As smoke billowed from the massive gray ship and it slowly sank into the Pacific Ocean, Francisco Ussel beamed with pride.

“It was like going to Disney for a kid,” he says.

It was six years in the making. Ussel, president of Baja California Divers, and his team finally saw the Uribe 121 sink to the ocean floor and begin its second life as an artificial reef after years of research and preparation.

He watched it all from the deck of Uribe’s twin ship, PO124 Breton, along with Mexican dignitaries who supported the project and even donated the navy vessel that was deemed more useful as a reef after a fire broke out on board.

The ship slipped to a depth of 90 feet off the coast of Puerto Nuevo, Mexico, some 50 miles south of San Diego, in November 2015. Soon after, it was time for Ussel and his crew to explore the ship and relish the fruits of their labor.

“It was incredible. After six years of preparation, that day will be one of the best days of my life,” says Ussel.

You won’t find a squeaky-clean shipwreck these days; the dive experience is already shifting.

Ussel reports that as he and his team make weekly dives, he sees more and more algae growth and marine life with each trip. El Niño brought strong currents, which turned the ship 60 degrees from its original position on the ocean floor, making the site more of a draw for technical divers who want to penetrate the wreck and explore it to a maximum depth of 99 feet.

The new site has received positive support from the dive communities in Mexico and Southern California, and Ussel hopes the momentum won’t stop with one wreck.

Mexico features wrecks on its Caribbean coast, including the Felipe Xicotencatl off Cozumel and Cadete Juan Escutia off Puerto Morelos, but Ussel wants to bring that “Disney” experience closer to home. The ultimate goal is to add more wrecks nearby in the coming years and put Baja California on the map for wreck diving.