ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Tugboat Beach Wrack
A dive briefing · Curaçao

Tugboat (Caracas Bay)

Dive site off Curaçao. Here's what has been recorded at this site month by month, how the region’s reefs have weathered ocean heat, and how to prepare.

Curaçaowreck
At this site Tugboat Beach Wrack · Dronepicr · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Tugboat Beach Wreck
Chapter I · Arrival

Tugboat (Caracas Bay): dive site off Curaçao.

~12.068° N~68.862° W · OpenStreetMap · node/3190150020
3,144open records · GBIF
195+species recorded
At this site Tugboat Beach Wreck · Dronepicr · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
II

Entry

Tugboat Beach Wreck

Entry points, depths, currents and any local rules will be added once we can verify them from official sources.

Approximate positionThese coordinates come from a crowd-sourced map or Wikidata item, not an official mooring list. Use them for orientation only.
To verifyDepth range, entry points and current notes. We publish them only with a citation. The coordinates mark the site in general, not a mooring or entry point.

At this site Tugboat Beach Wreck · Dronepicr · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Tugboat Beach Wrack
Open media · At this site Tugboat Beach Wrack · Dronepicr · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then Tugboat (Caracas Bay) rises to meet you.

Tugboat Beach Wrack
IV

What lives here, by month

Pick a month. These are the species most often recorded within about a kilometre in that month, from open survey records.

Oct
October · 373 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Caribbean Coralsnail
Blue Tang
Tusked Goby
Synalpheus hoetjesi
Naked Blenny
Banded Blenny
Molly Miller
Mottled Conger Moray
Banded butterflyfish
School Bass
Yellowtail Damselfish
Yellowhead jawfish

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Caribbean Coralsnail (16)
  2. Cerion uva (15)
  3. Blue Tang (13)
  4. Tusked Goby (10)
  5. Naked Blenny (9)
  6. Banded Blenny (9)
  7. Molly Miller (9)
  8. Mottled Conger Moray (9)
  9. Synalpheus hoetjesi (9)
  10. Banded butterflyfish (8)
  11. School Bass (7)
  12. Yellowhead jawfish (7)
  13. Yellowtail Damselfish (7)
  14. Feather black coral (6)
  15. Striped Parrotfish (6)
  16. Stoplight Parrotfish (6)
  17. False Moray (6)
  18. Smooth trunkfish (6)
  19. Downy blenny (6)
  20. Helmet coralsnail (6)

GBIF.org (2026-10-15), occurrence records within ~1 km, licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0 only. Birds and land animals are excluded. Counts reflect survey effort, not abundance. 3,144 qualifying records. See them on GBIF. Common names: Wikidata (CC0) / GBIF. Species photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species.

V

Forty-one summers of heat

Each stripe is one year since 1985, colored by its peak heat stress across NOAA's “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire” region. These are NOAA Coral Reef Watch satellite figures for the whole region, not for this one site.

19852026
Reef health report · Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-131.3°C-weeks · NOAA status: Bleaching Warning

NOAA CRW virtual station “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire”. NOAA's alert thresholds are 4 °C-weeks (Alert Level 1) and 8 °C-weeks (Alert Level 2). Station page · Method. Credit: NOAA Coral Reef Watch.

Peak per year · dashed lines at 4, 8 and 16 °C-weeks
The past twelve months
VI

Conditions

Average sea temperature through the year. Check the live readings before you go.

Average sea surface temperature by month: NOAA CRW “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire” station climatology (monthly means).

Meteorological Department Curaçao · marine forecast →

Buoy readings are measurements; forecasts are models. Use them for planning only, and assess conditions on site. Depth and visibility data aren't listed until we can cite a source.

VII

Plan & prepare

  1. Read the official marine forecast the night before.Offshore, wind and sea state decide the day.
  2. Confirm access, hours and any fees with the site.[Placeholder: verified operator list to come]
  3. Study this month's species above.You'll recognise more when you know the names.
  4. Hands off, fins up, buoyancy dialled. Log what you see.Your sightings can become tomorrow's open data.

Credits

Coordinates
OpenStreetMap node/3190150020 · source · ODbL. OpenStreetMap (ODbL) dive-site nodes, plus two Wikidata (CC0) reef items. Crowd-sourced, approximate positions. Approximate position.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 2,819, CC0_1_0: 325
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (2,421 records) · GBIF
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (240 records) · GBIF
Dataset
NMNH Material Samples (USNM) · doi:10.15468/jb9tdf (147 records) · GBIF
Dataset
NMNH Extant Specimen Records (USNM, US) · doi:10.15468/hnhrg3 (137 records) · GBIF
Dataset
INSDC Sequences · doi:10.15468/sbmztx (34 records) · GBIF
Dataset
University of Miami, Voss Marine Invertebrate Collections · doi:10.15468/qmckjq (24 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Collection of symbiotic copepods associated with Caribbean invertebrates · doi:10.15468/7seoi4 (24 records) · GBIF
Dataset
NCSM Herpetology Collection · doi:10.36102/dwc.3 (22 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=12.05795,12.07795&decimalLongitude=-68.87195,-68.85194999999999&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&taxonKey=44&taxonKey=206&taxonKey=229&taxonKey=136&taxonKey=225&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&limit=0
Heat stress & SST
NOAA Coral Reef Watch, 5 km Regional Virtual Station “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire”
Hero photo
At this site Tugboat Beach Wrack · Dronepicr · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Arrival photo
At this site Tugboat Beach Wreck · Dronepicr · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Gallery
7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources