La Famille Express Shipwreck tour, Turks & Caicos

There is no landmark to steer by on the way out. You open up the throttle and run across the flats behind your guide, with nothing but turquoise water in every direction, until a ship rises out of the sea where no land should be. Then you cut the engine and drift up alongside her in the quiet. Up close she towers over your Jet Ski, rusted orange, with daylight showing through the holes in her hull.

Completed in December 1952 at Gdynia, Poland, for the Soviet Union as the 189-foot (57.6 m) cargo ship Fort Shevchenko, she was renamed La Famille Express in 1999 and ended her working life as a small freighter based on Providenciales. On 1 September 2004, as Hurricane Frances passed, she dragged her anchor off South Dock with nobody aboard and drifted almost 12 miles across the Caicos Bank. She has sat hard aground off Long Bay ever since, about 2.3 miles out, in water shallow enough that the hull still stands above the surface. Today she is a popular tourist attraction off Providenciales.

This tour suits people who want a real ride out into open water, with something unforgettable waiting at the end. If you like a bit of speed, a bit of history and a photo that nobody back home will quite believe, it is made for you.

1. 1

   Arrive at the marina

   Arrive 15 minutes early for the waiver and the safety briefing.

2. 2

   Jet Ski out to the wreck

   Escorted across the flats toward Long Bay, following your guide.

3. 3

   At La Famille Express

4. 4

   Ride back

5. 5

   Back at the marina

• Free cancellation. Cancel or move your booking up to 24 hours before your start time, for any reason, at no charge.
• Weather. If it isn’t safe to go out, we don’t go out. If we call it off for weather, you have the option to rebook within 30 days or receive a full refund.