Dive· No Name Cay· Bahamas — North
USS San Jacinto wreck (1865)
26° 45.1′ N · 77° 17.3′ W · approximate
The scattered remains of the US Navy steam frigate San Jacinto, launched in 1850, which struck a reef off No Name Cay on New Year's Day 1865. It is now a shallow artificial reef with schooling fish and resident green morays, and the classic Green Turtle wreck dive.
Practical
Approximate position only: sources place the wreck on the reef off No Name Cay (TripBase) but publish no coordinates, so this point sits on the Atlantic reef line north-east of No Name Cay — do not try to find it yourself; go with Brendal's Dive Center (Green Turtle), which runs it as a regular site. About 40 ft (Brendal's; DUNE gives 12 m). The wreck is broken up and spread over a wide area of shallow bottom (Scubaverse). Brendal's divers feed a large green moray here. History (Wikipedia): laid down at the New York Navy Yard in 1847, launched 16 April 1850, wrecked on a reef near Great Abaco on 1 January 1865; guns and stores were saved but salvage of the ship failed, and the hulk was sold at Nassau in 1871. Outer-reef site — dive only when the Atlantic swell is down. Leave artefacts in place.
Best for
Historic wreck dive and fish life on a calm day
Season
Calm, low-swell days
Nearby
- Big O's Swimming Pigs Bar (No Name Cay)0.4 NM away
- No Name Cay pigs0.5 NM away
- No Name Cay anchorage0.7 NM away
- Brendal's outer-reef dive sites (Green Turtle Cay)1.6 NM away
- Gillam Bay Beach1.6 NM away
- Black Sound (Green Turtle) Anchorage and Moorings1.8 NM away
- Black Sound Cay National Reserve1.8 NM away
- Beach Weekend Bahamas Marina (former Leeward Yacht Club)2 NM away