Exuma Cays · Bahamas · Drift · Channel & pass
Wax Cut Drift
A 30-minute tide-timed drift through an Exuma cut at 7.5 m
Area photo: Thespis377 · CC BY-SA 2.0
A short tidal drift through one of the cuts between the Exuma Cays, run at an average depth of 7.5 m and a maximum of 10.4 m for about 30 minutes. The site is isolated, needs a support boat, and only works when the tide is timed correctly.
Where it is and how deep
24.5880° N, 76.7710° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The dive is a drift through a cut, so everything depends on the boat putting you in at the right stage of the tide. Once in, the water carries you through the gap between the cays and the dive runs about 30 minutes from entry to pickup — there is no route to swim and no mooring to return to, just the run of the tide and the support vessel that has to be there at the other end.
Depths stay shallow and easy throughout, averaging 7.5 m with a maximum of 10.4 m, which keeps the whole dive well inside no-decompression limits and leaves plenty of gas for the ride. Because the site sits in an isolated spot, the plan is set on the boat before you get wet: agree the pickup, stay together, and let the current do the work rather than fighting across 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Exuma Cays: December–April brings the calmest, driest conditions; September–October is peak Atlantic hurricane season.
Know before you go
- The cut only works on the right tide; entering at the wrong stage means fighting the flow, so the dive is planned around the local tide table.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Wax Cut drift?+
It averages 7.5 m with a maximum of 10.4 m, and takes roughly 30 minutes from entry to pickup — a shallow dive with the current doing the work.
Sources
- Wax Cut Drift — Scubago
More dive sites in Exuma Cays
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Up to ten reef sharks over a 15 m patch reef
Blue hole
A vertical shaft with side caverns at its 18 m base
Wreck
An intact 27 m patrol cutter at 18 m, with reef sharks circling it
Wall
Canyons and rock passages cut into a wall between 13 m and 30 m
Wall
The Cathedral, a sunlit cavern swim-through at 12 m full of silversides
Wall
A 9 m shelf that slopes to 15 m and then falls into open blue
Drift
A tidal chute that drops you to 12 m then flushes you back to 4 m
Similar dives elsewhere
A manta cleaning station on a 13 m plateau in the Boulari pass
A shallow drift down a sand path scattered with wreck pieces
Three current-cut canyons and an old Spanish anchor at 30 m
A tidal channel drift you ride rather than swim