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Bermuda Dive Guide Map - Side 2
Captions on Side 2 of Franko’s Bermuda Guide & Dive Map: WESTERN BLUE CUT This beautiful reef stretches for miles. The
BERMUDA SHIPWRECK CERTIFICATE The Bermuda Depart- water is crystal clear, and several shipwrecks are found here including
ment of Tourism gives certificates to visitors who dive and explore the CONSTELLATION. This site is a popular destination for glass-
any or all of 22 favourite shipwrecks. These 22 wreck dives appear bottom boats.
on the lists at the center of this map and are marked with an asterisk L’HERMINIE (1838) This 60-gun, 300’ (91m) French Frigate was on
(*). Your Bermuda dive operator will provide your certificate free of duty in Caribbean waters when her crew became ill with yellow fever.
charge. This is your permanent reminder that Bermuda is the top She was headed from Havana back to France when she ran into rough
shipwreck dive destination in the world. See www.divebermuda.com/ weather, and the captain decided to shelter in Bermuda. Instead, she
certs.aspx for details of these wrecks. wound up on the reef and sank. 495 crewmen were brought into Ely’s
SEA VENTURE (FERRY) (2007) Named after the ship that brought Harbour safely by locals. 40 cannons and a few cannon balls, plus a
the first colonists to Bermuda in 1609, this government ferry was nice anchor can still be found at about 35’ (11m) depth.
scuttled here after preparation to create a reef for sea life and a new SANTA ANA (1605) It is presumed, though not authenticated that
attraction for divers. The sandy bottom is 60’ (18m) deep here, and this wreck is a Spanish Nao that was en route from Honduras to Spain
this 75’ (23m) boat reaches within 30’ (9m) of the surface. A huge with a load of tropical hardwoods. She sits in just 12’ (4m) of water.
old grouper has taken up residence, and this boat will slowly become HMS VIXEN (1896) This Royal Navy Ship was the first twin screw
encrusted. ship of the British Navy, and she was a teak-clad iron hull vessel. How-
CONSTELLATION (1943) This beautiful four-masted American ever, she was so slow and inadequate that the she eventually wound up
Schooner was heading from New York to Venezuela carrying a 2000- being used as a dormitory to house dockyard laborers, and later scut-
ton load, including 700 cases of Scotch whiskey, drugs and supplies. tled to block the channel against enemy ships. She is popular in visits
However, she was badly leaking, so she was diverted to Bermuda. with glass bottom tour boats. Most of Her structure is just under the
Heavy currents carried her into the reef here, where she went down. water, and her bow still protrudes above.
The whiskey was saved. Divers have found numerous drug bottles, MINERVA (1849) The actual whereabouts of the Minerva is not
and a huge assortment of goods, giving her the nickname, “The Wool- known, although the Bermuda $3 stamp indicates she was a two-
worth Wreck”. She sits in 30’ (9m) of water just 10’s of meters from masted schooner and that she went down in 1849. There was another
the Montana Wreck. Minerva that went down in 1795, but it has never been found either.
