Wrecks (and dive sites)

65 wrecks and 7 reef sites and guides. Wrecks marked "Certificate wreck" were part of Bermuda's former Shipwreck Certificate programme for visiting divers.

The Airplane (KB-50J tanker)

1963 · 21-25 ft (6-8 m) · West End / south-west reefs, near the Caesar and North Carolina

Alert

1877 · about 40 ft (12 m) (per Teddy Tucker, via Berg 1991) · Northern reefs

Apollo

1890 · about 20 ft (6 m) · South Shore breakers (old site: near Hungry Bay - unconfirmed)

Avenger

1894 · Mills Breaker, East End

Beaumaris Castle

1873 · 25-40 ft (8-12 m) · East End, Mills Breaker (shares the reef with the Colonel William G. Ball)

WreckCertificate wreck

Blanche King

1920 · 35 ft (11 m) · South-west reefs, near Chub Heads beacon (West End)

Caesar

1818 · 25-35 ft (8-11 m) · West End / south-west reefs, near the Airplane

WreckCertificate wreck

Caraquet

1923 · 30-45 ft (9-14 m) · Northern barrier reef, about 16 km north-west of Fort St Catherine

Case Gin Wreck

Shallow: from the shoreline out to about 20 ft (6 m) · Inshore beside Harbour Road, due north of Cave House (south side of the harbour, western end of Hamilton Harbour)

HMS Cerberus

1783 · Castle Harbour entrance (Castle Roads), East End

Collector

1823 · Reefs north-east of St George's

Colonel William G. Ball

1943 · 15-26 ft (5-8 m) · East End, Mills Breaker (beside the Beaumaris Castle)

WreckCertificate wreck

Constellation

1943 · 25-35 ft (8-11 m) · North-west reefs, Western Blue Cut, beside the Montana (about 4 miles NNW of Daniel's Head)

WreckCertificate wreck

Cristóbal Colón

1936 · 15-60 ft (5-18 m); sand off the stern to about 80 ft · Northern barrier reef, east of North Rock

Curlew

1856 · 15-35 ft (5-11 m) · Northern reefs, about a mile to a mile and a half east of North Rock

WreckCertificate wreck

Darlington

1886 · 16-30 ft (5-9 m); boilers almost reach the surface · Western reefs (Long Bar), off the West End (Sandys)

The Dry Dock

1972 · about 60 ft (18 m) · Off Sally Port, Royal Naval Dockyard, Ireland Island (West End)

Eagle

1659 · 35 ft (11 m) · North East Breakers

Early Riser

1876 · Murray's Anchorage, St George's (East End)

Elda

1956 · Shallow (Berg gives no figure) · North-east reefs, near the North East Breakers

Fossil Wreck

Western reefs, near L'Herminie (off the West End)

Frenchman Wreck

1750 · about 50-60 ft (15-18 m) · Western reef, well offshore (exact position not published)

Grotto Bay Barges

about 15 ft (5 m) · Grotto Bay, Hamilton Parish

WreckCertificate wreck

Hermes

1984 · 75-80 ft (23-24 m); wheelhouse at about 45 ft · South Shore, about 1 mile off Warwick Long Bay / Horseshoe Bay

Hunter Galley

1752 · 12 ft (4 m) (Berg) · West End, near Hogfish Cut, south of Pompano Flats (off Pompano Beach)

WreckCertificate wreck

Iristo

1937 · 50-55 ft (15-17 m); bow rises to about 18 ft · North-east reefs, about half a mile outside the North East Breaker buoy

Kate

1878 · 45 ft (14 m); propeller on the reef at about 20 ft · South Shore, off Natural Arches / Tucker's Town (East End)

Katherine

Kevin's Wreck (Gleana)

1900 · under 50 ft; wreck itself about 30 ft (9 m) · South Shore, Southampton - south of Cross Bay, a few hundred metres east of the Virginia Merchant

The King

1984 · about 60-65 ft (18-20 m) · South Shore, about half a mile off Southampton (near the Forceful)

King George (the Dredge)

1949 · about 60 ft (18 m) · North Lagoon, about two miles inside North Rock

WreckCertificate wreck

L'Herminie

1838 · 25-35 ft (8-11 m) · West End, north-western reefs: the Chub Bar (Chubb Heads area), about 7 1/2 miles west of Ireland Island

WreckCertificate wreck

Lartington

1878 · 15-35 ft (5-11 m) · North-west reefs, near Western Blue Cut (beside the Montana and Constellation)

Lord Amherst

1778 · about 20 ft (6 m) · Western reefs, just south of L'Herminie

WreckCertificate wreck

Madiana

1903 · about 25 ft (8 m) · North reefs, about one mile west of North Rock (the reef called Dickey Boiler), near the Caraquet

Manilla Wreck

1753 · 10-15 ft (3-5 m) · North East Breakers, north-east reefs

Mark Antonio

1777 · about 20 ft (6 m)

WreckCertificate wreck

Mary Celestia

1864 · 55-60 ft (17-18 m) · South Shore, about 1 km south of Gibbs Hill Lighthouse (Southampton)

Minerva

1795 · Struck off the West End; ended lying on the bar near St George's Harbour

WreckCertificate wreck

Minnie Breslauer

1873 · 35-70 ft (11-21 m) · South Shore, about 1 mile off Horseshoe Bay

WreckCertificate wreck

Montana

1863 · 20-30 ft (6-9 m) · North-west reefs, Western Blue Cut (with the Constellation and Lartington)

Mussel

1926 · Lost at sea off Bermuda - no known wreck site

WreckCertificate wreck

North Carolina

1880 · 25-45 ft (8-14 m) · Western reefs (the Long Bar), south-west of the island, about 8 miles west of Gibbs Hill

HMS Pallas

1783 · Unknown

WreckCertificate wreck

Pelinaion

1940 · 20-70 ft (6-21 m); bow ~30 ft, stern ~65-70 ft · East End, Black Rock off St. David's (about half a mile south of Mount Hill)

WreckCertificate wreck

Pollockshields

1915 · 15-40 ft (5-12 m) · South Shore, off Elbow Beach (Paget)

Ramona

1967 · about 60 ft (18 m) · Wrecked on the northern reefs (North Rock); remains off the Royal Naval Dockyard, Ireland Island (West End)

Richard P. Buck

1889 · Burned in Murray's Anchorage, St. George's; the hull was raised and taken away in 1889

Rita Zovetto

1924 · 20-70 ft (6-21 m) · East End, off St. David's Head

San Antonio

1621 · about 16-30 ft (5-9 m) - reports differ · Western reefs, about ten miles off the land (the governor's report); the survivors came ashore in Somerset (Sandys) and at Mangrove Bay

San Pedro

1595 · 15-30 ft (5-9 m), in a sand hole · Northern reefs near North Rock, north of the main island (exact site not published)

Santa Ana

1605 · about 12 ft (4 m) (Berg) · West End

Sea Venture

1609 · About 20-30 ft (6-9 m) · East End, off St Catherine's Point / Gates Bay, St George's (Sea Venture Flats)

Sea Venture (ferry)

2007 · About 50-55 ft (15-17 m) on the sand; the top of the vessel is roughly 15 ft (5 m) below the surface · North-west reefs, near Eastern Blue Cut (off the West End)

Seaflower

1623 · Castle Harbour (then Southampton Harbour), East End - exact site unknown, probably at the southern end near Cooper's Island

Stonewall Wreck

1650 · About 20 ft (6 m) · Western reef platform, in a sand hole west of the main island

The Tankard Wreck

25-30 ft (8-9 m) · North-west part of the Bermuda platform (north-west reefs)

WreckCertificate wreck

Taunton

1920 · 10-40 ft (3-12 m), average about 20 ft · North-east reefs, North East Breaker

Triton (ferry)

1988 · Not confirmed - Berg (1991) expected 55-80 ft (17-24 m) · About seven miles off the south-west side of Bermuda

Virginia Merchant

1661 · 12-45 ft (4-14 m) around the site; the Royal Gazette in 1961 gave 15-30 ft for the wreck · South Shore, off Sonesta Beach (Southampton), by Sandy Hole

HMS Vixen

1896 · about 33 ft (10 m); bow breaks the surface · West End, off Daniel's Head, Somerset (Chubb Cut)

Warwick

1619 · Castle Harbour, East End

Western Ledge Reef Wreck

1584 · North-west reefs (Western Ledge)

Wychwood

1955 · 40-60 ft (12-18 m) (Royal Gazette 40-50 ft; Berg 50-60 ft) · Five Fathom Hole, off St. George's and St. David's Head (East End), after grounding on the Western Ledge Flats off the West End

WreckCertificate wreck

Xing Da

1997 · about 95-105 ft (29-32 m); mast ~35 ft, deck ~65 ft · North-west reefs, Eastern Blue Cut, about six miles off Dockyard

Blue Hole (Eastern Blue Cut)

Surface to 55 ft (17 m) · North-west reefs, at the outer end of Eastern Blue Cut

Eastern Blue Cut

Snorkel depth to about 60 ft (18 m) on the sand · North-west reefs, off the West End

Hangover Hole

10-45 ft (3-14 m); some operators quote up to 55 ft · South Shore, Southampton (near the Gleana / Kevin's Wreck)

North East Breaker

North-east reefs, outer reef line

North Rock

3-30 ft (1-9 m) · Northern edge of the reef platform, about 10 miles north-west of St David's

Reef dives

6-55 ft (2-17 m) depending on site · All round the island - South Shore, North and North-west reefs, East End

South West Breaker

20-35 ft (6-11 m), average ~28 ft · South Shore, well offshore of Church Bay (Southampton)

Can you help?

We have compiled the information on this site from the most reliable sources we could find - contemporary newspaper reports, official records, published histories and archaeological studies - and every page lists its sources. Much of what is known about Bermuda's wrecks (and dive sites) comes from divers, salvors, fishermen and their families.

If you have more information, photographs, documents or memories about any wreck (or dive site) on this site - or one that is missing - and would be willing to share them, please email [email protected]. Anything we use will be credited to you, with your permission.

Records disagree on a few points we would especially like to settle: The Airplane (KB-50J tanker), HMS Cerberus, Colonel William G. Ball, The Dry Dock, Kevin's Wreck (Gleana), Pollockshields, San Antonio, Stonewall Wreck.

Stamp and Shipwreck Certificate images courtesy of the Government of Bermuda.