The Uribe served as a patrol boat for the Mexican navy for nearly three decades. Now, the 220-foot battleship covered in GoPros is set on a new course: 90 feet below sea, serving as Baja California’s very first artificial reef.
The long-term vision of the project is to create a sentiment in which people are going to see Mexico not just as a place to drink margaritas. Rather, Mexico wishes to create an underwater park that would serve as a focal point for diving, a new form of tourism for the region. It would also bring tourists during off-peak months, fall through spring, when conditions are best for diving.
According to scientists, it will take at least two years for a mature underwater habitat to flourish, with kelp, strawberry anemones, octopus, lobsters, and darting schools of fish. Since natural reefs are being damaged by overfishing, pollution, and erosion, artificial reefs like this one will help create coastal ecosystems that were once desolate ocean floors.
“The sinking of the ship will be the beginning of a dream,” said Francisco Ussel, a 60-year-old architect and president of the 45-member Baja California Divers. Ussel, who had a heavy hand in the execution of the project, told the San Diego Tribune, “It’s a passion to see this growth, to see these fish, to see the colors, to see God’s hand here.”
