Man-O-War Cay, Abaco, Bahamas

USS Adirondack

The USS Adirondack is a Civil War-era US Navy gunboat that ran aground on a reef off Man-O-War Cay in the Abacos in August 1862 and broke apart. The wreckage now lies scattered across a shallow reef in 4 to 6 meters of water, with cannons, ballast stones, anchor chain, and structural iron still visible and well preserved by the shallow protected location. Snorkelers and beginning divers can easily explore the site, with marine life including schools of yellowtail snapper, grunts, sergeant majors, and the occasional southern stingray. Historical artifacts from the wreck are protected; only photography is permitted. The very shallow depth makes this a rare opportunity to dive a 19th-century US Navy warship in a relaxed setting. Visibility is typically excellent. Conditions are calm in the lee of the cay. The Adirondack was a screw sloop-of-war commissioned only months before her loss, on her first deployment patrolling the Bahamas Channel as part of the Union blockade against Confederate shipping. The cannons remain encrusted with coral and sponge growth, integrating the wreck into the surrounding live reef ecosystem and producing one of the most photographically distinctive shallow wreck dives in the northern Bahamas.