SS Sapona – Bahamas - Atlas Obscura
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SS Sapona

Bahamas

A steamer run aground near Bimini lives a second life as a playground for scuba divers. 

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SS Sapona shipwreck off the coast of Bimini, The Bahamas. Taken Aug 19, 2009 Compsciscubadive (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 )
SS Sapona shipwreck off the coast of Bimini, The Bahamas. Taken Aug 19, 2009 Compsciscubadive (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 )
View of the SS Sapona's starboard side during low tide, 2010 ForrestVoight (Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0)
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The SS Sapona - a concrete steamer built for war, used for decadence, and in death, serving as a haunting and beautiful place for divers to explore.

The SS Sapona never had a chance to live up to her potential. Built by the Liberty Ship Building Company, she wasn’t finished by the time the war ended, and was sold for scrap before getting a chance to sail. Moved to Bimini by new owner Bruce Bethel, the ship served her first real purpose - as a sneaky storage spot to stash booze in during the prohibition. Bethel had wild fantasies of turning the vessel into a floating nightclub, but alas, that glamorous plan was never meant to be, and the ship ran aground and was broken into pieces by a hurricane in 1926.

After suffering the indignity of becoming target practice for US forces during WWII, and slowly disintegrating as time and weather took their toll, the SS Sapona has broken apart and settled in. Submerged in about 15 ft. of water, the rusty remains serve as a quiet, serene playground for local fish and the humans who snorkel and dive among them.

 

disaster areas shipwrecks water
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Published
April 17, 2013
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