 meters. This means that the site is only accessible for divers who possess a certification that allows them to go so deep. This is why we always recommend to new divers to follow the PADI Advanced Open Water course as it opens the doors to many interesting sites like Tabaiba!
First you can swim around the boat and observe the surroundings as it´s dive site rich of marine life. Then you can penetrate the wreck where you can enter the engine room, the toilets and the control room. It has been cleaned and prepared for diving so the divers can go through the whole wreck. However, it is advised to have proper training to enter the wreck, as it has several floors and it can be hazardous for people who have never dived in shipwrecks before. It is necessary to have some knowledge about this kind of dive. The best way is to take a Wreck diver course (and Tabaiba is the perfect place to learn that specialty!) in which you learn the techniques to dive safely in any kind of wreck (ships, planes and others).
To sink the ship was a good idea as this dive site now attracts many divers from the whole island, and the aquatic life has been growing constantly since then. We can encounter many animals like, barracudas, moray eels, octopus, scorpionfish, arrow crabs, anemones, rays, trumpetfish, and many other kinds of fish that swim around in huge schools.
A wreck and a passionate man...
Not far from the wreck, we can find a monument that was erected there in memory of a diving instructor who used to live and work in Tabaiba. This man died from cancer 4 years ago and the monument is there to remember him, so he will always be part of this dive site.
As you see, Tabaiba has a lot to offer and you will never be disappointed when diving in this wonderful site. So if you come to Tenerife and want to dive, remember to go to the wreck «El Peñón» as this is one of the favourite site of many divers on the island. It is a perfect spot to discover the aquatic life and to do courses such as Deep and Wreck specialties.
Useful links:
Other dive sites in Tenerife
Underwater signs
Diving Atlantis, Paseo Maritimo, 17 - Los Cristianos, Tenerife
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