Vapor Lidador

Enter from the beach at Cais da Figueirinha, or take the two-minute boat hop across Angra harbour instead; two yellow buoys mark the wreck on the surface either way. The bottom is mostly small rock and sand, and the Lidador's hull rises out of it broken up, not intact: a century and a half underwater has done more to it than the wrecking itself. The bow is the best-preserved section and where the dive's attention concentrates; the rest of the hull lies scattered and grown over. Because interior penetration is not permitted, the route is a shallow, unhurried circuit around and over the remains, working a band between 7 and 11 metres depending on where you measure from. Salema and juvenile red porgy school in numbers dense enough to be worth stopping for on their own, a side effect of the fishing ban that runs through the whole park; octopus, moray eels and blacktail combers often work the structure itself, with Azores chromis nearby.

Terceira's Archaeological Park holds two named dives about 200 metres apart, and the Lidador is the approachable half of the pair. The Cemetery of Anchors runs 15 to 35 metres across a multi-century anchor field and asks for some experience; the Lidador tops out around 11 metres and needs neither a boat nor advanced training, just a walk down to Cais da Figueirinha. What holds the two together is what the park does for both: a no-fishing rule that has let the wreck's fish life build up undisturbed, and a documented identity, a named steamer that struck a shoal in 1878, not an unlabelled reef. That combination is unusual on Terceira: most named sites need a boat, run deeper, or come without a documented history.

Built in London in 1873, the Lidador was a steamer a little over 78 metres long, running the shipping lane between Portugal and Brazil with regular stops in the Azores for passengers and cargo. On 6 February 1878 she struck a shoal opposite the Sao Sebastiao fortress, sustained heavy hull damage, drifted west and ran aground roughly 50 metres off Cais da Figueirinha, where she rests today. The wreck now anchors the Underwater Archaeological Park of the Bay of Angra do Heroismo, established by regional decree in 2005 and opened to divers the following year.

Interior penetration of the wreck is not permitted; this is an exterior tour, not a wreck-penetration dive, and no current, entanglement or other hazard has been reported at this depth. Fishing is also banned throughout the park, the rule behind the wreck's dense fish life. Deep Blue Azores and Octopus Diving Center both advertise trips here from Angra do Heroismo, or skip the boat booking altogether and walk in from Cais da Figueirinha, where locally permitted.