James Bond Wrecks

James Bond Wrecks is a shallow, popular wreck dive featuring two purposely sunk movie-set vessels: a mock Vulcan bomber from the 1965 film Thunderball and the 100-foot "Tears of Allah" freighter used in the 1983 film Never Say Never Again. The steel structures lie on a sandy bottom and act as artificial reefs encrusted with hard and soft corals, sponges, and sea fans, forming a maze-like habitat that attracts abundant reef life. Divers can swim around broken-over wrecks and peer through the plane's collapsed fuselage; the bomber is now largely a framework of metal rods. The wrecks sit at about 40-50 feet depth with visibility often 60-80 feet under calm conditions. Entry is by boat into open ocean; currents are usually light and there is no overhead environment, so no technical gear or decompression procedures are required. Typical dives involve circling each wreck or swimming a loop from the plane to the freighter; maintain good buoyancy to avoid kicking up sediment or damaging attached corals, and exercise the usual caution for boats at the surface. Water temperatures typically range from the mid-70s to mid-80s °F. Both vessels were purposefully sunk as James Bond film sets, the bomber originating as a mock plane and the 100-foot freighter used in Never Say Never Again; together they now provide a shallow artificial-reef attraction for recreational divers.