Scuba Diving in Wrecks of the Hispanic - Cuban and North American War of 1898. "VIZCAYA BATTLESHIP CRUISE".

Diving in wrecks of the Spanish-Cuban and American War of 1898. "CRUCERO ACORAZADO VIZCAYA"

Archaeological Park of the Natural and Cultural Underwater Heritage, Naval Battle of Santiago de Cuba Declared a National Monument in 2015.

General information

It is made up of seven archaeological sites (Playa Siboney, Las Cuatro Bocas, Playa Mar Verde, Rancho Cruz - Buey Cabón, Ensenada de Juan González, Aserradero and Playa La Mula), whose environmental and archaeological characteristics differ from each other due to their own location along the southeastern coastal strip of Santiago de Cuba. Territorial extension of some 64,824 nautical miles, along the coast from Siboney beach, belonging to the municipality of Santiago de Cuba; to "La Mula" beach, referring to the municipality of Guamá.

This coastal strip was the scene of one of the most transcendental naval events in the history of mankind. The unequal naval battle, which ended with the sinking of the fleet of Vice Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete, put an end to the Spanish colonial rule in America and led to the emergence of the United States of America empire.

The remains of that naval crusade make up what is currently known as the "Batalla Naval de Santiago de Cuba" Underwater Archaeological Park. This is made up of seven archaeological sites where the wrecks linked to the landing and the naval conflict lie, as well as all those material evidences belonging to the ships that are related in one way or another to the events, for example: masts, masts, remains of the rigging of the mastheads, ironwork, parts of the artillery sites, thick and medium caliber projectiles, flushes, balusters and mechanisms of the propulsion system. Similarly, among the remains that lie on the seabed, in more than a century of rest and biological activity, special ecosystems have been articulated where the sessile fauna and marine flora have merged with the wrecks in a symbiotic entity that protects them mutually.

For many years these sites have been of special attraction for researchers, archaeologists, divers and tourists in general, justified not only by the transcendental historical value of the famous Battle of the Sea, but because it is a real privilege to enjoy today the dives in these wrecks located in an environment of spectacular beauty, in which the Sierra Maestra mountain range bursts into the Caribbean in an abrupt and irregular manner, cut by canyons and riverbeds and estuaries that extend into pebble-covered deltas and low-lying areas, forming mangrove-covered wetlands under the shelter of virgin inlets and coves: ecosystems that support incredible biological diversity.

It is a privilege to live history up close through these wrecks, exceptional witnesses of the events of the Naval War of 1898, a treasure of the underwater cultural heritage, which preserves the right of future generations to enter a transcendent page of universal history.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE: "ASERRADERO". Wreck: Battleship Cruiser "Vizcaya".

• Site: Aserradero Bay, west of Punta de Moquenque, about 16 miles from the bay of Santiago de Cuba.
• Municipality: Guamá.
• The Crucero Acorazado "Vizcaya" is located in the small barrier that protects the entrance channel of the bay of Aserradero, about 900 meters from the beach and 280 meters from Punta de Moquenque. From the coastal margin, even from the road, the bow turret, with one of its large-caliber guns, is visible. Its remains are between 4 and 10 meters deep.

Historical Review:

• The Crucero Acorazado Vizcaya, like its twins Infanta María Teresa and Almirante Oquendo, was part of the Squadron of Admiral Juan Pascual Cervera y Topete. It was built in the Nervión shipyards.

• The role played by the Vizcaya on the morning of the fateful 3rd of July 1898 was no less fortunate than that of his brothers in combat. She sailed up the Bajo del Diamante behind Cervera's flagship, continuously opening fire on her immediate pursuers and heading west at about 20 knots, followed by the ships Brooklyn, Oregon, Texas, Iowa and Indiana. At the height of Punta de Cabrera, some 5 miles from the city of Santiago de Cuba, her commander, in a maneuver of desperate effort, launched the ship against the closest of her pursuers, the "Brooklyn", to board her, which almost by pure chance, the American ship was able to avoid.

• The "Vizcaya" received many hits, it has been described that almost destroyed, with practically all the crew out of combat, burning, with its deck studded with corpses, she put her bow to the coast, to run aground on the rocky ground of the Sawmill Bay.

• The battleship Vizcaya was the vessel designated by the Spanish Navy for the famous courtesy visit to the port of New York in the United States.

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE "Vizcaya" BOAT

• Name of the wreck: "Vizcaya".
• Class: "Infanta María Teresa".
• Type of vessel: 1st class battleship cruise.
• Flag: Spain.
• Date of commissioning: 7 October 1889.
• Shipyard: Sociedad Astilleros del Nervión, Sestao - Spain.
• Launch date: 8 July 1891.
• Commander: Captain Antonio Eulate.
• Crew members: 497 men.
• Length: 110.9 metres.
• Beam: 19.9 meters.
• Strut: 11.58 meters.
• Draft: 6.6 meters.
• Displacement: 6,890 tons.
• Maximum speed: 20.25 knots.
• Range at low power: 9,700 miles (nautical).
• Type of bow: Lower half-bulb launch.
• Decks: Steel and wood.
• Rudder: Aft, spade outside the transom with shaft running to deck, driven by a servo motor.
• Shielding: Armored belt 305-254 mm.
• Shielding: Deck 76-52 mm.
• Barbets: 229 mm.
• Type of machinery: Triple vertical expansion steam engine.
• Type of feeding: Mineral coal - 1050 tons.
• Power : 13 700 CV.
• Boilers : 3 units.
• Propulsion : 2 propellers.
• Masts : 2 masts.
• Large caliber artillery: 2 "Hontoria" 280 mm guns in barbeque towers at bow and stern.
• Rapid fire artillery: 10 x 140 mm "Hontoria" guns. Behind mantelets (rapid fire) 8 Nordenfelt 57 mm guns (rapid fire).

Diving services included:

• Basic diving equipment,
• Compressed air tank.
• Leaded belt.
• Assistance of a guide instructor with international certificate, who will make an informative briefing of the immersion to be done.
• Boat that takes you from the diving center to the diving points (In principle the dives leaving from the nautical base of the Campismo Rio La Mula will be done by diving boat).

Degree of difficulty: Medium.

Distance to be covered in the excursion (round trip): 20 kms approximately.

Approximate duration of the excursion: 2 hours approximately

**Very important note: It is obligatory for the clients to present their official certified diving qualification.

**Very important note: For safety and protection of the underwater heritage, customers may never directly touch the remains of sunken ships and must strictly comply with the instructions issued by the diving instructors.

TIPS: • Recommended: light clothing, swimsuit, towels, sunglasses, hat, sunscreen and photographic camera. • We recommend that the client can bring their own diving mask. • The client can bring his complete diving equipment if he wants to. • We recommend that the client can bring his/her personal dive computer. • We recommend that the client can bring one or more bottles of mineral water to stay hydrated as well as light foods rich in protein or fruit.