Mary Celestia

Mary-Celestia was a blockade runner with a lively military past. The ship left for South Carolina with a cargo full of ammunition and rifles when it struck a blind boiler and sunk on Bermuda’s reef in 1864. The wreck sits on a sandy bottom in shallow water, close to shore. The ship’s coral-encrusted bow, boilers, and paddlewheels are visible, and the smokeless coal it was powered with can also be seen on the bottom of the sea. In 2011, a batch of contraband wine was found intact in the chain locker of the ship after having been underwater for almost 150 years.

Cristobal Colon

As the largest shipwreck in Bermuda, the Spanish transatlantic luxury liner known as Cristobal Colon deserves at least two dives to discover everything it has to offer. The 146-meter (481-foot) long ship wrecked in 1936 on its way to Vera Cruz, Mexico, to presumably collect arms for the Spanish Civil War. It sat afloat, abandoned, for several years and in the early ‘40s it was used for bomb practice by the American Air Force and finally submerged. Its remains are scattered across the seabed and divers can see several parts like the boilers and propellers.

Constellation

Another famous wreck in Bermuda, Constellation was a four-masted schooner built in 1918. It sank in 1943 after its pumping gear broke, which caused it to take in water, and then was hit by a strong current and crashed. There’s not much to see of the ship today, with most of its wooden structure gone. Some artifacts such as bottles, however, are still there. Parts of its masts are still visible.

Virginia Merchant

Virginia Merchant is one of the oldest wrecks in Bermuda, having sunk in 1661 on its way to Jamestown, Virginia, United States. While it is not really considered a wreck dive since there is so little of the shipwreck left to see, it does make for a rather great reef dive. The interesting topography around the Virginia Merchant includes tunnels, swim-throughs, and caves.