Bermuda's reef platform is ringed by 'breakers' (locals also call them 'boilers'): hard algal-vermetid cup reefs built up over thousands of years that reach to, or just below, the surface. They are the reason the island has so many wrecks, and they are also first-class dive sites in their own right, with tunnels, arches, overhangs and sand holes full of fish.
Alongside the named wrecks, our dive map marks nine reef sites. On the East End, The Cathedral near Gurnet Rock, by the mouth of Castle Harbour, is a large dome with 'windows' letting in shafts of light (about 33 ft average, 39 ft max), and Mills Breaker, far out to the east, is a breaker dive that also holds the remains of the Beaumaris Castle (1873) and the US Army transport Colonel William G. Ball (1943). On the South Shore, Tarpon Hole off Elbow Beach is a maze of overhangs and caves (10-40 ft) where tarpon school on silversides, and Sandy Hole (West) off the old Sonesta Beach site is a 6-33 ft training and night-dive spot beside the last traces of the Virginia Merchant (1661).
On the North and North-west reefs, Snake Pit is a bowl of white sand ringed by patch reef by the North Channel, named for its garden eels and popular for night dives (to about 40 ft); Hog Breaker sits right beside the Caraquet wreck with swim-throughs and overhangs; Blue Hole / Eastern Blue Cut is one of the largest breaks in the outer reef, a multilevel dive to about 55 ft around a circular sand centre and a renowned snorkelling spot. The Corinthian is in fact a modern wreck: a former oil-rig tender turned offshore casino ship, scuttled as an artificial reef on 4 April 2017 in about 70 ft north-west of North Rock.
These are mostly easy, shallow boat dives (generally 10-40 ft) suited to novices and snorkellers in calm weather, with visibility often over 100 ft. Expect parrotfish, snapper, grunts, hogfish, groupers, barracuda, moray eels and spiny lobsters; tarpon and silversides in summer at Tarpon Hole and the breaker tunnels. The outer breakers (Mills, Hog, Blue Hole) need settled seas, and the Corinthian at 70 ft is a deeper wreck dive. All are protected: no line fishing, spearfishing or lobstering inside the buoyed radius.
| Site | About | No-fishing radius |
|---|---|---|
| The Cathedral | East End near Gurnet Rock; dome with light 'windows'; max ~39 ft | 300 m |
| Tarpon Hole | South Shore off Elbow Beach; overhangs, caves, tarpon; 10-40 ft | 300 m |
| Snake Pit | North reefs by North Channel; sand bowl with garden eels; ~40 ft; night dives | 300 m (Government list; Bermuda 100 says 600 m) |
| Sandy Hole West | South Shore; 6-33 ft; training/night dives; beside Virginia Merchant remains | 500 m |
| Mills Breaker | Far East End breaker; Beaumaris Castle (1873) and Col. William G. Ball (1943) wrecks; 15-40 ft | 300 m |
| Hog Breaker | North reefs beside the Caraquet; swim-throughs and overhangs | 300 m |
| Corinthian | Wreck of the former casino ship Niobe Corinthian, 175 ft, scuttled 4 April 2017 in about 70 ft | 200 m |
| Blue Hole | Another name for the Eastern Blue Cut site (the buoyed position); sand hole and reef to about 55 ft | 600 m (as Eastern Blue Cut) |
| Eastern Blue Cut | Major cut in the north-west reef line; famous snorkelling; see Blue Hole | 600 m |