Bimini · Bahamas · Reef
Hawksbill
Coral patches worked as a mild north-bound drift
Area photo: mattk1979 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Hawksbill is a run of medium-profile coral patches just off the west side of Bimini, lying in 14 to 18 m and running north to south beyond the cruise ship pier. A mild north-bound current can set along it, which turns the dive into a one-way pass down the line of coral rather than a circuit around a single patch.
Where it is and how deep
25.7578° N, 79.3059° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site sits just off the west side of the island, immediately beyond the cruise ship pier, and runs north to south in 14 to 18 metres of water. The coral is medium profile: patches with sand between them rather than one continuous reef, so the dive is a matter of moving from head to head and looking into each one before crossing to the next.
A mild north-bound current can run here, and when it does the simplest way to dive the site is to start at the southern end and let it carry you along the line of patches. With the shallowest coral at 14 metres the no-decompression time is generous, and the open sand between the patches gives a clear reference to ascend from when the dive is finished.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Bimini: Great hammerheads are most consistent December–March; September–October bring peak hurricane risk to the northern Bahamas.
Sources
- Hawksbill — Scubago
More dive sites in Bimini
Reef
Coral heads standing 8 m off the sand, full of swim-throughs
Wreck
A 60 m barge upright on sand at the Gulf Stream's edge
Reef
Rows of beachrock slabs in 6 m, argued over since 1968
Reef
Resident female reef sharks over a maze of coral heads
Sand slope
Great hammerheads on open sand at roughly 6 m
Wreck
A shallow seagrass wreck with resident loggerhead turtles
Reef
Research cables and old anchors scattered over white sand
Reef
A long reef drift on the lip of the Gulf Stream drop-off
Similar dives elsewhere
Coral ridges in north-south lines with sand lanes between
Up to ten reef sharks over a 15 m patch reef
A coral-covered French anchor of the 1750s, hooked into the reef
From 1.5 m to 18 m over coral, boulders and sand