The Bahamas are perfect for wreck diving. With several known and accessible wrecks to dive to (there are many wrecks too deep to access and there may be many wrecks still undiscovered), experienced divers make the Bahamas a must-do/bucket list destination for diving.
Some of the wrecks are “natural,” others came to sit in the waters of the Bahamas on purpose.
Take, as an example, wrecks placed here by Hollywood movie makers. An area south of New Providence holds two wrecks that were placed at the bottom of the ocean as underwater movie sets.
The Vulcan Bomber from the James Bond movie Thunderball as well as the craft the Tears of Allah from Never Say Never Again are very popular dive sites.
Additional wrecks in this area include the 130-foot freighter Willaurie (sunk in 55 feet of water in 1989) and the Sea Viking, a 60-foot commercial fishing vessel that sits straight up on her keel at 65 feet.
De La Salle is a 120-foot freighter that has been sitting off of Paradise Island for about 10 years. This ship, like the Sea Viking, sits upright in 65 feet of water
The steamship Mahoney is nearby in 40 feet of water. This vessel has been under the water for more than 100 years, so just her keel, boiler and some plating remain.
Wrecks resting at shallower depths (making them possibly accessible to snorkelers) can be a lot of fun. Their shallowness means that sunlight can reach them, resulting in coral growing on them and colorful fish swimming around the coral as a result. Plus, the sunlight makes the wrecks easy to see.
One of the most popular of diving wrecks is the Sugar Wreck, off the West End of Grand Bahama Island. This wreck – only 20 feet deep – has abundant fish life. This old sailing ship is now home to grunts, snappers, angelfish, wrasse, and parrotfish.
Ships coming to and from Bimini have used the wreck of the Sapona as a navigational mark for many years due to the fact that it sits high out of the water. With a surrounding water depth of only 20 feet, the Sapona is considered to be one of the best snorkeling and diving wrecks in the world. Hundreds of reef fish make the wreck their home.
Sitting on the sands of the Grand Bahama Bank, the Hesperus is perfect for snorkelers, since the wreck’s top is just 10 feet under water. This wreck is also known as Turtle Wreck for the massive number of loggerhead turtles who make the wreck their nightly resting area. There is an abundancy of Bahamas scuba diving trips to choose from, so no need to fret!
