Intermediate Dutch Caribbean
Sint Eustatius
The anchorage of a port that once moved half the Atlantic in the 18th century, now covered in coral
During the 18th century, this tiny island was one of the busiest ports in the Atlantic, with hundreds of ships anchored off its coast at once. A good part of what fell overboard is still there, now turned into reef.
In this profile you'll find what diving looks like at the old anchorage, what the island's lava fingers and volcanic pinnacles are like, what rules govern the submerged archaeological material, when to go, and what level you need.
It's one of the few Caribbean destinations where reef diving and the archaeological record sit literally in the same spot, and where the rule of taking nothing has a historical meaning as well as an ecological one.
Geography and access
Sint Eustatius, known as Statia, is a small volcanic island in the Lesser Antilles arc, with a cone at one end and older hills at the other.
The west coast, sheltered from the prevailing wind, was the natural anchorage of the historic port and is where diving is concentrated.
The floor of that bay is strewn with the remains of centuries of port activity: ballast, anchors, ceramics, and sunken structures, all colonized by coral and sponges.
Further south and west, old lava flows form rock fingers that extend into the sea and create corridors and walls.
Off the coast, volcanic pinnacles rise from deep water, following the same geological logic as the neighboring islands of the arc.
Access is by international flight to a neighboring island, then a short flight by small plane; the island gets very few visitors, and that shows underwater.
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