| Objective: SCUBA Diving by a Shipwreck in Bermuda Location: Fairmont South Hampton, Bermuda Explore: The wreck of the Mary Celestia |
The Bermuda Triangle’s intense weather patterns and treacherous reefs have caused over 300 wrecks. There are a dozen shipwrecks off the coast of Bermuda. Dive 56 feet to explore the wreckage of the Mary Celestia. The paddlewheel is intact and serves as an artificial reef. If you know where to look, you can still see artifacts scattered across its bow.
| Dive #1: Wreck of the Mary Celestia | Dive #2: Sandy Hole | Plan Your Visit | The Bermuda Triangle |
Dive #1: Wreck of the Mary Celestia
The Confederate blockade runner is spread across the sea floor in pieces. I swim past rusted debris, the shattered bow, and anchor. The paddlewheel has become an artificial reef and is now home to a host of marine life. The site still has a nicely preserved bottle top from the ship.
The sleek 225-foot-long ship weighed 207 tons. The Confederacy used this paddlewheel steamer during the Civil War. She was a blockade-runner; smuggling guns, ammunition, supplies, and food to troops in the South. In 1864, Captain Sinclair and local pilot John Virgin left on the Mary Celestia for Wilmington, North Carolina. The Mary Celestia made an unusually fast run through the east channel and up the south side of the island. First officer Stuart announced some breakers he had spotted up ahead. But the local pilot remarked that he knew every rock out there in the sea. Mere seconds later, the vessel slammed into a reef and swiftly sank to the bottom.
Dive #2: Sandy Hole
My second dive is at Sandy Hole. The sand is so spotted with pink coral flecks that the ocean floor looks like a raspberry ice cream cone. Every ten seconds, the tide sweeps past me. The long-term action of the currents rakes the sand in neat rows. There is a lot to see at Sandy Hole, such as: lobster shells, parrot fish, zebra-striped fish, grouper, jellyfish, blue tang, little fish with lots of frills, and fish that are red on top and yellow on bottom. As I surface, I swim through two opposing schools of fish.
Plan Your Visit
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The Bermuda Triangle
- The triangular boundary: off the Atlantic coast of Miami; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda.
- The area is one of the most heavily traveled shipping lanes in the world. Ships cross through it daily with ports in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean Islands.
- This popular route for commercial and private aircraft connects Florida, the Caribbean, and South America from points north.
- Popular culture has attributed these disappearances to the paranormal or activity by extraterrestrial beings.
Keep Diving!
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