Caribbean · Bahamas
Eleuthera — Harbour Island & Spanish Wells
Shallow shipwrecks layered along the reef that wrecked them
The northern tip of Eleuthera is fringed by the Devil's Backbone, a shallow, jagged reef notorious for wrecking ships. Its wrecks sit in 5 to 10 m: the scattered steam train of the Train Wreck, the iron hull of the Cienfuegos with the Vanaheim beside it, and the Carnarvon near Preacher's Cave. Boats run from Harbour Island and Spanish Wells, and Current Cut adds a fast tidal drift through a channel 18 m deep.
About diving in Eleuthera — Harbour Island & Spanish Wells
Diving here is by small boat from Harbour Island and Spanish Wells, out to the Devil's Backbone, a shallow reef running along Eleuthera's northern coast about 2 km (1.4 miles) north-east of Spanish Wells. The reef is a navigational hazard to boats at low tide, which is why it is so thick with wrecks. Groups are small: one Harbour Island boat is a 9.5 m (31 ft) diesel vessel with a dive platform and ladder, and private charters take up to four divers.
The Backbone is a jagged rocky reef, and its wrecks lie within easy recreational depths, the Cienfuegos and the Vanaheim almost in the same spot. On the wrecked superstructures live spotted trunkfish, snapper, angelfish, parrotfish, anemones, conch, nudibranchs, shrimps and crabs, and Nassau grouper, stingrays, sharks and moray eels turn up on the reef among brain coral. Visibility runs 25 to 30 m (80-100 ft), even in the rainy season.
The depths make this good ground for newer divers, and the shallow wreck of the Carnarvon suits photography; training runs from Discover Scuba to a full range of PADI courses. Current Cut is the exception: a dive timed to a 20-minute window of tide, with poor visibility from stirred sediment and a guide to stay with. This area covers only the northern end of an island chain 180 km (110 miles) long, and the Cape Eleuthera sites in the far south are not part of it.
Best time to dive Eleuthera — Harbour Island & Spanish Wells
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Diveable all year. Rain falls May to October in storms of a day or two, and sharks are seen most in the cooler winter months.
Best months: January, February, March, April, November, December
Dive types & marine life
Snapper, grunts, parrotfish, angelfish, Nassau grouper, stingrays and moray eels all turn up on the Devil's Backbone. Eagle rays and blacktip reef sharks pass through Current Cut. Sharks are present all year but seen most in the cooler winter months.
- Wreck
- Reef
- Drift
- Reef sharks
- Eagle rays
- Stingrays
- Groupers
- Nudibranchs
Best dive sites in Eleuthera — Harbour Island & Spanish Wells
- 1
Train Wreck
Scattered remains of a steam train in 5 m (15 ft): wheels, trucks, boiler plates and some wooden structure.
- 2
Cienfuegos
A 90 m (300 ft) iron-hulled steamer that sank in 1895, now lying in 10 m (35 ft).
- 3
Carnarvon
Ran aground in 1916 and rests in 8 m (25 ft) of water near Preacher's Cave.
- 4
Current Cut
High-speed drift through the channel off Current Island; flow reaches 10 knots over rock and sea fans at 18 m.
- 5
Vanaheim
Wrecked on the Devil's Backbone in a 1969 storm, in almost the same spot as the Cienfuegos.
Site guides
Wreck
Steam engine and boiler of a lighthouse freighter in 8 m
Wreck
Bow, engine and boiler of an 1895 steamer, with a second wreck beside it
Drift
A 10-knot tidal drift through a channel more than 1 km long
Wreck
Train wheels and boiler plates from an 1865 barge wreck in 5 m
How to get to Eleuthera — Harbour Island & Spanish Wells
Flights land at North Eleuthera Airport (ELH), a short taxi and water-taxi ride from Harbour Island, home to Valentines Dive Center and Ocean Fox; Salty Escapes works from Spanish Wells. Ferries also dock at Spanish Wells and Harbour Island, so both bases can be reached by sea.
Dive videos
SCUBA Diving Russel Island Reef near Eleuthera, Bahamas · Rmag on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What certification do the Harbour Island and Spanish Wells wrecks need?+
Open Water suits the shallow wrecks, which lie at 5 to 10 m. Current Cut needs firm buoyancy control and a guide.
How does Current Cut diving work at Harbour Island and Spanish Wells?+
Current Cut is a fast tidal drift through a channel 18 m deep. The dive is timed to a 20-minute window of tide, with poor visibility from stirred sediment and a guide to stay with.
How do divers get to Harbour Island and Spanish Wells?+
Flights land at North Eleuthera Airport (ELH), a short taxi and water-taxi ride from Harbour Island. Ferries also dock at Spanish Wells and Harbour Island, so both bases can be reached by sea.
When are sharks seen at Harbour Island and Spanish Wells?+
Sharks are present all year but seen most in the cooler winter months. Eagle rays and blacktip reef sharks pass through Current Cut.
Sources
- Eleuthera Diving - Bahamas | Dive The World — Dive The World
- Valentines Dive Center — Valentines Dive Center
- Devil's Backbone | Ocean Fox Bahamas — Ocean Fox Bahamas
- Eleuthera Snorkeling & Diving Adventures | Ocean Fox Bahamas — Ocean Fox Bahamas
- Dive Details | Salty Escapes Bahamas — Salty Escapes Bahamas
- Eleuthera — Wikivoyage
- Harbour Island, Bahamas — Wikipedia
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