Soto Trader The Soto Trader was a 120 foot long by 30 foot wide, steel hulled island freighter registered in Grand Cayman. In April of 1975, she was en route from Grand Cayman to Cayman Brac, carrying a cargo of beer, gasoline, diesel fuel, cement mixers, and a jeep and stopped at Little Cayman only to off load diesel for local generators on the island. While at anchor in an area called The Flats, her crew was pumping diesel fuel into 55 gallon drums which would later be transported by small boats to the island when tragedy struck. Some of the diesel had leaked onto her decks and ignited from a spark, quickly engulfing the vessel inflames. One crew member died of burns almost immediately, while another passed away two hours later. The rest of her crew eluded injury. The Soto Trader burned from 3:00 PM until 7:00 AM the next day before slipping beneath the waves to her watery grave. The wreck is now sitting in 60 feet of water on the southwest side of Little Cayman, completely intact and upright. Divers will find three large cargo doors on her main deck, all open, which allow for easy access to her cargo holds. Inside her holds are some remains of her cargo including the jeep chassis and cement mixers. There is a crane mounted midship with the boom facing bow to stern. A big green moray eel can usually be found living inside the boom. The wrecks pilot house is still intact, and her rudder and propeller can be seen sitting just on top of a coral reef. The area is frequently visited by eagle rays, puffer fish, shrimp, and angel fish. This site is not dove too often. Unfortunately, the Soto Trader is situated on the opposite side of the island from where all of the popular reef dives are. If, however, you can schedule a dive here, we think you will be quite pleased. Expected visibility ranges from 40 to 70 feet. _______ FOLLOW LIPSapp Classic [Rock] Radio _______ FB: r-js/1vz7Pcz / TW: r-js/XvfPli / Listen LIVE at r-js/1dOIQ18 #classicrock #ledzeppelin #santana #eagles #zztop
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 03:06:33 +0000
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