Manau

The Manau was a British Royal Mail steamer that, on her first voyage to Brazil, left Santos with a stop in Rio, bound for Antwerp. She carried ore and rubber, as well as sacks of cocoa, bales of tobacco, bundles of piassava and logs of timber. In May 1906, after leaving Salvador at night, she ran aground in the dark on the shallow ledge of the Ubaranas reefs, in Pituba. The ship could not be refloated, and the cargo was taken ashore on rafts. In June, the hull broke in two and sank listing to starboard.

At the centre of the wreckage lie two large boilers, a smaller third one and a triple-expansion steam engine. The propeller is still attached to the shaft, with three of its four blades cut off.

In Salvador, the best months for diving tend to run from September to March, when the sea is usually calmer. Diving in the region is possible all year round, but in winter the options shrink because of bad weather.