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Four red big-eyed fish hover at the mouth of a dark hollow lined with bright orange-yellow cup corals — São Vicente & Mindelo.

São Vicente & Mindelo · Cabo Verde · Wreck

Sao Macario

An 80 m ship in Mindelo's own bay, shallow enough for every level

Area photo: Jerome Paillet (IFREMER, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale, Centre Bretagne - ZI de la Pointe du Diable - · CC BY 4.0

Sao Macario is an 80 m shipwreck lying in the bay of Mindelo on São Vicente. It is one of the island's must-do dives: very easy, shallow and normally with little current, so divers of every level can reach it and spend the dive among a lot of marine life on and around the hull.

Also known as São Macário, Sao Macário.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Sao Macario: typical dive to 15 m (to 50 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit15 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

16.8832° N, 25.0029° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The wreck sits in the bay of Mindelo, and its deepest point is 15 m, which keeps the whole hull of this 80 m ship within easy reach. Current is normally little, so the dive is a slow tour of the wreck, with a lot of marine life to watch along the way.

The hull is still in good condition, though some parts are already deteriorating. The huge propeller is intact and plainly visible, and other parts of the ship are also well preserved.

The wreck

Vessel
São Macário
Type
Ship; type not recorded
Length
80 m (262 ft)
Cause
Not recorded
Lies
In the bay of Mindelo, São Vicente, at a maximum depth of 15 m

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Sao Macario
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimePrimeGood

Season follows São Vicente & Mindelo: Diving runs all year; July to November is the high season, and August to October is the rainy season, though little rain falls.

Dive videos

São Macário Hidrospot · Hidrospot - Escola de Mergulho on YouTube

Sources

  1. Dive Sites – Dive Tribe — Dive Tribe
  2. SAO MACARIO – Duikersgids — Duikersgids
  3. OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap

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Djeu Sul

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Ladra Cahorro

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to 24 mintermediate

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Ponta do Tubarao

Nurse sharks resting under the rocks inside the canyons

to 18 mintermediate

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