Rainbow Warrior

The Rainbow Warrior was bombed by French intelligence agents in Auckland Harbour on 10 July 1985, killing photographer Fernando Pereira as Greenpeace prepared to protest nuclear testing at Moruroa. Two years later the ship was scuttled off Matauri Bay as a living memorial, watched over by a monument on the headland above. The sea has kept its side of the bargain: the hull is sleeved in jewel anemones in pinks and violets, schools of golden snapper and demoiselles drift through the masts' absence, and morays occupy the seams. It is dived as a reef, a piece of history, and a memorial to a man and a cause, in that unhurried Northland green-blue light.

Il momento che aspettavi: Jewel-anemone-covered hull, a pivotal moment of protest history, memorial headland above the bay

Topografia: Sand at about 28 m with the 40 m former Greenpeace flagship sitting upright

Corrente: Usually gentle; visibility swings with recent weather more than current.

Entrata: The wreck lies off Matauri Bay in the Cavalli Islands, north of the Poor Knights; Northland operators run it as a dedicated trip or a pairing with the reserve.

Pericoli: Depth for newer divers and aging structure; penetration is for the trained and is often unnecessary anyway.

Conservazione: A memorial site: dive with respect, take nothing, and leave the structure untouched.

Nitrox: Vale la pena qui — i profili rientrano nella fascia in cui l'aria arricchita (nitrox) prolunga in modo significativo il tempo senza decompressione (con la formazione necessaria per utilizzarla).