Ron's Wreck is an old shrimp fishing boat sitting at about 18 metres, usually reached by carrying on west from the neighbouring Moon Hole. The interest is mostly in what has moved in around it: moray eels, lionfish and rare nudibranchs are all found below the wreck, with blue tang schools and spotted eagle rays possible over the surrounding bottom.
Where it is and how deep
16.0845° N, 86.8939° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
Most dives here start somewhere else. Finishing off Moon Hole and heading west brings you to the wreck, an old shrimp fishing boat now sitting below at about 18 metres, so by the time you arrive you are already partway through your gas. Check it before you settle in to work the hull, because the small stuff on this wreck is exactly the kind of thing that eats bottom time without you noticing.
Below the wreck is where to look. Moray eels, lionfish and rare nudibranchs are all found under and around the hull, and the nudibranchs in particular reward anyone prepared to slow down and search rather than swim laps. Away from the metal it is possible to see schools of blue tangs, spotted eagle rays passing, and lettuce sea slugs on the bottom. A torch and a slow pace do more for this dive than distance covered.
The wreck
- Vessel
- Unnamed shrimp fishing boat
- Type
- Shrimp fishing boat
- Cause
- No published account of how or when she came to be sunk
- Lies
- On the bottom at about 18 metres (60 ft)
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Eagle rays
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows Utila: March to May is dry, clearest and best for whale sharks; October and November bring the heaviest rain and some runoff.
Sources
- Ron's Wreck - Utila — Scubago
More dive sites in Utila
Coral garden
Bioluminescent glow after dark gave this reef its ghost name
Wreck
A 2021 light-plane wreck flat on the sand at 24 m
Seamount
Utila's blue-water seamount, with whale sharks passing over
A small sailboat wreck that shelters green morays and nurse sharks
A 1998 artificial-reef wreck dived for its critters
Reef
Broken walls and sand channels, 4.6 to 30 metres
Sand slope
A sand break through the reef, beach to past 30 metres
Reef
Black coral on a south-side drop, marked by four buoys
Similar dives elsewhere
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A 1986 artificial-reef freighter lying in 20 m of bay
The ship that recovered Challenger's black box, sunk as a reef
An upright tug in 21 m with eagle rays and barracuda, sand at 28 m