Bayahibe · Dominican Republic · Reef · Artificial reef
Guaraguao
Cannons and a musket rack set out on a park reef
Area photo: Pc.wiki4 · CC BY-SA 4.0
A reef at the western edge of Cotubanamá National Park, where the reef system that runs down to Isla Saona begins. Cannons, cannonballs and a musket rack recovered from old shipwrecks have been set on the bottom here for divers to see, and a slight current lets you drift the site rather than swim it. Depth runs to about 12 m, 16 m at the deepest.
Also known as Guaraguao I.
Where it is and how deep
18.3321° N, 68.8180° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
Soft and hard corals sit on a white sand seabed here, and the slight current means the dive is a drift: you go in and let the site come past rather than swimming a route across it. Maximum depth is about 12 m over most of the reef and 16 m at the deepest, so the light is good and the bottom time is long.
What sets the site apart is what has been put on it. Cannons, cannonballs and a musket rack, recovered from old shipwrecks, have been arranged on the bottom as an artificial archaeological site — objects to swim between rather than reef to traverse, which suits new divers, because there is always something ahead of the group to reach.
It sits at the western edge of Cotubanamá National Park, where the reef system that runs all the way to Isla Saona begins, and it is shallow enough that snorkellers can work it from the surface at the same time. The site is dived rather than salvaged: the objects stay where they were placed, and a camera is worth bringing.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Bayahibe: January to April is the driest stretch and October the wettest; Atlantic hurricane season runs June to November and peaks from late August into September.
Sources
- Guaraguao I — Scubago
- Guaraguao — Blue Dreams Diving
More dive sites in Bayahibe
Wreck
A whole ship at 12 m, in water bright enough to read it from above
Wall
A 6 m coral slope that reaches an edge and drops away
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A FUNDEMAR coral nursery and sunken statues at 12 m
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Taíno artefacts in place in a 9 m freshwater cave
Reef
A park reef 25 minutes out, split into three dive points
Wreck
Top of the wreck at 15 m, bow on the sand at 44 m
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