Snorkeling in Eleuthera/Harbour Island

Eleuthera

 

Only a mile wide over most of it’s 112-mile length, Eleuthera embodies an odd assortment of qualities. Quiet, isolated communities and well-developed resorts, fishing and farming, tall rock bluffs and low-lying wetlands, blue holes and caves, massive coral reefs and sweeping pink sand beaches combine to create a fascinating picture.

Eleuthera was first settled in the 1600s by Bermudians seeking religious freedom (the Greek word eleutheria means freedom). The only problem was, before they found the island itself, they found the Devil’s Backbone an extensive shallow reef line bordering the north end of the island. It ripped open the bottom of their boats leaving them to settle amongst the sharp coral heads.

Today’s visitors will have an entirely different experience with the Backbone as well as with the many other coral reefs skirting the island’s long coastline.

Forests of elkhorn corals interspersed with star and brain corals are crowned by slowly waving sea fans. Watch lobsters poke their antenna out from holes as eels wind their way through the reef. The Devil’s Backbone still holds remnants of ill-fated, unfortunate ships—anchors, boilers, plating—and even an old train awaiting your discovery and exploration.
 

 

Harbour Island

 

Called Briland by residents, Harbour Island rests off the northeast shoulder of Eleuthera. Only 1.5 square miles in size, Briland is accessible by water taxi or private boat only. The island is home to Dunmore Town, one of the quaintest, prettiest little communities in the country. Brightly painted homes shine in a subdued rainbow of subtle pastel hues. In the morning, the rising sun breaks the surface of the ocean, glinting red off the gleaming surface of the island’s famous pink sand beach.

Meander down the quiet, seaside lanes and admire the Victorian filigrees decorating the homes. Watch as fishermen pull their boats up onto the sloping shore. Enjoy the profusion of aromatic, flowering bushes lining the streets. Harbour Island presents a gentle, slightly reserved, but welcoming air that permits solitary wanderings or warm conversation. It’s your choice.

The Devil’s Backbone, a ridge of barely submerged coral reefs stretching across the northern edge of Harbour Island and Eleuthera, has been the final resting place for dozens of vessels over the years. Today, that same area of sorrow is a place of joy for snorkelers exploring the waters. Enjoy a sense of history mingled with an appreciation of the marine world as fish mill around ancient anchors embedded in the coral.

 

Discover something new at any of Eleuthera’s snorkeling sites.

 

 

Pineapple Dock

Wreckage of a ship that is now home to myriad juvenile tropical fish.

 

Sea Fan Gardens

Home of “Baron the barracuda,” you’ll find gorgonians galore here.

 

Gaulding’s Cay

Area of magnificent soft corals, sea anemones and bonefish.

 

Oleander Reef

Directly off the beach boasts a tremendous variety of tropical fish including grunts and tangs.

 

Blue Hole

Low-lying reef around an extinct blue hole. Many scattered corals.

 

Bird Cay 

Watch for fish feeding and conchs crawling along the bottom. Try to find a spotted trunkfish.

 

Glass Window Bridge  

An old bridge that has found new life as an artificial reef.

 

Muttonfish Point

Home to a variety of mutton snapper and various corals.

 

Current Cut 

A roller coaster ride through a tidal cut that attracts all kinds of marine critters. One of the best rides ever.

 

Paradise Beach 

A barrier reef system with lots of colorful fish and corals. Marine life includes huge parrot fish, schooling jacks and plenty of tropical fish.

 

 

Experience Harbour Island’s snorkeling sites.

 

 

Man Island

You’ll find octopus and sea cucumbers in every crevice.

 

Sea Gardens

A horseshoe-shaped reef with an overabundance of corals and funny-looking creatures.

 

Pink House

A breathtaking elkhorn forest with caverns filled with silversides lead out to the reef.

 

Devil’s Backbone

A stretch of more than three miles of pristine reef.

 

Potato & Onion Wreck

A spectacular natural shipwreck 200 feet long and sunk in 1895 in just 15 feet of water.

 

Tunnel Reef

 A big Swiss-cheese-shaped coral head nearly a quarter of a mile round featuring tunnels.

 

Carnavon Wreck

A natural disaster wreck in just 30 feet of water sunk in 1918.

 

Cienfuegas Wreck

Sift through the wreckage of a passenger liner for dishes and portholes.

 

Three Fingers

A good beginning for young snorkelers. Shallow corals with lots of fish to chase around.

 

Train Wreck

A train that fell off a barge during the American Civil War.