Bermuda · Bermuda · Wreck
Montana
Two paddlewheel frames and two boilers under coral at 12 m
Area photo: c&rdunn · CC BY-SA 2.0
A Confederate blockade runner of 72 metres (236 feet) that ran onto the shallow reefs off Bermuda's northwest coast in December 1863 and lies there in 9 to 12 m. The bow is partially intact, and the two steam boilers and both paddlewheel frames rest on their sides under heavy coral growth, close enough to the Constellation that the two are dived as a pair.
Also known as Nola, Gloria, Paramount.
Where it is and how deep
32.3610° N, 64.9132° WPublished position for this site.
Site maps published elsewhere
The dive
The Montana went onto the shallow reefs off Bermuda's northwest coast in December 1863 and has stayed there ever since, in 9.1 to 12 m of water. The bow section is partially intact and is where the dive starts to make sense as a ship; behind it, the two steam boilers and both paddlewheel frames have fallen onto their sides, all of it thickly encrusted in coral.
At 72 metres (236 feet) she was a long vessel and the wreckage covers ground accordingly, but the depth makes a full circuit straightforward and leaves time to pick out detail in the coral growing over the frames, with wrasse working across it. The site is buoyed under the Bermuda Dive Sites programme, and no fishing is allowed within 300 metres of the wreck. It sits close to the Constellation, and the two are commonly dived together on one trip.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Montana
- Type
- Paddle-steamer, Confederate blockade runner
- Length
- 72 m (236 ft)
- Built
- 1860
- Sunk
- 1863
- Cause
- Ran onto the shallow reefs off Bermuda's northwest coast
- Lies
- Bow partially intact in 9.1–12 m, boilers and paddlewheel frames on their sides under coral
Built in Glasgow in 1860, the Montana operated as a blockade runner between England, Bermuda and North Carolina during the American Civil War, carrying arms to the Confederacy. She sailed under three previous names — Nola, Gloria and Paramount. In December 1863 she ran into the shallow reefs off Bermuda's northwest coast and sank. The wreck is now buoyed under the Bermuda Dive Sites programme, with no fishing permitted within 300 metres of it.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| 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
Underwater on Bermuda’s Montana Shipwreck – 180 | National Geographic · National Geographic on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Montana wreck?+
The wreckage lies in 9.1 to 12 m of water on the reefs off Bermuda's northwest coast, well within recreational limits.
Can you dive the Montana and Constellation together?+
Yes. The two wrecks lie close together on the same stretch of northwest reef and are commonly dived on the same trip, both of them shallow enough for long bottom times.
Sources
- The Montana — Bermuda 100 (UC San Diego)
- Bermuda 100 Shipwrecks — Bermuda 100 (UC San Diego)
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