New Caledonia · France · Wreck
Épave du Umbolt
A well-preserved fishing boat leaning to starboard at 20 m
Area photo: Jean Rerêve · CC BY-SA 4.0
A fishing boat sunk on purpose onto a sandy bottom at 20 m west of Nouméa, where it leans over to starboard. The hull is well preserved and visibility over it is often good, and the listing describes the site as sheltered from swell — a forgiving set of conditions for a wreck dive at this depth.
Where it is and how deep
22.3285° S, 166.2360° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The wreck sits on sand at 20 m and heels over to starboard, so one side of the deck faces you as you come down and the other faces away. That list is the thing to orient on: it tells you which side of the boat you are on without needing a compass, and the dive is the outside of the hull rather than anything inside it, worked from one end to the other and back.
Conditions do more for this site than the depth does. The listing has it well preserved, sheltered from swell and often blessed with good visibility, so the hull tends to be readable from a few metres off instead of arriving piece by piece, and deck structures still read as structures. The sand is at 20 m, so plan the ascent off the wreck against no-decompression time rather than pushing the last minutes.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Umbolt
- Type
- Fishing boat
- Cause
- Purposely sunk
- Lies
- Leaning to starboard on a sandy bottom at 20 m
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows New Caledonia: Sep–Dec is warmest and clearest before the wet season; Jan–Mar is cyclone season, and winter water drops to about 21°C.
Know before you go
- The hull leans to starboard, so the deck is a sloping surface and any overhead is easy to misjudge — work the outside of the wreck unless you are trained and equipped for penetration.
Questions divers ask
Is the Umbolt wreck a good beginner wreck?+
It sits on sand at 20 m, is described as sheltered from swell and usually has good visibility, which makes it a forgiving wreck — but 20 m and a hull leaning to starboard still ask for some experience beyond a first open-water dive.
Sources
- épave du Umbolt — SSI/Scubago
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