Dive· Barbuda· Leeward Islands
Santiago de Cullerin Wreck Site (Spanish Point)
17° 32.6′ N · 61° 44.0′ W · approximate
The wreck that gave Spanish Point its name: the Spanish merchant ship Santiago de Cullerin, lost off the point in 1695. It is the best-known of the many historic wrecks scattered on the windward reef between Spanish Point and Palaster Reef.
Practical
Coordinate approx: set about 250 m south-east of Wikipedia's position for Spanish Point (17.545 N, 61.734 W), on the reef line off the point. The exact wreck position is not published. All Barbuda wrecks are mapped and protected under the Marine Areas Act. Ask the Barbuda Council for advice and permission before diving, and take nothing, not even a fragment. Currents around the wrecks can be dangerous, and the windward side takes the Atlantic swell. Go only in calm, light-trade weather, from Spanish Point Anchorage by dinghy, with a local diver as guide. There is no dive centre on Barbuda. Tanks can be hired or filled at the Fisheries building in Codrington (Barbudaful). The ArtCafe has sold a map of the island's wrecks. The Antigua & Barbuda Marine Guide says only that you may come across some of the many wrecks off Spanish Point, and names none. Other recorded Barbuda losses include the Royal Navy storeship HMS Woolwich and the merchant ship Vine she was escorting. Both were driven ashore on Barbuda by a gale on 11 September 1813, with everyone saved; Wikipedia gives no exact reef.
Best for
Guided historic-wreck snorkel or dive on a calm windward day
Season
Calm days; avoid any SE swell