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Hawksbill Reef Location: 1.2 miles west of North Bimini island Type: Reef Dive Depth Range: 42 – 48 ft. (50 ft max for those diving tables) Safety Stop: Recommended 3 min @ 15 ft.
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Hawksbill Reef Location: 1.2 miles west of North Bimini island Type: Reef Dive Depth Range: 42 – 48 ft. (50 ft max for those diving tables) Safety Stop: Recommended 3 min @ 15 ft.
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Back in the early 1970s when resort SCUBA Diving was in it’s infancy, an
avid diver by the name of Shlomo Cohen set out to write one of
the very first Guide Books about diving in the Bahamas. He got together
with Bahamas Diving Legend “Skeet” LaChance and set off on
Skeet’s liveaboard dive vessel known as the “Highlander”. They
traveled throughout most of the well known diving destinations in the
Bahamas and selected 2 or 3 dives to feature in the book for each
island. When they got to Bimini, 1 of the 3 sites Mr. Cohen opted
to write about was Hawksbill Reef. The other was Moray Alley. The
book (which is now unfortunately out of print) was simply called
The Bahamas Dive Guide and was an absolutely outstanding
publication. There was only one minor problem. In the section on Bimini
Mr. Cohen got the names of the sites mixed up! He called Moray Alley
Hawksbill Reef and listed Hawksbill Reef as Moray Alley. When Neal Watson opened the first land based diving operation on Bimini (Bimini Undersea Adventures which eventually became BIMINI UNDERSEA) he learned the names and locations of the dive sites from the local fisherman and divers. Hawksbill Reef was out in about 50 ft of water. So, divers diving with Bimini Undersea list the site as Hawksbill in their log books. As liveaboard diving became more popular and more liveaboards moved into the Bahamas, they usually relied on Mr. Cohen’s book to learn the names and locations of the various dive sites. So, divers who visited Bimini by way of liveaboards were logging the 50 ft. reef site as Moray Alley. As the years went by, the confusion about exactly which reef was Hawksbill has become legendary and, to this day, liveaboard dive operators stay loyal to the Cohen book and continue to refer to the true Hawksbill Reef as Moray Alley. Now, the rest of the story! Once you’ve dove Hawksbill Reef it’s easy to see why it’s been a favorite site around Bimini for close to 50 years. Listed as one of our medium depth dives the reef has an almost imperceptible slope from east to west from 40 ft. to 48 feet. The bottom is made up of scattered, low lying (4 – 6 ft) coral heads that cover about 50% of the bottom. The other 50% being fine white sand. The reef runs parallel to shore for almost a mile and incorporates 2 additional sites. Rockwell Reef and Lobster Reef. The inside, shallow (eastern) side of the reef has a well defined border at about 38 ft. where the coral heads abruptly stop and there is a sandy plateau . A very similar border exists on the outside, deeper (western) side of the reef also ending in a very well defined sandy plateau. The main attraction to Hawksbill Reef is the fish life. There are alot of fish on this reef! Both in variety and sheer numbers. As a medium depth dive you’re going to see medium sized fish. Some swimming in schools. Some individually. Grouper, Snapper, Schools of Chubs, Queen Angels, French Angels, and during season, a favorite hangout for both Loggerhead and Hawksbill (it’s namesake) Turtles. Just an overall outstanding dive. At a max depth of 50 ft, depending upon which dive (if any) preceded it, you can burn a tank of air here with little or no concern for exceeding safe dive limits. Especially for those using computers. Because of it’s proximity to shore Hawksbill is rarely affected by strong currents so it’s a great dive for both experienced and novice divers. If you’ve been diving Bimini already then chances are you’ve had a chance to experience, first hand, what a great dive site Hawksbill reef can be. If you haven’t had an opportunity to dive Bimini yet, then this is another great dive for you to look forward to. |
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