El Carbonero - Westburn

Dive from boat - intermediate level.
The wreck El Carbonero is at few some minutes away by boat from the commercial port of Santa Cruz of Tenerife. The landscape is great with at the back ground the famous and paradisiacal beach of Las Teresitas and an extraordinary sight on the impressive massif of the Anaga Rural Park

Little is known about this dive from resident divers, it is said that the conditions can be very difficult (current, reduced visibility) and that we especially can meet huge pelagic fishes, there are sharks there … Our local dive centre is the SeaDive from Radazul.

Today, luck is with us: the sea is beautiful and there is no wind at all. The boat takes off at top speed in the direction of the North and within half an hour we are on-site. A quick glance at the fisherman boat also anchored on the wreck: the current is null as well, what a chance!
The group gets ready with excitement, the conditions are optimal, sun in shining, what are we going to discover?…

The descent is fast, the chain of the anchor is as straight as one I. The wreck is at 32 metres depth, lying horizontal on the sandy bottom. The visibility decreases as we are going deeper. The water is loaded with sediments filtering the sunlight but the temperature remains constant at 21°c for this month of June.

The anchor drives us down to the holds level. The Carbonero wreck would be the Westburn, a British steam ship builds in 1893. It was a bit more than 100 metres long and was captured by the German Navy during the First World War. It had been sabotaged in 1917 in order not to be from any use for the Allies.


The central part(party) was literally disembowelled by the explosive load used to sink the boat. There is nearly nothing left from the starboard side of the ship. We swim slowly in the direction of the stern, the best preserved part of the wreck.

The density of fish is greater than the usual. Big benches of Bogues and Marbled Sea breams take advantage of the weak current to swim away from the wreck as we explore it.

The rudder and the propeller are not at their place, certainly recovered before the sinking, but this 5 metres high steel wall lets us imagine the gigantic size which they had to have. Already fifteen minutes diving, time takes is flying at top speed. A sign exchange about our air supply and we turn back following slowly the port side of the wreck.

The prow of the boat is very damaged, a school of Bastard grunts slaloms in unison in what remains of the structure.

The wreck is crawling with holes and shelters but there is no time. I linger my ascent to make a quick picture of a Fangtooth moray and the round Stingray which finds protection underneath some steel sheets but my curiosity is not satisfied, it is time already to go up. What a pity that our host does not offer Nitrox… A decompression bar is placed under the boat, the safety air cylinder is submerged and availiable if necessary.

Back on the boat, the diving buddies can appreciate the chance to dive El Carbonero with such exceptional forecast conditions… Sights are shining, each diver tells its meetings which become then unforgettable. Once at the surface, we only wish to go back down there!