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The last time we were on Grenada and dived the Underwater Sculpture Park in Moliniere Bay, Jason De Caires Taylor's Cyclist statue had fallen over, and looked more like a bike crash than someone pedaling around on the shallow sandy seafloor.
Island Water World and Grenada Underwater Sculpture Management Inc. have remedied that. Island Water World is a chain of marine chandleries in the Caribbean that have been serving sailors for more than 40 years and GUSMI manages the park and raises funds for its maintenance.
The original statue of the Cyclist was damaged beyond repair and removed in 2011. The new replacement statue was created by local, talented artist Troy Lewis. Lewis has completed several other statues for the park, including a concrete replica of the Carenage’s Christ of the Deep which was placed in the park to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Bianca C fire.
The new Cyclist sculpture is sponsored by Island Water World, and the company also donated the bike that he is riding. The bicycle is a fitting addition to the sculpture park: Island Water World bikes are found at its stores throughout the Caribbean so that customers who don’t have transport can not only get to Island Water World stores but also do local errands.
The new sculpture is mounted on a concrete base so that the Cyclist will appear to be riding on the sea bed. Over time, the bike and Cyclist will become part of the underwater marine environment and corals, soft sponges and filter-feeding marine life will cover the sculpture.
Since it was installed in 2007 by artist Jason De Caires Taylor, Grenada has received local and international media coverage and the area is now internationally recognized as a must-see attraction. “Earlier this year, the park featured in a special edition of National Geographic that featured 25 wonders of the world," said Howard Clarke, chairman of Grenada Underwater Sculpture Management Inc. "The magazine highlighted The Underwater Sculpture Park among wonders such as Mount Everest, the Great Barrier Reef, Victoria Falls and the Grand Canyon. For Grenada to be sharing magazine pages with this calibre of attraction is an outstanding achievement.
The installation of the sculpture was completed over two days with support from Christine Finney, owner of Eco Dive and Trek, and Clarke, who also owns Grenada Seafaris.
