In Eilat you can find many dive sites and underwater Nature reserves.
One very special is the Sun-Boat wreck.
It is a wreck of a ship that had a long story before sinking to the bottom of the sea and becoming a beautiful dive site.
The story of this boat starts many years ago (1957) when the boat was built to serve as a shrimp trawler (Shrimp boat) in Netherland and its original name was “Ink fish”.
Later the ship was sold to Harry Lunay and it became a diving boat in Eilat.
For many years the ship secretly helped the Israeli government and other organizations with rescuing people from dangerous places around the Red sea.
After a few years the boat was sold to Shimshon Mashiach (The last owner and captain of the ship).
The Sun-Boat kept taking divers for many years but eventually the ship got older and older until it was too much and it was taken out of the water and the owner waited for years to find what to do with it.
In 2010 It was finally agreed and the Israeli Diving Federation collaborated with a few dive clubs in Eilat and the mayors office had the opportunity to create a new and exiting dive site for people to enjoy.
The ship lays today and about 280 meters away from the beach in the depth of about 17 meters.
Its main mast reach only a few meters below sea level.
It is covered with corals and many animals today and seems like it will stay there for many years to come.
“A video of the day it went down to the bottom of the red sea”
I love exploring new places like this and I recommend every diver that arrives here to Eilat to visit this beauty
Here are a few photos from the ship and its surrounding
Hola @JoniG muy buena descripción del lugar y excelentes fotografías. Ojalá que muchos de los barcos y buques que se están destruyendo en los distintos puertos del mundo, no sean sumergidos para lograr lugares hermosos de buceo, si no también crear arrecifes artificiales y hogar para una gran variedad de vida Marina. Felicitaciones a quienes tomaron esta iniciativa.
Submerged ships create both, a new home for marine animals and corals to grow on and new diving spots that take the “pressure” of other dive sites in a touristic area. That as well saves more marine life
Looks like something I can definitely explore @JoniG …it’s always exciting to see such place and its story. I went diving to several ship wreck sites in Indonesia, including one in Manado, North Sulawesi at 40m deep and in Grenada, Caribbean. I love it!
Wonderful photos and deep history as well , @JoniG ! Knowing I could never complete a dive like this, it is stunning - and eerie - to see how this boat has created a new life beneath the surface, literally!
