Glass-bottom boat and shipwreck snorkel cruise

You stay dry for the first half. With the hatches lifted, the glass hull shows the Sea Gardens, a reef of brain coral, sea fans, damselfish and parrotfish off the West End, and the wreck of HMS Vixen beside it. The Vixen was an 1867 British gunboat that the Royal Navy scuttled half a mile off the Somerset shore, and her bow still sticks out of the water. Some boats also stop over the sand flats where green turtles feed.

Then the boat anchors off a small beach or cove in 3 to 4 feet of water for snorkelling, with gear, instruction and a vest that must be worn. Snorkellers need to be able to swim, and non-snorkellers get kayaks or noodles on some boats. The trip runs about three hours. Boats leave from beside the Hamilton Ferry Terminal on Front Street and from Dockyard. Boarding means steps and a gangway, and the snorkel spot can change with the weather.