Vapor de Baixo

The identity and history of this paddle steamer, which lies a short distance from the entrance to the port of Recife, are unknown. The date usually given for the sinking is unreliable, with no record in primary sources, and from analysis of the wreckage it looks like a small steamer or a tugboat. Because its origin is unknown, local divers named it after its position: it forms a sequence of wrecks with the Pirapama in the center, between the Vapor de Baixo and the Vapor de Cima. The archaeological study concluded that the human factor stands out as the probable cause of the sinking.

The two large paddle wheels, 4.20 m in diameter and fitted with feathering eccentric paddles, are the largest structures of the wreck. It is the only paddle steamer in Brazil whose state of preservation still lets you see the paddle wheels in their correct position. Two large boilers remain in their original position, and two meters behind them sit the two-cylinder side lever steam engines. Around the wreck there are four artifacts that look like Hedgehog anti-submarine projectiles; they do not belong to the wreck and are often moved around by divers.

41 species of benthic invertebrates were identified on the Vapor de Baixo, and sponges were the main group in number of species and space occupation, among them Aplysina fulva and Ircinia strobilina. The coral Siderastrea stellata forms continuous extensions all over the hull, and some colonies were found bleached. The octocoral Carijoa riisei also grows on the paddle wheel, and hydroids appear mainly on the paddle wheel and near the bottom. Common sightings include rays, nurse sharks, sea turtles, lobsters and octopuses.