St. Eustatius · Caribbean Netherlands · Artificial reef
STENAPA Reef
A sponge-covered barge, a pipe and a tug on sand at 20 m
Area photo: SV Zanshin · CC BY-SA 3.0
An artificial reef built around a sunken barge whose deck is covered in sponges, with a large pipe and a tugboat lying on the same ground at 20 m. Garden eels stand out of the sand around the structures and Caribbean stingrays work the same bottom, while large schools of reef fish and angelfish hold over the metal.
Where it is and how deep
17.4890° N, 63.0031° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site is shallow enough that depth never drives the dive. Twenty metres is the deepest you go, and the barge, the large pipe and the tugboat all lie on that bottom, so the whole thing works on one long, flat profile. The barge is the centrepiece and the mooring is attached to it, so you arrive on the structure rather than having to find it, its entire deck grown over with sponges.
From the barge the route crosses to the large pipe and the tugboat lying nearby, with open sand in between. That sand is worth as much as the metal: garden eels stand out of it in numbers, and Caribbean stingrays work the same ground. Large schools of reef fish and angelfish hold around the structures themselves, so there is as much to look at over the metal as there is between it.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Stingrays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows St. Eustatius: December to April is the drier stretch; August and September carry the hurricane peak, and diving may pause in September.
Questions divers ask
How deep is STENAPA Reef?+
The site bottoms out at 20 m, and the barge, pipe and tugboat all sit on that bottom, so the whole dive stays inside Open Water limits.
What is there to see at STENAPA Reef?+
A sunken barge with sponges covering the entire deck, a large pipe and a tugboat, plus garden eels in the sand around them, Caribbean stingrays and large schools of reef fish and angelfish.
Sources
- Dive Sites at St. Eustatius — Golden Rock Dive Center
- St. Eustatius Dive Sites — Scubaqua
- STENAPA Reef - Dive Site — PADI
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