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Liveaboard Diving in Austin Smith Wreck
What To Expect On An Austin Smith Wreck Liveaboard
The Austin Smith wreck is one of the wreck dives located in the Exuma Cays, off the east coast of Normans Cay. It was a Bahamian marine force Cutter involved in fighting the Cubans. When it came to the end of its service, the ship was deliberately sunk in 1995. Austin Smith was one of the Bahamian marines who died in an attack by the Cubans and so in honour of him, they sunk the ship to create an artificial reef and 'new life.'
It lies at around 18 metres (60 ft) and even after more than 20 years it is still fully intact. It is about 25m (90 ft) long and the bow lies towards the East. If you want to experience its full potential, then it would be beneficial to have at least your Advanced Open Water certificate or higher. It is known to have excellent visibility of around 30m (100ft) most of the year round and its GPS co-ordinates are; 23.6193:75.9695.
What You Can See
The wreck itself is not suitable for penetration (unless you are fully qualified for it), but there are many holds and hatches where you can look into it and spot things such as oil barrels, a jungle of entangled metal and even a few cables here and there. Apart from the impressive wreck, there is a high abundance of marine life which lives in, on and around it. It has done a great job as an artificial reef with a lot coral, sea fans and sea sponges thriving on it. Other marine life you will almost certainly spot are Barracuda, Angel Fish, Eels, Parrot Fish, Grouper and more. Something to watch out for is the Fire corals, as they are around and something you don't want to get in contact with. Lastly, it is a very popular spot for Reef Sharks, it is a special sight seeing these creatures swim in and around the wreck.
If you head slightly north of the wreck then you will get to a section filled with overhanging rocks, with its most popular inhabitant being a green moray eel.
How To Get There
Lynden Pindling Airport is the international airport of Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. This will highly likely be your port of entry into the Bahamas. Flights arrive here from places such as the United Kingdom, The United States, Canada and multiple other Caribbean locations. The liveaboards will depart from Nassau's main port, Prince George wharf.
Austin Smith Wreck Diving Reviews
- 9.2 Superb
- 43 Verified Reviews
Changed my whole perspective on sharks and their behavior.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in July on the Aqua Cat
The landscape around the wreck is more barren than the other dives in exuma. But the wreck is cool and we saw lots of life including sharks, rays, and tons of big lazy grouper.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in March on the Phoenix
Wonderful! Lots of reef sharks
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in February on the Blackbeards Morning Star
Shark feed was great. So many incredible videos.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in January on the Blackbeards Sea Explorer
Shark feed and night dive was absolutely wonderful.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in December on the Blackbeards Morning Star
We adored it and found a huge nurse shark sleeping :)
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in December on the Aqua Cat
easy but deep dive - interesting wreck with lots of sea life
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in December on the Phoenix
Good, very accessible wreck, interesting
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in November on the Phoenix
This dive was very exciting. Not only did we experience a shark feeding, we had a chance to explore the wreck as well. A very memorable dive!
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in August on the Blackbeards Morning Star
Alucinante. El pecio es bonito de por sí, además pusieron la pirámide para atraer tiburones y el espectáculo fue fascinante.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in August on the Bahamas Aggressor
Amazing. I actually pet a Grouper 😳😳loved it so much.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in July on the Blackbeards Morning Star
This was a shark dive. I am very jaded with shark dives as I have seen numerous similar dives. It was OK as a shark dive. I left the shark dive early to check out the Wreck and surrounding area. For people who have not experienced shark dives, it was probably a great experience--well set up and executed.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in June on the Aqua Cat
I’m not a big fan of wrecks. This is cool if you are. The shark feed was here so that made it worth it.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in June on the Blackbeards Sea Explorer
Exiting to see the feeding Frenzy!
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in May on the Aqua Cat
Very nice a lot of fishes and Austin is amazing friendly grouper
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in April on the Phoenix
A fun shark feed dive with lots of reef sharks and some very powerful groupers who ate when they wanted.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in May on the Aqua Cat
Two dives, lots of fun but very few sharks, sadly.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in April on the Bahamas Aggressor
I'm a fan of wreck dives the Austin Smith is a great one to check out with the two hull sections an of course Fred the friendly grouper
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in March on the Aqua Cat
Great. Friendly Groupers. Curious Sharks
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in April on the Bahamas Aggressor
Excellent with great visibility
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in March on the Blackbeards Morning Star
Shallow wrecks are great in my opinion, lots of fish and even one that enjoys being petted
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in February on the Blackbeards Morning Star
friendliest grouper I have ever seen.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in February on the Phoenix
The Austin Smith Wreck is a great dive. Very accessible and picturesque. We did an unscheduled second shark feed there, which was outstanding. The wreck is just the perfect setting.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in January on the Aqua Cat
Shark feed dive was a nice experience. Opportunity to see sharks real close
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in August on the Blackbeards Sea Explorer
Very nice place. Easy dive with a great wreck and sharks
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in April on the Bahamas Aggressor
Very cool and unique dive with the sharks!
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in March on the Aqua Cat Liveaboard
The wreck got pretty much distroyed by a hurricane some time ago, nevertheless it's still interesting. It also was the site of the second shark feed of the trip, so it was a lot of fun.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in February on the Aqua Cat
Austin Smith was one of the best dives! Lots of sharks and turtles!
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in February on the Blackbeards Morning Star
The Austin Smith Wreck was interesting to look at, although it was not one of the top dive sights for me this trip.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in December on the Bahamas Aggressor
Fantastic! Dive with the sharks and watch their behavior is unforgetable.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in November on the Bahamas Aggressor
The reef shark encounters were well worth the time.
Diving Austin Smith Wreck in April on the Bahamas Aggressor