Is the morning of April 10th 1943 when the freighter steam-ship Entella leaves the port of Cagliari in convoy with the auxiliary cruiser-ship Loredan and the armed steamer Isonzo (see desc. Loredan and Isonzo Wrecks), heading to La Maddalena Archipelago.
Once near the promontory of “Torre delle Stelle” the convoy is surprised and attacked by the British submarine Safari. The first two torpedoes fired from the latter they hit the target sinking almost immediately the other two ships while the captain of the Entella, with a clever and quick turn toward the shore, avoided the collision with the third torpedo stranding the ship on a shoal and putting in safety himself and the entire crew. However, despite the clever maneuvering of its commander, the fate of the ship was decided: in the morning of the day after the captain Bryant headed back the Safari on the place completing its work of destruction on the stranded ship, which has become now an easy target of its torpedoes.
Today what remains of the steamer Entella is a pile of twisted metal and some residue of the superstructures, all spread out over a shallow sea bed of mixed composition sandy/rocky and surrounded by lush patches of posidonia sea grass. Still, is also present much of the cargo of coal which is clearly visible in the form of the characteristic dark pebbles scattered on the bottom all around the disaster area.
The dive takes place close to a spectacular slope overlooking the sea in a range of depths varying from 8 to 16 meters, where sunlight penetrates easily between the structures enhancing the colors and creating beautiful lighting effects. All around, a myriad of breams and damselfishes paddle in the area attracting also big predators like groupers, amberjacks and garricks. Moray eels, octopuses and locust-lobsters often find refuge in the gorges, while some nudibranchs spot the wreckage with their colors.
These above mentioned features make possible the dives on this wreck also for beginner divers, while creating an ideal environment also for the more experienced ones equipped with underwater camera or scooter/DPV, thanks to the long bottom times spendable and a very wide adjacent area to explore. The Entella wreck results moreover an effective training environment, immersed in a special context.