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BERMUDAA two-hour flight from much of the East Coast will get you to some of the best wreck diving this side of Truk.BY PHIL TRUPP |
If you've ever been consumed by an urge to toss an overnight bag together, dash to the airport,
and escape to a long weekend of diving shipwrecks in the tropics, Bermuda may be just what
you're looking for. Since it's only two hours flying time from most major East Coast cities, you
can make the trip almost on a whim, without complicated planning or the long stays required by
most island destinations.
Upon arrival, you'll find pink sand beaches, British-style culture, fine topside amenities, and, of
course, the chance to explore some of the most intriguing shipwrecks this side of Truk. If luck
and weather hold, you may even add a page to Bermuda's ever-expanding archaeological lore.
Yet, when it comes to color and varieties of marine life, Bermuda isn't the Caribbean or the
Florida Keys. The island-actually a collection of more than 150 islands, islets and rocks
surrounding an atoll-like lagoon-is on top of a submerged volcano 17,000 feet above the
Atlantic. Even though it's smack in the middle of the Atlantic, the Gulf Stream and the North
Equatorial Current make this 21-mile-long hook-shaped landfall an outpost of subtropical reef
biota. You'll find brain, lettuce and star coral, sponges and fans-but don't expect those big
displays of elkhorn coral or Volkswagen-sized basket sponges that grace the waters below the
Tropic of Cancer.
Then again, Bermuda isn't about pretty coral or-to use down-island vernacular-"riotous" color.
It's a wreck diver's island. In fact, Bermuda was founded in 1609 when Admiral Sir George
Somer's flagship, Sea Venture, grounded off St. Catherine's Point, and its passengers and crew
struggled to shore. Ever since, the reefs here have gained infamy by gathering a portfolio of
more than 3S0 ancient and modern vessels, accessible in relatively clear, shallow water, often
less than 40 feet beneath the surface.
But before you head out, there are a few things you should know.
Bermuda is located 600 miles east of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and you can't expect bathtub
temperatures at this latitude. The diving season, which runs between March and late
November, starts out cold and windy, with surface temperatures in the 60s. Warming begins in
June, when temps rise to the low 80s. By August, the de rigueur quarter-inch wetsuit can be
stowed. Visibility averages 80 to 100 feet or more, and it's best in the cooler months before the
summer plankton blooms. (When visibility drops below 30 feet, the boats stay in port.)
I was chilly here in mid-May. But more robust divers, such as 26-year-old Dave Harter, a
cheerful attorney from Huntington Beach, Cal., dove the Tug Boat Wreck in a T-shirt. Harter,
who's been certified for five years and recently returned from Australia's Great Barrier Reef,
stood on deck dripping wet, a jolly shade of pink. The 69-degree water didn't faze him. When I
thought about this later, I realized the dive would have been paradise to most East Coast wreck
divers.
Indeed, it would be easy to base a career on Bermuda's maritime digs. That's what Edward B.
"Teddy" Tucker, the colorful Bermuda-based historian, did with his discovery in 1951 of the
16th century Spanish treasure ship San Pedro. Tucker, who has uncovered dozens of wrecks,
believes Bermuda belongs in the "limelight" as one of the world's premier dive sites.
He has reason enough to say this, since the Hollywood thriller The Deep, starring Jacqueline
Bisset and Nick Nolte, was based on Tucker's discovery of morphine ampoules at the site of
the schooner Constellation, which sank in 1942 northwest of the Great Sound. She lies in 30
feet of water (sans ampoules) only a few yards from the British paddlewheel blockade runner
Montana, which went to the bottom in 1863 en route from London to North Carolina with cargo
to support the Confederacy. Tucker and other divers will tell you there are literally shipwrecks
on top of shipwrecks.
Despite so many excellent sites, Bermuda diving hasn't caught on in a big way. One reason is
favorable water conditions coincide with the island's April to December "high season," when
Caribbean prices are lowest. Another is Bermuda suffers a longstanding reputation as a
"pricey" destination. (As it turns out, the reputation is only half true. Luxury hotels start at
$130 a day, but the island's famous bed-and-breakfast trade includes clean, cozy cottages and
apartments for $40.)
"We know the island pretty well," says John Stephenson, owner of Blue Water Divers
Limited, with characteristic British understatement. "No matter how blowy it gets, there's
always a lee." And dive shop operator Stewart Goblin has strong thoughts about the prevailing
attitude that Bermuda never was and never will be a primary dive destination.
"That's bunk," insists Goblin, who owns Makin' Waves in the capital city of Hamilton. "It's
one of the best islands in the world-including Truk. On the north alone, in one spot, we've got a
dozen great wrecks in a three-mile stretch. To me, that's a lot of variety."
Locals say Bermuda gets overlooked because the diving isn't promoted. "Bermuda is very
underrated," says Mike Strohofer, a partner in South Side Scuba. "I mean, really, the first
dive guide wasn't published until 1990."
One footnote: Bermuda is riddled with miles of unexplored subaqueous caves. The Bermuda
and British Sub Aqua Clubs may permit limited access, depending on a diver's experience. The
BSAC is located at Admiralty House Gardens, Spanish Point, Pembroke. (Contact the clubs in
advance at 809-29-39S31.)
I thought long and hard about how to sum up Bermuda as a dive destination, particularly for
East Coast wreck enthusiasts. As I did so, I turned to a bar mate, a former hard-hat diver and
an expatriate from Liverpool, for advice. "It's like sex," he said.
"When it's good, it's great. And even when it isn't so good, it's still not so bad."
We drank to that.