John Mattera & John Chatterton
Pirate's Cove Dive Center is a full service diver's support facility. The center is operated by John Mattera and John Chatterton. We are a small facility located in Samaná, on the north shore of historic Samaná Bay in the Dominican Republic along the North Coast of the island of Hispañola. We have some truly unique wreck diving sites, and provide custom wreck diving charters to small groups interested in the unique type of diving we have in this area. Regardless of whether you are just beginning your career as a diver, or you already are an experienced Tek diver we can offer a different experience. This is not mainstream diving, and not for everyone, it is Adventure Diving.

The Arch at the Pinnacle Near Rincon Bay

Custom Charters
The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern end of the island of Hispañola. Historically speaking, it is the place where Columbus first set foot in the new world, and geographically it sits between the Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean.

The South Shore of Hispañola is on the Caribbean Sea. The water is warm and very, very blue. In general, the wrecks are small modern wrecks with interesting coral formations and fish. This is laid back Caribbean diving, and the sort of thing most Caribbean divers are familiar with. There are many fine dive operators in the region, but that is not us.

The North coast of the Dominican Republic is on the Southernmost edge of the North Atlantic Ocean. During the Colonial Period, everyone came to Hispañola. The British, the Spanish, the Dutch, and the French all came here by ship. With all that traffic, also came the Pirates and the Buccaneers. This era has provided the North Coast with some truly unique shipwrecks.

The North Coast is a little more challenging from a diving standpoint, but still nice warm water. Samaná Bay has some very interesting reef and wreck sites, but it is a bay usually with limited visibility. Spectacular underwater vistas are the exception, but shipwreck sites that are historic, and unique, abound.

Every single one of the wreck sites we visit are protected by our hosts, the government of the Dominican Republic. These sites are almost always historically significant as well as culturally valuable, and require special permission to access.

Pirates Cove can arrange for responsible divers to visit some of the most interesting dive sites in the Americas.

Columbus arrived in Hispañola in 1492. The shipwrecks began to arrive shortly after that. We can show you wrecks like the famous Spanish Galleon, Tolosa, the ship of the Pirate, Jack Bannister, who fought the Royal Navy to a standstill, or even colonial era wrecks yet to be identified. We are engaged in searching for new wrecks, and the possibilities for new sites seem to be growing all the time. more...