Bocas del Toro · Panama · Wreck · Coral garden
Buoy Line
Sunken trimaran and coral garden with light current, suited to all levels
Area photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0
Buoy Line is a reef and wreck dive near Isla Solarte, combining a sponge-and-coral garden with the Mystic Wind, a trimaran deliberately sunk in 2015. Depth runs to about 17 metres and current is normally light, which keeps the site accessible to new divers as well as experienced ones working the wreck's interior spaces.
Where it is and how deep
9.3000° N, 82.1833° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive opens on a reef of sand and sponge gardens mixed with hard and soft coral near Isla Solarte, running to about 17 metres. Current is normally light, and butterflyfish and feather worms work the sponges along the way, with the odd invasive lionfish among them, an increasing but still manageable presence on this side of the Caribbean.
The centrepiece is the Mystic Wind, a trimaran deliberately sunk here in 2015 as an artificial reef. The hulls sit upright and largely intact, sponges and small growth now covering the structure, and divers comfortable in overhead environments can swim underneath and back out the other side. Snappers and other reef fish have moved into the cabin space.
Because the depth stays shallow and the current mild, Buoy Line is regularly used for a diver's first wreck penetration as well as for open-water training dives, and operators pair it with other Solarte sites such as Hospital Point on the same boat trip.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Mystic Wind
- Type
- Trimaran
- Sunk
- 2015
- Cause
- Deliberately sunk as an artificial reef
- Lies
- Upright in about 17 m of water on the Buoy Line reef off Isla Solarte
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Fair | Good |
Season follows Bocas del Toro: Dry, calmer spells run February-April and September-October, when visibility improves and swell drops enough for Tiger Rock; the rest of the year is wetter and windier.
Questions divers ask
Can beginners dive Buoy Line?+
Yes. Depth stays to about 18 m and current is normally light, so the site suits open-water divers as well as those wanting to swim through the Mystic Wind wreck.
Sources
- Popular Dive Sites in Bocas del Toro Panama — The Real Deal Tours
- Where Is the Best Diving in Bocas del Toro, Panama? — World Adventure Divers
- Scuba Diving in Bocas del Toro Panama: A Dive Master's Guide — Sol Bungalows
In The Logbook
- Diving on a budget: where it's cheap and goodTrip planning · 15 min read
More dive sites in Bocas del Toro
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Tidal pinnacle off Bastimentos with sand channels and schooling fish
Wall
Calm coral wall on the site of a 1899 tropical-disease hospital
Pinnacle
Open-water pinnacles reached only in the September-October calm window
Similar dives elsewhere
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