Diving the St. George Wreck in Bayahibe

I dove the St. George in April 2026 with Scuba Fun, by boat out of Bayahibe, Dominican Republic. The St. George was a cargo ship built in Scotland in 1962, used to carry wheat and barley between Norway and the Americas.

After roughly 20 years of service, it was abandoned in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Hurricane George struck the boat in September 1998, which is how it got its name. Club Dominicus bought the hull and sank it deliberately on 12 June 1999 to create an artificial reef.

It lies in the channel between Bayahibe and Catalina Island, roughly half a mile (800 m) off the beach.

In the 25+ years since it was sunk, the wreck has developed into a thriving reef ecosystem with dense coral coverage and tons of marine life.

The wreck's deepest point sits at 130 feet (40 m), making it an advanced dive and the absolute limit of recreational diving depth.

The Dive

We dropped straight to 130 feet (40 m) at the bottom of the hull, then spent the rest of the dive working up through the wreck entering rooms and swim-throughs as we ascended in order to maximize no-decompression limit time.

The dive lasted only 28 minutes as at 130 feet (40 m) your air and NDL burns fast. Scuba Fun left a drop tank down at depth on this dive, an appreciated safety measure for divers on deep dives.

Wreck Penetration

There are a lot of wreck penetration opportunities here, including the engine room, but it wasn't somewhere I was able to reach this dive.

The owner of the ScubaFun told me they don't take large groups inside due to the safety risks and unknowns around a first-time diver's skill level. If you're a repeat customer with a small group and solid buoyancy, they'll take you into the deeper interior sections of the wreck.

What Marine Life I Saw

The wreck has had 25+ years to accumulate coral coverage, and the structure is heavily colonized throughout with soft corals, sponges, and encrusting growth across the hull. Reef fish are dense on the exterior.

Diving Conditions

My Garmin Descent MK3i logged water temps between 80 and 83°F (27 to 28°C) during my April dives out of Bayahibe. A short 3mm wetsuit is fine.

Visibility was around 50-60 feet (15-18 m) when I was there. The dive charter mentioned visibility was slightly below normal due to recent winds and storms, so expect better on a calm week.

Current was minimal on my dive, consistent with most of the Caribbean coast diving in the Dominican Republic.

What to Know Before You Go

If you want to reach the deepest levels of this wreck, you'll need to hold a Deep Diver certification.

Nitrogen narcosis is worth understanding before you dive past 100 feet (30 m).

Breathing compressed air at depth can produce intoxicating, drunk-like effects in some divers.