Wreck Diving Capital
of the Western Hemisphere

Bermuda's reefs sunk scores of ships for hundreds of years.

Why Bermuda Sunk So Many Ships

Divers who come to explore Bermuda's many shipwrecks will discover a surprisingly idyllic situation.

Diving is similar to the way the Caribbean was in the 1960's, when underwater swimmers were comparatively few, the sites uncrowded and undamaged, and divers tend to be treated more as individuals instead of cattle.

Why are there so many wrecks here? Bermuda's unusual geography and location are responsible for its many shipwrecks that seemingly damned its reputation forever.

Far removed from the Caribbean with which most people associate it, Bermuda is 600 miles east of Cape Hatteras, N.C., That placed it in the middle of the route most ships followed between Europe and the New World.

About 300 islands, islets and rocks clustered in the shape of a fishhook comprise what we call Bermuda. The invisible low‑lying reefs, coming within inches of the surface, took many ship captains by surprise.

Bermuda is 800 miles north of the Bahamas, and so many mariners never expeted to find coral reefs so far north. It took time for word to spread: Bermuda is surrounded by some of world's most northerly coral reefs.

Of Bermuda's many wrecks, about 30 are visited regularly. With the barrier reef coming is as close as 400 yards at the South Shore and extending as much as 12 miles out off the North Shore, running time from shore varies between 10 to 90 minutes. Most dives are at 60 feet or less.

Because the wrecks are closer to shore southward, the majority of dive operations are located in that region. More northerly are those along the South Shore and Sandys Parish.

Divers need to consider that hotels close to the sites for good diving are not always close to the best land sightseeing. There isn't much to see or do at the Southern End of Bermuda except for the new Royal Naval Dockyard, a complex of museums, restaurants and craft shops. However, ferry service leaves regularly from the Dockyard to the city of Hamilton.

However, it is not your location that determines which wrecks you will dive on a particular day. The wind plays the deciding role in which wrecks can be dived on a particular day. Set out alone in the middle of the Atlantic, Bermuda's diving can get blown out for several days at a time, even during summer.

With 30 wrecks on the diving milk run list, it is impossible to see them all on a single vacation. Nothing wrong with that. The diving, the beautiful islands and the unusual variety of other activities are all good excuses to keep returning.

Bermuda may well yet become known as an important dive destination rivaling its southerly Caribbean cousins.

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Wreck Diving Capital of the Western Hemisphere

Why Bermuda Sunk So Many Ships

Wreck Diving Capital
of the Western Hemisphere