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Floating Dry Dock
 Bermuda
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Max Depth: 51-60ft/16-18m
Average Viz: 21-25ft/6-8m
Entry Type: Boat
Bottom Composition: Rock
Aquatic Life: Might See Something
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Floating Dry Dock is a boat accessible salt water dive site, located in Bermuda. The maximum depth is 51-60ft/16-18m. The average visibility is 21-25ft/6-8m.
1975 - Floating Dry-Dock
A popular site with the local chapter of The British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC). I’m not sure if it’s homesickness and the desire for some "REAL" diving or just easy access that drives them to this site on a regular basis.
This massive dry-dock was used when The Royal Naval Dockyard was still active. Moored just east of the 80 ton crane (also now gone). The principle was simple - the tanks in the dry-dock would be flooded, allowing it to sink, the Ship to be repaired would be steered between the steel walls, as the tanks were pumped full of air. The dry-dock would rise to the surface with the ship inside it, allowing welders and ship fitters easy access to the hull and undersides of the ship, without getting wet! When the repairs were done, the tanks were flooded again and the ship sailed out of the submerged dry-dock.
When she was finally deemed to be of no more use because of her age, she was towed about 300 yards off Dockyard and sunk upright in about 60 feet of water, in an area that is littered with accumulated debris dating from the mid 19th century.
Divemasters Notes
This is a very eerie dive with low visibility and ghostly shapes appearing through the misty maze of this wreck. Many soft corals and sponges can be found although high levels of silt can camouflage them beyond recognition. An interesting feature is that the bow of The Ramona, a Canadian yacht dumped here in 1968. The wreck actually sits inside this old dry-dock.
The site is a mass of nautical trash and treasure from the last three centuries. It’s possible to find artifacts dating from the 1700’s if your patient. Your best chance to stumble upon gold doubloons may lie underneath the Toyota Pick Up truck or the old Suzuki scooter. This is the closest access most divers will have to The Dock Yard which is a known treasure chest of hundreds of years worth of bounty. That area is closed to public access. The two sites have something in common!!! "..... Dive in The Dock Yard and end up in prison!!! to dive The Dry Dock, shore access is via the very same Prison ..."
An excellent site for trying out your navigation skills. Or deep wreck penetration as the wreck is almost totally intact and offers excellent penetration opportunities but only for experienced wreck divers or organised, escorted groups as the adverse visibility and occasional strong currents make this site far more advanced than it might appear at first glance. The lack of visibility also adds to the eerie feeling that something is behind you!!!
REMEMBER.... THE REEF IS FRAGILE! PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH OR TREAD ON LIVING CORAL.