Sint Maarten · Sint Maarten · Wreck
The Porpoise
An upright tug in 21 m with eagle rays and barracuda, sand at 28 m
Area photo: Gillfoto from Juneau, Alaska, United States · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Porpoise is a sunken tugboat sitting upright in about 21 m, with the sandy bottom at 28.3 m, opposite Maho Beach and directly opposite the airstrip. Nothing is recorded about where she came from. The wreck is visited by stingrays, eagle rays, barracuda and the odd grey shark, and PADI lists it as an advanced site that needs Advanced Open Water or higher.
Where it is and how deep
18.0291° N, 63.1283° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The boat moors opposite Maho Beach, directly across from the airstrip, and you descend on the line to the tug. She sits upright in approximately seventy feet, about 21 m, so the deck comes into view first and the sand around her lies deeper, at 28.3 m (93 ft). A tug is a compact wreck: a circuit of the hull at deck level does not take long, and dropping to the sand beside her is the deepest part of the dive.
The animals are the reason the Porpoise is dived rather than just ticked. Stingrays and eagle rays visit the wreck frequently, barracuda hang around it and the odd grey shark and other pelagic species pass through, so spend part of the dive off the structure watching the water column rather than pressing your mask to the steel. Bottom time at 21 m to 28 m is short, which is why PADI treats this as an advanced site; ascend the line and take the safety stop under the boat.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Porpoise
- Type
- Tugboat
- Cause
- Not published; the tug's origins and sinking are unrecorded
- Lies
- Upright in about 21 m (70 ft) opposite Maho Beach, with the sandy bottom at 28.3 m
Marine life and season
- Stingrays
- Eagle rays
- Barracuda
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Sint Maarten: Conditions vary little through the year; Jun–Nov is hurricane season and Dec–Apr plus Jul–Aug are the crowded months.
Know before you go
- The sand is at 28.3 m and the tug sits at about 21 m, so no-decompression time is short; plan the depth and turn point before descending.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Porpoise wreck?+
The tugboat sits upright in about 21 m (70 ft) and the sandy bottom around her is at 28.3 m (93 ft).
What certification do I need for the Porpoise?+
PADI rates it an advanced dive site requiring Advanced Open Water certification or higher, because the wreck sits at about 21 m with the sand at 28.3 m.
Sources
- Porpoise — Scubago
- Porpoise dive site — PADI
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