A sanctuary for pirates and divers
4/20/2006 7:02:43 PM by Dale Sanders
As a pronounced wind breaks the near glass-like surface of water off the island of Provo, one can’t help but wonder how early ships stayed their course as they proceeded northward in the Gulf Stream. With little or no steerage, these heavily ballasted vessels were many times swept into the feared Caicos barrier reefs. To make matters worse, pirates lay in wait to plunder those with such misfortunes. Today, hundreds of wrecks dot the reefs and shores of the Turks and Caicos Islands, creating a modern day sanctuary for spectacular diving.
The numerous northern cays of Provo provided the ultimate hiding places for these early day buccaneers. Here they awaited the meandering ships heavy in valuable cargo leaving Havana. Among the many pirates of this era who plundered these waters, Calico Jack and Ann Bonny were perhaps the most noteworthy. For these and other pirates, life lay at all times balanced between extremes of frolic and violence.
Remnants of this violent and historical past are found throughout the island chain. Just north of Provo, six large cannons point seaward in a semi-circular array. Snorkelers can swim among these ruins of Fort George, an 18th century British fort, which provided a protected anchorage for merchant vessels venturing to and from Europe.
South of Fort George, divers will find an 18th century anchor now suspended from a crevice in 70 feet of water at a site known as White Face. Sand chutes extend north and south from here creating gullies, which are rich in large gorgonians and black coral. These crevasses harbor a bountiful diversity of fish life, with numerous varieties of grouper and coneys.
One of the most dramatic wrecks in this island group is that of the British warship HMS Endymion. Wrecked upon a submerged seamount during a severe hurricane, this 40-gun wreck lies six miles south of Salt Cay. Today, nearly 20 of the cannons have been located; many of these lie scattered like trees toppled by some great force among the coral canyons in 30 feet of water. Visitors to this remote wreck site should remember it was ships like the Endymion that provided protection from pirates to the loyalist. Unfortunately, the might of these massive ships was no match for Mother Ocean during the tempest of a hurricane.
Treasure Island and Blackbeard Island, near South Caicos, are namesakes to the legacy of ancient pirate lore. The adjacent wall dives here are thick with plate coral and meandering squadrons of manta and eagle rays. Similarly, the shallows or banks, as they are termed here, are thick with sea fans with their symbiotic Flamingo Tongue seashells swaying in the tidal surge.
Dive operators such as Dive Provo and Art Pickering offer special day trips to French Cay. This tiny uninhabited island also gained its name via a pirate. An early French pirate, Nau L’Ollonis used this remote island as a staging area to attack ships in deeper waters. Divers who are lucky enough to visit the vertical wall adjacent to the French Cay National Park Sanctuary will be treated to both crystalline water and prolific sea life.
Nearby, and along the edge of the Caicos Bank at Molasses Reef, lies an amazing wreck of distinction. This wreck is the oldest European shipwreck known to be found in the New World. Artifacts from this wreck are now on display at the Turks and Caicos National Museum on Grand Turk. These tools, pottery vessels and personal effects of the shipwreck victims paint a vivid picture of maritime life in the early 1500’s and help define the age of exploration and discovery.
Visitors to Grand Turk will feel like they have taken a step back in time. Old-style Bermudan architecture stipple the coastal roads of Cockburn Town, which look out upon the azure and cobalt waters surrounding the island. The hotels here are more laid back in comparison to the swank luxury resorts of Provo. Snorkelers visiting the inner reefs of Grand Turk Island are sure to find numerous piles of ballast stones, which were presumably discarded prior to picking up a load of sea salt for ballast and cargo or actual remains of shipwrecks. Due to the high volume of ship traffic here during the “salt era,” Grand Turk has more than its share of shipwrecks. The following is a brief list of some of the more notable known wrecks of Grand Turk: the French Wreck, in 18 feet near Pillory Beach; the Capstan Wreck, in eight feet near Finbar’s dive site; the Slave Ship Wreck in 10 feet off site of the Sitting Pretty Hotel; the Salt Ship Wreck, depth 10 feet near Coral Gardens dive site; the Iron Ship Wreck in 3-20 feet of water on Northwest Reef; and the Bahia Del Mark Wreck, in eight feet northwest of the town dock. There are many more shallow water wrecks here, way too many to mention.
With the growing popularity of many of these historic wreck sites, in 1992 the government of Turks and Caicos set aside more than 40 percent of its territory as parkland. Additionally, a unique example of the national trust’s terrestrial resource is that of Water Cay and its native population of rock iguanas. Visitors to this island can easily interact with iguanas of every gender and size. This island nation is to be commended for setting a plan to protect its flora and fauna, 350-plus species of fish, and 60 species of hard and soft corals. The Turks and Caicos truly are a pirate’s sanctuary of old, and an eco dive sanctuary a new.
Dale Sanders is an award-winning photojournalist specializing in dive and adventure travel.