Santa Catharina

The Santa Catharina was a Hamburg-Süd liner launched at Geestemünde, Germany, on 19 January 1907, over 100 m long and of about 4,200 t, and her sister ship was the Santa Lucia. On 14 August 1914, the British cruiser HMS Glasgow stopped the German steamer with a blank shot, boarded her and took possession of her, taking her officers and crew on board. On 11 October 1914, HMS Orama, anchored at Abrolhos, received word that the Santa Catharina was on fire; the party sent out could not put out the fire, and all valves and sea cocks were opened to sink the ship. She sank at 2:20 am on 12 October 1914, 4 miles 7 cables S18½W of the Abrolhos lighthouse, although some modern publications give the date as 16 August 1914. The cargo described for the ship varies, with mentions of kerosene drums, farm implements, cement, rubber, drinks, barbed wire, ceramics, milling equipment and a large ammunition magazine. Rolls of wire and cement barrels can be seen in the wreckage.

A wreck already appeared on nautical charts south of the archipelago, and old fishermen spoke of a ship with rolls of wire on deck, but the first searches failed. In February 2007, a fisherman sold the position, and instructors and dive operators shared the cost. The clue was a plate hooked by a fisherman, who pointed out the spot without GPS, and one of the first to dive the ship saw the lifeboat davit turned outward, a sign that the boat would have been used before the sinking. Cartridges found in the wreckage nearly overturned the identification, until it was confirmed that the engraving belonged to an American factory that had been making them since 1890. Under the stern, the rudder, over 6 m long, rests on a chapeirão (pinnacle reef), and the propeller blades were clearly removed, possibly cut off.

There are few chapeirões around it, with Mussismilia corals, crustaceans and molluscs. Around the wreckage appear fish known locally as badejos, xiras, dentões and salemas and, occasionally, rays. In the Abrolhos region, the best time to dive tends to run from December to March, with calmer seas and water between 24 and 27 °C. Across the Abrolhos Marine National Park as a whole, the best period tends to extend from December to April, when the water is warmer.