In 1986, Leander "Bull" Bryan, a commercial fisherman from Anguilla's Island Harbour, rediscovered the remnants of a colonial shipwreck in Stoney Bay. Local fisherman had long known that a shipwreck had occurred in the area, but it was Bryan, an avid diver, who was the first to explore the site.
Leander Bryan's underwater interests led him to the remains of a once a 990-ton Spanish Crown vessel from the eighteenth century, El Buen Consejo. In May of 1772, this ship and others set sail from the port of C�diz in Spain as part of the Flota of New Spain ordered by King Carlos III.
El Buen Consejo's passengers consisted of 50 Franciscan missionaries traveling towards Mexico, the first leg of a journey to the Philippines.
In the very early hours of July 8th, 1772, El Buen Consejo's stern ran aground just north off the tip of Anguilla. "The ship was pushed shoreward with each wave�with each passing moment there was more of a crunching noise similar to a pine tree as it is splitting or tearing away from its roots," wrote the purser. That morning the first passengers stepped off of a skiff and on to the shores of Anguilla.
Among the artifacts on the site that Leander Bryan explored cannon balls, numerous large canons, fifteen-foot anchors, pottery shards and bronze devotional medals could be seen. For nearly six years Bryan kept this special site to himself, but left the area completely intact for future preservation.
Dr. Raymond E. Knutsen, an eco-diver and frequent Anguilla visitor, had befriended Leander Bryan over his many holidays to the island. The two would explore various lesser-known Anguilla dive sites together and in 1992, Bryan shared El Buen Consejo with Knutsen. Immediately recognizing the historical importance of the site, Knutsen contacted his friend and fellow diver whose interests also include underwater archaeology, David Stevens. Stevens confirmed the site's significance.
Knutsen, Stevens and Bryan formed Anguilla Maritime Research Ltd. and, in conjunction with the Center for Maritime and Underwater Research Management of Michigan University, proposed a plan to the Anguilla Government for the purposes of developing and managing El Buen Consejo as an ecotourist attraction. The plan outlined the preservation of the area as a heritage site and Marine Park, the development of the site as a commercial attraction with economic benefits for the local community and utilization of the site for academic and scientific purposes.
In 1997, the Anguilla Government entered into a contract with Anguilla Maritime Research Ltd. of the development of the Stoney Bay Marine Park El Buen Consejo Archaeological Preserve. The research design for the site is comprised of three phases: the surveying, mapping and historical research phase, the archeological excavation and preservation of artifacts phase and the sustainable site management plan. Although all aspects of the program have not yet been completed, in March 1999, the site was opened and for limited public dive tours conducted exclusively by Shoal Bay Scuba and Watersports, a division of Anguilla Maritime Research, Ltd.
>Public dive tours of Stoney Bay Marine Park's El Buen Consejo with Shoal Bay Scuba and Watersports are fully guided and limited to small groups. An overview of the ship's history and a video of the site begin this heritage tour. Underwater dive plaques and dive trails are part of the commercial development plan. The actual dive site is approximately 100 yards off shore and reaches only a thirty-foot depth. Experienced beginners can enjoy this unique site in favorable conditions and expert divers will enjoy the unique experience of viewing and photographing an underwater archaeological preserve.
Stony Bay Marine Park, the dive site of El Buen Consejo, recently was a recipient of ISLANDS Magazine's Ecotourism Award, an award given to honor people who have done great ecological work in the Caribbean.