- SS Antilles
Built for the French Line, the "Antilles" was a near-sister to the "
SS Flandre " of 1952. Her construction was completed and her maiden voyage made in 1953. She differed from her sister mainly because she was painted in white. She was placed onWest Indies cruise service in the 1960s. [Ocean Liners; by Olivier LeGoff and Claude Molteni De Villermont.]Her career was much shorter than that of her sister's. On January 8, 1971, she struck a reef near the island of
Mustique in theGrenadines while attempting to navigate Lancecoy Bay, a shallow and reef filled bay on the northern side of Mustique. Theories over why the captain guided the SS Antilles into the narrow shallow strait are still unknown. The impact ruptured a fuel tank and she caught fire. All of her passengers and crew evacuated the ship safely to the island of Mustique and were rescued by Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2.The burnt-out hulk could not be freed from the reef, so the ship lay there for several months, eventually breaking in half. Many years later she would be scrapped on the spot and moved just a few hundred yards to her final resting place in Lancecoy Bay.
The wreck site is currently submerged off of Mustique; the mast protrudes from the water during low tide. Although the ship wrecked in a reef, reaching the site is dangerous because of the rip tides that form. Anyone brave enough will discover the ominous creaking and deep shadows that envelope this well preserved wreck.
References
External links
* [http://www.simplyscuba.com/ShipwreckShow.aspx?ShipwreckID=19&ReturnURL=ShipwreckSearch.aspx Detailed information]
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