The Wit (Witconcrete wreck)
The Witconcrete, a 375 ft (114 m) WWII concrete vessel later used to carry molasses, was scuttled on 10 December 2021 in a sandy no-fishing area of the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve about 1.2 km northeast of Blackbird Caye as an artificial reef. She lies on her starboard side in about 18 m of seabed depth with the top at about 5 m; access hatches and widened openings allow wreck-trained divers inside the holds, while the exposed decks suit snorkellers and all divers. Fuel oil and plastics were removed before sinking.
Facts
- Region: Turneffe Atoll - Belize
- Area: Blackbird Caye coast & The Wit
- Depth: 5–25 m
- Level: intermediate
- Current: low
- Type: wreck
- Coordinates: 17.3257, -87.7867 (approximate)
- Highlights: concrete wreck, parrotfish, hogfish, barracuda, groupers, snappers
- Permit: Access to the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve needs an entry ticket from TASA: day or week tickets (Standard Environmental Fee or a higher Conservation Contribution; check current amounts on visitturneffe.org). The Wit also needs the separate statutory fee of US$10. Resort guests and day-trip clients pay via their resort or operator (Ambergris Divers lists a US$10 park fee on its Turneffe day trip).
- Issuer / contact: Turneffe Atoll Sustainability Association (TASA)
- Phone: +501 677 8272
- Email: adventure@visitturneffe.org
- Website: https://visitturneffe.org/book-entry-tickets/
- Phone from the TASA contact page; the e-mail address is obfuscated on the page. Entry tickets can be bought online; resort guests and operator clients pay through the resort/operator.
- Tips: Penetration only with wreck training. Position estimated from the published description (about 1.2 km northeast of Blackbird Caye); one published coordinate pair could not be reconciled with the atoll's location, so treat the marker as approximate. The fee of the Wit supports TASA's work.