Tugboat (Tugboat Beach)
Westpunt · Curaçao
A small steel tugboat sunk decades ago in the sheltered shallows of Caracas Bay, now crusted with orange tube sponges and hard coral and circled by sergeant majors, parrotfish, and yellowtail snapper. The wreck sits upright in about 5 m of water, shallow enough to snorkel, while the coral covered reef slope behind it drops past 30 m. Seahorses, frogfish, octopus, and scorpionfish tuck into the rocks and pilings. Calm, light current, and reachable from the beach, it is one of Curaçao's most photographed dives.
Conditions
Depth
5 to 30 m
Open water and up
Current
Usually still
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
15 to 25 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
26 to 29°C
Tropical wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 27 |
| Vis (m) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Current | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Still | Still | Still | Still | Still | Still | Gentle | Gentle |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Sergeant major
Last confirmed May 15, 2026 · 130 records
Almost always
Nearly every dive
Stoplight parrotfish
Last confirmed Jun 30, 2026 · 123 records
Almost always
Nearly every dive
Spotted scorpionfish
Last confirmed Jun 28, 2026 · 61 records
Almost always
Nearly every dive
Yellowtail snapper
Last confirmed May 19, 2026 · 13 records
Very likely
Most dives
Longsnout seahorse
Last confirmed Mar 23, 2026 · 13 records
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Caribbean reef octopus
Last confirmed Apr 26, 2026 · 8 records
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Gear