Landmark· Caicos Bank· Other Caribbean
Molasses Reef wreck site
21° 33.6′ N · 72° 19.8′ W · approximate
The reef between West Caicos and French Cay where a caravel sank around 1513 — the oldest excavated European shipwreck in the Americas, whose cannons are now in the National Museum on Grand Turk.
Practical
Coordinate approximate: general area only, interpolated between West Caicos and French Cay where the sources place Molasses Reef; plot the reef from your chart. Nothing of the ship remains (the site was dynamited by treasure hunters in the 1970s), but the area offers excellent snorkeling. BoatTEST warns of reefs along this stretch, including Molasses Reef, if you leave the bank between French Cay and West Caicos. Historic site: removing anything is illegal.
Best for
History buffs crossing the southwest bank
Nearby
- French Cay dive sites (Double D, G-Spot, Half Mile Reef)7.5 NM away
- French Cay Anchorage7.7 NM away
- French Cay bird sanctuary & sharks7.9 NM away
- Yankee Town ruins & Lake Catherine (West Caicos)9.8 NM away
- West Caicos Anchorage (dive moorings)10.1 NM away
- West Caicos wall dives (West Caicos Marine National Park)10.7 NM away
- South Dock Providenciales (customs)11.1 NM away
- Turks & Caicos Border Force clearance & SailClear11.1 NM away