Dive Report: Roatan Express Date: Saturday April 15, 2000 Boat: Nauti Gal Captain: Jeff Hunter By: Mike Rodriguez The Roatan Express was a 180 foot long cargo ship that sank fully loaded with cargo 80 miles offshore Ft. Myers Beach on October 1, 1992 for unknown reasons. The ship was in a mild storm when it began to list badly. The crew checked to see if the list was being caused by cargo shifting, but they were unable to find what was wrong. The list worsened, and the captain ordered everyone off the ship. He gave up his life vest to one of the passengers and apparently drowned. Another passenger went back to her cabin to get her purse and died in the attempt. I was told that the bodies were not recovered and may still be inside the ship. As the ship listed far enough to take on water, it began to submerge then righted itself on the way down. It landed upright in the sand 190 feet down. On my last visit there we found over 50 jewfish and lots of jack all around the ship. We found china in the galley, and there were many other artifacts still left for the taking. This was my second dive on this wreck. My first dive a few months ago was very memorable, and I was really looking forward to diving the Roatan again. Last time, I recovered a stack of china from the galley, and before beginning my dive, I described the location of the galley to the other divers and told them where to find the china. Since my last dive on this wreck I'd heard that the captain was carrying a case of very good wine in his quarters and that the wine went down with the ship. I think I found the captains quarters under the wheelhouse last time, but I didn't have time to search. This time, I intended to go directly there and search for the wine. I was on a mission! The six divers arrived at the boat around 5am for the 80 mile ride to the wreck. We were loaded and on our way by sunrise. Unlike my last trip to the Roatan, the seas were favorable today at under two feet. It was warm and sunny; the ride to the site took about four hours. At the site the water was a beautiful blue and virtually flat; there was no current. The air temperature was about 80F and the water surface temperature was 77F. I was diving trimix 21/29/50 with 50% and 100% O2 for decompression. The captain positioned us at anchor and we geared up. My buddy and I were ready first so we were the first in the water. We headed down in about 70 foot visibility. The downline was in the sand right next to the ship. As we approached the bottom, the usual school of friendly jack surrounded us. It was a nippy 72F on the bottom, but it felt colder given the warm temperature near the surface. I left the downline and immediately headed for what I had previously identified as the captain's quarters. Inside, I found a mattress covering a cabinet which I hoped contained the wine. I carefully moved the mattress out of the way trying not to clobber the visibility too much. I noticed a blood-pressure monitor float by near the ceiling; it seemed a weird thing to find in a shipwreck. By the time I'd moved the mattress and gotten access to the cabinet, the visibility was down to less than five feet. I groped around the edge of the cabinet and managed to open the right side. The cabinet was still full of clothing... shirts and pants hung neatly on hangers, shoes, socks... the Roatan is a *real* shipwreck, not an artificial reef. Below the hanging clothing I spotted what looked like the top of a bottle in the muck. I was excited; could this be the elusive wine stash? I grabbed one of the bottles and pulled it out. The label was gone and it had a screw-on cap. If this was the captain's wine stash, it was pretty cheap wine if it didn't even have a cork. Not discouraged, I stuffed the bottle into my catch-bag, then reached in for more. Eventually, I had about a dozen unidentified bottles of various colors in my bag... all had screw-on caps. Now I was discouraged. I tried to open the other side of the cabinet hoping the wine might be there, but I was unable to get my fingers under the door. By this time, I was running near the end of my planned bottom-time and my catch-bag was heavy with bottles, so I decided to cut my losses and get out. Outside on the deck, I did a cursory examination of my catch. It was mostly Smirnoff Vodka and Bacardi Rum; no wine at all. I left the catch-bag on the deck and did took a quick tour of the bow and wheelhouse where several large jewfish patrolled, then I stopped by the galley and snagged a few plates and couple of glasses. Finally, I returned to pick up my catch-bag and began my ascent. My buddy and I swam to the floatline and were the first to start up the line. At about our 20 foot stop we were happy enjoying the warm clear water when the other divers began their ascent. The floatline was essentially vertical in the zero-current, so as the other divers started up the line, their exhaust brought up huge roiling waves of cold water from below. BRRRRR! To make things worse, along with the cold water came diesel fuel leaking from the ship. It made our regulators very nasty-tasting. Yuck! Fortunately for my buddy and me, our deco was nearly complete by this time, and we were able to get out of the water a short time later. About a half hour after we were on the boat, the last of the divers surfaced through the light oil slick which was spreading on the surface. Once everyone was aboard. the captain pulled anchor and we started the four-hour ride home. Everyone had a great time on this trip and most were able to recover at least a plate or two. I had a bunch of bottles of booze (which was ironic because I don't even drink) so I told everyone to help themselves to a few bottles. Back at the dock everyone hung around for a while then headed home with another great dive to remember. I'm looking forward to another trip out to this wreck so I can check out the other side of that liquor cabinet. With any luck, the wine will be there waiting for me next time I dive the Roatan Express.