Cornwallis Wreck – South Coast – Carlisle Bay Marine Park

Site Overview

The HMS Cornwallis is a wreck with a remarkable history and an even more remarkable depth - literally. This 56-metre vessel, a former Canadian frigate with Royal Navy lineage, was torpedoed by a German U-boat during the Second World War and today rests in barely fifteen feet (about four and a half metres) of water in Carlisle Bay, making her one of the shallowest and most accessible wreck dives anywhere. Little more than a coral-draped keel and scattered plates now, she is permanently buzzing with sergeant majors, parrotfish and bold angelfish, and her very shallowness makes her a perfect first 'real wreck' for new divers, a delight for Discover Scuba participants, and a site snorkellers can appreciate from the surface on a clear day. Depths run from about 3 m at the shallowest point to 5 m at the deepest, with most of the dive spent near 4 m. Barbados is the easternmost Caribbean island, sitting where the Atlantic sweeps in to meet the calm Caribbean, and that convergence keeps its waters clear, warm and rich - the sheltered west and south coasts hold healthy reefs and a famed cluster of wrecks, turtles cruise the shallows year-round, and the deeper walls can turn up pelagics and the occasional shark. Conditions around Barbados vary with the season and tide, so confirm the day's plan with your local dive operator before you go