Mangrove Bay off King’s Point, Bermuda

“West End Snorkeling” Excursion out of Hamilton

Ship: Zenith (Celebrity Cruises)

Sailing Date: June 29, 2002

Date of Snorkel: July 2, 2002

Equipment Availability: we have our own which we take with us, but snorkels, masks, fins and vests are provided on board, well rinsed in cleaning solution.

Water Access: From the Boat

This is one of several popular destinations for snorkeling excursions off of cruise ships visiting Hamilton.  Another site that is often used if the weather is calm enough is the shipwreck site of the Montana, Lartington and Constellation directly opposite Dockyard (to the North) on the outer reef.  Personally, we much prefer the latter site—it is deeper, but far more interesting for the variety of fish and the view of the shipwrecks themselves.  Unfortunately, on this particular excursion, the weather was choppy, so they took us to the more secluded Mangrove Bay, which is within the Bermuda Archipelago rather than out to the reef.

Mangrove Bay is a small cove area directly off King’s Point, Bermuda at the far Western end of the island chain.  The area is very popular with jet-skiers, and their presence makes for constant alertness to where one is snorkeling in relationship to them for fear of being run over.  This is the only site we have ever visited where we wished we had had red ball or flag floats tethered to us to warn the jet ski riders that there was snorkeling going on in the area.  The jet skis also churn up the water considerably, making visibility average to poor at best.

Mangrove Bay appears to be a prime breeding ground for Sergeant Majors—we saw literally hundreds of juvenile and immature animals—some of their parents too, now free of the purple hues that they take on during the mating season.  There were also lots of Parrot Fish, including myriads of the Gillenborg, Bermuda’s own local (and very large) variety of Parrot Fish, largely responsible for chewing up the reef into Bermuda’s infamous pink sand beaches.  Beyond Sergeant Majors and Gillenborg, there was very little other variety in this area on the day of our snorkel.

Snorkeling Grade: C-