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where the seafloor is desolate or
damaged by storms or human activity.
We are using steel and concrete
only as materials for the wreck. We’ve
added rebar (steel) structures onto
the boat, which is itself steel, and
we believe that, with the amount of
welding we did prior to sinking, the
boat will hold enough of a low-voltage
charge of electricity that electrolysis
will immediately begin and increase
calcification. The other material we use
is concrete, which is one of the best
materials for creating an artificial reef
because its composition is close to
natural coral limestone.
It’s hard to gauge exactly, but we
may start seeing some calcification
within the first year; it will then increase
year by year after that. In, say, 150 years’
time, the Willy T will start to blend in
with the natural environment, but you
will still be able to see that it’s there.
It sounds like a huge project.
Q Did you have a lot of help?
There’s a huge amount of expertise
in the Beyond The Reef team. We are
guided by an underwater engineer, an
oceanographer and an environmental
filmmaker, and were lucky to be able
to employ numerous welders,
commercial divers, and barge and crane
operators who all brought together
unique knowledge to get the project
done successfully. Our co-founder,
Chris Juredin, also owns the local
companies Commercial Dive Services
and We Be Divin, which donated time,
experience, heavy machinery and
materials, without which it would have
been nearly impossible to get this
project done.
Chris and Commercial Dive Services
were also heavily involved in the 2017
sinking of the Kodiak Queen ship to
create an artificial reef, and we were
able to bring back and collaborate with
several of the brilliant minds from that
project, including lead welders and
artists Drew Shook and Josh Wilson,
as well as Aydika James from Secret
Samurai Productions for fundraising
help and art direction.
We also had help from EarthEcho
3
International, Philippe Cousteau’s USbased
nonprofit, which has a similar
mission to empower youth in marine
science. Philippe had visited the BVI
while filming a show called Caribbean
Pirate Treasure in 2017 (a few months
before the hurricane), and loved the
Willy T and the diving here. When I
told him about the good that could
come from recycling it and converting
it into an artificial reef to increase dive
tourism and fund teaching children how
to swim, he wanted to be involved.
What’s next? We have further
Q expanded the art-reef with the
three planes-come-sharks. The planes
are going back into an already amazing
dive spot called the Coral Gardens off
Above:
The process of
sinking the Willy T
was a tricky job
– but now it’s on
the seabed in Key
Bay, Peter Island,
it provides a fun
playground for scuba
divers at all levels
Right:
What might you spy
underwater in the
warm, clear seas of
the BVI?
WWW.1BEYOND
THEREEF.COM;
@1BEYONDTHEREEF
Great Dog Island. They will sit about 40-45
feet deep in beautiful, gin-clear water with
scattered coral heads and a good amount
of marine life – a perfect spot for new or
highly experienced divers alike.
Before the storm, there were already
airplanes there. We wanted to replace
them so that people could continue
to enjoy this awesome dive spot, but
when given the opportunity to start
from scratch with new (hurricanedamaged)
airplanes, we had the crazy
thought that they have a similar shape
to sharks, so could be easily converted
to become half-shark half-airplanes!
They are already being referred to
as ‘sharkplaneos’. Beyond The Reef’s
mission also includes raising awareness
of threatened species across the globe,
and we hope that creating something
fun and silly like the shark airplanes can
communicate a message encouraging
people to be enthusiastic about sharks
and their conservation.
We have spent several months
working to prepare the airplanes, which
has included removing and relocating
them from the airport, stripping them
of all environmental hazards and
finally working to complete the shark
conversion. We hope to sink all three in
the first week of December [after this
magazine went to press] during the BVI’s
Wreck Week, a week-long annual event
remembering the old and celebrating the
new shipwrecks of the BVI. ●
76 | ZiNG CARIBBEAN www.liat.com | January - February 2020