Bermuda · Bermuda · Wreck
Constellation
Thousands of petrified cement bags across the reef at 9 m
Area photo: c&rdunn · CC BY-SA 2.0
A four-masted wooden schooner that hit the Western Blue Cut reef in 1943 and left her cargo behind: thousands of 50-pound cement bags, now set hard, spread across coral and sand in 8 to 9 m. It is a cargo field rather than a hull, and the algae growing on the bags keeps parrotfish, chubs and barracuda over it.
Also known as Sally Persis Noyes.
Where it is and how deep
32.3617° N, 64.9141° WPublished position for this site.
Site maps published elsewhere
The dive
The Constellation lies on the Western Blue Cut reef northwest of the island in 7.9 to 9.1 m — shallow enough that the dive is really a long, bright swim over a cargo field. The wooden hull has gone; what marks the site now is the freight, thousands of 50-pound cement bags that set hard where they fell and are spread across coral and sand.
Working through the debris is the point of the dive. Snooker table slates, sheets of glass, metal drums and glass bottles lie among the cement, the cargo of a 58-metre schooner (190 feet) that struck the reef in 1943. Algae grows well on the petrified bags, which is what holds the fish here: the wreckage feeds a resident population rather than sitting bare on the sand.
Parrotfish graze that algae and the predatory trumpetfish hangs over it. Bermuda chubs, barracuda and groupers work the same ground, and a large population of sergeant-majors covers the shallowest wreckage. Depth barely constrains anything at this site, which is one reason it is usually run together with the Montana, lying close by on the same stretch of reef.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Constellation
- Type
- Four-masted wooden-hulled schooner
- Length
- 58 m (190 ft)
- Built
- 1918
- Sunk
- 1943
- Cause
- Struck the Western Blue Cut reef northwest of Bermuda
- Lies
- Broken up on coral and sand at 7.9–9.1 m, marked by a field of petrified cement bags
Built in 1918 by the Frye Flinn Co. of Harrington, Maine as the four-masted wooden-hulled schooner Sally Persis Noyes, she was refurbished and renamed Constellation in 1932. In 1943 she reached the Western Blue Cut reef northwest of Bermuda, hit it and sank in shallow water. Her cargo went down with her and is still what marks the site: thousands of 50-pound cement bags, set hard on the reef, along with snooker table slates, sheets of glass, metal drums and glass bottles.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Groupers
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Bermuda: May to October is the season, warmest July to September at 27–28°C; the water falls to about 19°C by March, and winter storms make diving the exception.
Dive videos
The Deep Movie Wrecks - Constellation & Montana - Ep 19 | Blue Horizon Diving · Blue Horizon Diving on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Constellation wreck?+
It lies in 7.9 to 9.1 m of water on the Western Blue Cut reef, making it one of the shallowest wreck dives on the island.
What can you see on the Constellation?+
Thousands of hardened 50-pound cement bags spread over coral and sand, plus snooker table slates, sheets of glass, metal drums and glass bottles from the same cargo, with parrotfish, trumpetfish, chubs, barracuda, groupers and sergeant-majors around the debris.
Sources
- The Constellation — Bermuda 100 (UC San Diego)
In The Logbook
- WWII wrecks you can dive, by theatreWrecks · 7 min read
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