South West Breaker is the southernmost of Bermuda's breaker reefs, a tall pillar of reef rising from about 30 ft to break the surface well off the South Shore. Like the other breakers it is not coral or rock but an ancient algal-vermetid 'cup reef' - cemented worm tubes and algae - hard enough to survive thousands of years of Atlantic storms. The site actually comprises several breakers, including the separate 'In Betweens' protected area and the small 'Champagne Boilers'.
Novelist Peter Benchley chose South West Breaker as one of the main settings of The Deep, and the 1977 film shot scenes here; it has been a favourite with visiting divers ever since.
An easy, shallow boat dive and a good snorkel in calm weather, with visibility often over 100 ft. A large tunnel runs right through the main breaker, sheltering green morays, spiny lobsters, glass-eye sweepers and big groupers; in summer it fills with clouds of silversides. Outside, schools of snapper, grunts, hogfish and barracuda patrol vertical walls and overhangs, with huge brain corals and busy cleaning stations. Exposed to southerly swell, so it is a calm-day site.
Approximate position, for interest only - never use for navigation.