Dive· Anegada· Virgin Islands (BVI, USVI and Spanish Virgins)
Horseshoe Reef
18° 40.0′ N · 64° 12.0′ W · approximate
An 18-mile (29 km) barrier reef curving southeast from Anegada's East End, one of the largest in the Caribbean and the graveyard of hundreds of ships (some sources say over 300) between the 1600s and today. Healthy elkhorn and staghorn coral, big fish schools, rays and sharks, and very few divers.
Practical
Position is the GeoNames label point for Horse Shoe Reef; the reef itself runs nearly 8 miles southeast from about 1.5 miles east of East Point, then detached heads and shoal ledges continue 4.5 miles southwest to Herman Reefs (US Coast Pilot 5). The Coast Pilot says Horse Shoe Reef breaks in any weather, while Herman Reefs break only with a swell or strong breeze. Do not take a yacht onto or close to windward of it. The BVI government prohibits anchoring on Horseshoe Reef (Anegada Reef Hotel; BVI Tourism). Dive the Wreck guide gives typical Anegada reef depths of 15 to 40 ft with little current, but wreck sites on the southern tip can run strong. No dive operator is based on Anegada: Wikivoyage says Dive BVI (Virgin Gorda) comes only for a large group booking, and Big Bamboo at Loblolly lists a small dive shop. For snorkelling the outer reef, book a local guide: Yacht Warriors recommends a drift-snorkel tour of about 30 minutes each way by speedboat with pickup mid-morning from your yacht (book a couple of weeks ahead); nurse sharks and eagle rays are regularly seen.
Best for
Guided drift snorkels and rarely-dived reef with a local boat
Season
Calm, settled days only; flat calm needed for the outer reef
Nearby
- Horseshoe Reef Rules (No Anchoring, No Lobster Taking)Right here
- Horseshoe Reef Wrecks (Rocus, Astraea)3.7 NM away
- Anegada Conch Mounds (Conch Island)4.6 NM away
- Hawks Bill Bank & Robert Reef6.4 NM away
- Nurse Romalia Smith Clinic7.3 NM away
- The Settlement (Anegada)7.3 NM away
- Flash of Beauty7.4 NM away
- Flash of Beauty Restaurant7.4 NM away