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 honor of him, they sunk the ship to create an artificial reef and 'new life.'

It is about 18 meters (60 ft) long and is still fully intact even after over 20 years. 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, and its GPS coordinates are 23.6193:75.9695.

What You Can See

The wreck is unsuitable for penetration (unless you are fully qualified for it). Still, there are many holds and hatches where you can look into them 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, a high abundance of marine life lives in, on, and around it. It has done a great job as an artificial reef with many coral, sea fans, and sea sponges thriving. You will almost certainly spot other marine life: 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 trendy spot for Reef Sharks; seeing these creatures swim in and around the wreck is memorable.

If you head slightly north of the wreck, you will reach a section filled with overhanging rocks. Its most popular inhabitant is a green moray eel.

How To Get There

Lynden Pindling Airport is the international airport of Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. It will 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's Wharf.


Austin Smith Wreck Diving Reviews

  • 9.1 Superb
  • 78 Verified Reviews
  • 7.6 Good
  • Anthony C
  • United States United States

The reef shark encounters were well worth the time.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in April on the Bahamas Aggressor

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Sarah R
  • United States United States

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

  • 9.2 Superb
  • David J
  • United States United States

Austin Smith was one of the best dives! Lots of sharks and turtles!

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in February on the Blackbeards Morning Star

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Susannah G
  • United States United States

Very cool and unique dive with the sharks!

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in March on the Aqua Cat

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Harvey C
  • United States United States

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

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Brian J
  • United States United States

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

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Jeffery C
  • United States United States

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

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Russell B
  • United States United States

Excellent with great visibility

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in March on the Blackbeards Morning Star

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Brett H
  • United States United States

Great. Friendly Groupers. Curious Sharks

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in April on the Bahamas Aggressor

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Rob R
  • United States United States

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

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Russell B
  • United States United States

Exiting to see the feeding Frenzy!

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in May on the Aqua Cat

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Michael P
  • United States United States

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

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Gary V
  • United States United States

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

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Brad J
  • United States United States

Shark feed was great. So many incredible videos.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in January on the Blackbeards Sea Explorer

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Richard W
  • United States United States

Changed my whole perspective on sharks and their behavior.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in July on the Aqua Cat

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Philip P
  • United States United States

The sharks added a fun element to that dive.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in February on the Bahamas Aggressor

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Marc Z
  • United States United States

Huge green Moray Eel! Lots of macro to be found as well.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in May on the Aqua Cat

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Sarah T
  • United States United States

Shark feed was great! Lots to look at afterward to when the fish came to clean up

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in August on the Blackbeards Sea Explorer

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Adam S
  • United States United States

Much larger than I expected.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in January on the Blackbeards Morning Star

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Michael P
  • United States United States

The weather has not been kind to the Austin Smith. The shark feed is a fun dive, but the wreck doesn't provide much

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in April on the Aqua Cat

  • 5.6 Review score
  • Jeffrey C
  • United States United States

An experience that would have been much better if we had better visibility but that was a problem the whole time due to storms

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in June on the Blackbeards Morning Star

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Katherine B
  • United States United States

A highlight! Loved all the sharks and exploring the wreck

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in July on the Bahamas Aggressor

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Anne C
  • United States United States

Great dive. Lots of critters and sharks.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in August on the Bahamas Aggressor

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • John D
  • United States United States

Austin Smith was a cool wreck, especially with the shark population. The reef surrounding was full of life.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in September on the Blackbeards Morning Star

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Glen H
  • United States United States

Small wreck with limited growth but good marine life including Black Tip Reef Shark

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in November on the Bahamas Aggressor

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Quannie T
  • United States United States

So cool, this is where we had the shark feed and I saw the largest moray eel.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in November on the Blackbeards Morning Star

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Eli R
  • United States United States

Pretty cool to see the wreck before it was split and now today after the hurricane split it.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in December on the Aqua Cat

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Jonathan M
  • United States United States

Best dive of trip. The shark feed was professional and extremely safe.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in December on the Blackbeards Sea Explorer

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Sarah T
  • United States United States

Good views of a wreck with some cool coral and anemone growth

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in January on the Blackbeards Sea Explorer

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Tammy O
  • United States United States

Very cool dive site. Lots of sea life. Sharks,sharks,sharks!!!

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in February on the Aqua Cat

  • 8.4 Very good
  • Kathleen G
  • United States United States

Very good. Interesting shark feed

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in June on the Blackbeards Morning Star

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Jere L
  • United States United States

Blackbeards did shark feed there and it was impressive...Lots of reef sharks and large groupers

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in June on the Blackbeards Morning Star

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Vania C
  • Brazil Brazil

Fantastic! Dive with the sharks and watch their behavior is unforgetable.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in November on the Bahamas Aggressor

  • 8.8 Fabulous
  • Vinicius S
  • Brazil Brazil

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

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Hugo L
  • Canada Canada

Very nice place. Easy dive with a great wreck and sharks

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in April on the Bahamas Aggressor

  • 7.6 Good
  • thomas W
  • Denmark Denmark

Shark feed dive was a nice experience. Opportunity to see sharks real close

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in August on the Blackbeards Sea Explorer

  • 6.8 Review score
  • Marc V
  • France France

Two dives, lots of fun but very few sharks, sadly.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in April on the Bahamas Aggressor

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Marie Josee L
  • Canada Canada

Amazing. I actually pet a Grouper 😳😳loved it so much.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in July on the Blackbeards Morning Star

  • 9.2 Superb
  • Antonio Ginés B
  • Spain Spain

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

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Louis M
  • Canada Canada

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

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Yannig W
  • France France

We adored it and found a huge nurse shark sleeping :)

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in December on the Aqua Cat

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Luka Z
  • Slovenia Slovenia

Shark feed and night dive was absolutely wonderful.

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in December on the Blackbeards Morning Star

  • 9.2 Superb
  • peter R
  • Canada Canada

Wonderful! Lots of reef sharks

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in February on the Blackbeards Morning Star

  • 6.8 Review score
  • Antoine C
  • France France

It was nice but apart from the reef sharks, no too much around

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in January on the Bahamas Aggressor

  • 9.6 Exceptional
  • Kimberley S
  • Canada Canada

Loved it! Sharks are my fave. Also those massive groupers!!

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in October on the Blackbeards Sea Explorer

  • 10.0 Exceptional
  • Felipe G
  • Chile Chile

Scary wonderful experience

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in November on the Aqua Cat

  • 7.2 Good
  • Brendan M
  • Ireland Ireland

This was one of the Shark Dives

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in December on the Bahamas Aggressor

  • 8.0 Very good
  • Frank K
  • Germany Germany

Hailight the Shark feeling. For me the best dive

Diving Austin Smith Wreck in October on the Blackbeards Sea Explorer