In cold, fresh water like the North American Great Lakes, you may find sunken ships nearly intact after more than 100 years underwater. In the tropical waters of Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon, Micronesia, you would find the remains of the Japanese Imperial Fleet, thickly encrusted with coral since they sank in World War II. In the Mediterranean, what might appear to be nothing more than a mound of old jars to the inexperienced eye may be a ship that sank when the Roman Empire dominated the West. It's no wonder wreck diving is popular. While most dive sites are natural habitats, a wreck is the work of mankind. Because of this, wrecks offer diversity, attractions and opportunities not found in "natural" dive environments. As a result, diving wrecks is an adventure in exploring humanity's loss and nature's gain.

Dive A Wreck in New Mexico

By Kathleen Bloom

Is wreck diving possible in New Mexico? You bet it is!

If you want to learn how to dive a wreck, contact an instructor about the wreck in Perch Lake in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. The wreck that you can dive there is the remains of a small twin-prop airplane. How did this wreck get there?

Morys "Peaches" Hines, the owner and dive instructor of Water-sports, Inc. of Albuquerque, master-minded this dive site for divers. His desire was to provide an opportunity for wreck and search and recovery diving training for scuba divers.

The wreck began its history as a BA53 manufactured in Wichita, Kansas, in February 1955. Its primary function was a corporate "Learjet of its days". This plane had a capacity of eight (8) passengers and two (2) crew members. It was used as a private corporate plane with the primary purpose of shuttling banknotes between Denver and Albuquerque (its glory days until the 1970's). Its demise as a working plane happened when the nose blew out upon its landing in Aztec delivering oil field materials. Once this happened it was a source for salvageable parts.

Upon hearing of this no longer usable plane, Hines decided to buy it and set it up as a training facility in Perch Lake. To help achieve this goal, Charlie and Annie Scoggins, divers and journeymen welders, were contacted. In order to get the shell of the plane to Perch Lake it was cut into sections for transport. These two divers along with "Peaches" and twenty-two (22) other divers spent Memorial Day Weekend (May 22 - 24, 1987) bringing this "dream" to fruition. The Scoggins used aluminum sheets to weld the pieces together to recreate the shell of the plan. A local towing company in Santa Rosa helped to launch the reassembled plane in Perch Lake. Salvage airbags were attached to the wings and tail section and the cabin (only a shell) was filled with two thousand (2,000) pounds of lift bags. The plane was "launched" from the shore and once positioned, it was dropped into the lake. Its nose originally sat in thirty (30) feet of water and the tail in forty-seven (47) feet of water. Divers followed its sinking, and it was noted that within twenty-four (24) hours after its sinking, the local inhabitants (snails) of Perch Lake had begun to adopt it as a new habitat.

If you have the desire to visit an artificial "reef", come to Perch Lake and dive this site. Its present location in the lake is the same, however, its tail now sits in approximately twenty (20) feet of water and its starboard wing is in approximately forty-five (45) feet of water (divers decided to reposition it). Once you arrive in Santa Rosa, just ask for directions. The dive site is well worth a visit.