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Ever since Columbus came this way in 1492, the Bahamas’ strategic location between Europe, the Caribbean and North America have made it a magnet for the outlaws of the high seas. From the late 1600s to the early 1700s The Bahamas were a haven for pirates and government sactioned privateers. They preyed on Spanish galleons laden with gold from the New World and left behind tales of ruin, revelry and buried treasure.

A century later, during the American Civil War, the Bahamas prospered as a centre of Confederate blockade-running. Then, in the 1920s during Prohibition, the Islands once again served as a base for modern pirates known as “rum-runners.” That’s also when Deadman’s Reef most likely earned its name for the perilous task of putting ashore on The Grand Bahama Island’s West End in the dead of night.

Today, the picturesque resort of Paradise Cove sits directly across from Deadman’s Reef tempting snorkelers to explore its underwater treasures.

The United States frigate St. Lawrence sinking the privateer Petrel at sea.”
-- From Harpers Weekly August 24, 1861