UPPER KEYS Dive Sites

• BIB AND DAUNE 
• CRAYSFORT REEF
• CHRIST OF THE DEEP
• EAGLE WRECK
• HENS AND CHICKENS
• MOLASSES REEF
• SPIEGEL GROOVE WRECK
• PICKLES REEF
• KEY LARGO DRY ROCKS

  MOLASSES REEF

  MOLASSES TOWER

   KEY LARGO

San Pedro Underwater Archaeological Preserve State Park.

The site is 18 feet under waterand about 1.25 nautical miles south from Indian Key.The San Pedro was part of the Spanish flotilla that sank in the July 1733 hurricane. The ship was discoved and salvaged in 1960.The site was turned into a dive and snorlel site. There are seven  replica  cannons and an anchor.

GPS  coordinates  

 24 degrees  51.802 minutes North                                  

 80 degrees  40.795 minutes West

SAN PEDRO: Mile Marker:  77 Location: 1 1/4 miles South of Indian Key 

The San Pedro was a Spanish gallon ship. It was heading for Spain from the New World. After the fleet left Havana harbor, a hurricane (1733) struck.The storm drive 21 galleons onto the reefs. Nearly the entire fleet was sunk along with a cargo of treasure.Each ship left behind a large pile of ballast stones, timbers, and their treasure.The colossa indians salvage these ships for Spain.Today divers can still find coral-encrusted coins, pottery, and other ancient artifacts.It is said that much of the treasure from the Spanish ships yet remains submerged and available. The San Pedro is Florida’s second Underwater Archaeological Preserve. The San Pedro has been reduced to a large pile of rocks, with  old timbers. The ballast stones have numerous coral heads growing from them. Several concrete cannons and a 17th century anchor were added to enhance the dive and improve fish nesting options.

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USS  SPIEGEL GROVE, a.k.a. LSD 32, a.k.a. 'TOP DOG'

Type of ship LANDING SHIP DOCK.Builder,Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation Pascagoula,Miss.Construction Material, Steel hull and superstructure.The Length 510 feet,the Beam 84 feet. The commission date, June 6, 1956.The decommission date, Oct. 2, 1989. The date Sunk, June 10, 2002.

GPS  coordinates  

 25 degrees  04.00 minutes NORTH

 80 degrees  18.65 minutes WEST

                                                       SPIEGEL GROVE  YOU TUBE KEY LARGO

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CHRIST OF THE ABYSS; MileMarker: 108 Location: Lat 25 07.45 Long 80 17.80 

 One of the most popular snorkel/dive sites in the Upper Keys, the 9-foot-tall Christ of the Deep Statue stands on the ocean floor, arms upraised toward the surface and the heavens.

          Christ of the Abyss is a 9 foot 4000 pound bronze statue. The statue was designed by Italian sculptor Guido Galletti and cast in Italy. It was the third cast made from this mold. The first cast was placed in 50 feet of water off of Genoa, Italy in 1954. The second cast was placed in St. George's harbor in Grenada,in 1960 The third cast is in Key Largo.This statue was commissioned and donated by Egidi Cressi, an Italian industrialist and dive equipment manufacturer. The Underwater Society of America received the donation in 1962.After years of deliberation,the statue was placed at Key Largo Dry Rocks in 1966. The Statue sits atop a large concrete base in 25 feet of water. It is in a small sand clearing.It sits nested in the reef an amired for generations.

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MOLASSES REEF

          Molasses reef consists of several different types of reef structure, and is spread out over 14-17 acres. Molasses Reef has a 45-foot steel light tower; Mooring Buoys M1-M25 are for snorkeling - shallow dives; Mooring Buoys M21-M23 for deeper dives The water depth is 3 to 40 feet deep. This site was named after a barge that grounded, it was carrying a load of barreled molasses. The remains lie scattered on the ground. Other ships left their mark; at buoy 8 (M8) lies a windlass wreckas or "The Winch Hole". The winch belonged to the Slobodana, a 170-foot wooden schooner. It ran aground on Molasses Reef in 1887. M11 and M12 mark a site that was severely damaged in 1984 by the M/V Wellwood. The 400-foot freighter completely destroyed several very large star coral and other spicies. Divers enjoy the beauty of the reef. The reef offers, gin clear water visibility, and has a prolific marine life. Molasses Reef is famous for a well-defined spur, and groove system. It stretches out from the extreme shallow areas to about 30 feet. It diplayes hard as well as soft corals, rise up from the sandy bottom. In the substrate section of the reef are a large variety of rope sponges and vase sponges.This gives the reef its incredible colors. There are large schools of fish anywhere at the reef. Common to these waters are horse-eyed jacks, permit jacks, bar jacks, yellow goatfish, small-mouth grunts, and great barracuda. Other fish that are commonly seen are sergeant majors, angelfish, parrot fish, grouper, snapper, chub, blue tang, and silvery snook. The reef is host to an incredible variety of corals, sponges, gorgonians, and game fish.

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GRECIAN ROCKS :MileMarker: 106 Location: N 25 deg 06.70 min W 80 deg 18.55 min

         Grecian Rocks has mooring buoys G1-G12; Wooden Marker Depth Range: 3 to 35 feet Grecian Rocks is a crescent-shaped patch reef located just south-southwest of Key Largo Dry Rocks and is marked by a wooden marker and 12 mooring buoys designated with the letter "G". The reef itself is half a mile long, running from north to south, and 150 yards wide. Grecian Rocks is a very interesting dive site because similar to that of most outer bank reefs in the area.Divers can explore the spur and groove system that is covered by a large variety of corals.Divers can enjoy the calm conditions of this inshore reefs. In the deep areas of Greican Rocks are boulders of giant star coral, star coral, starlet coral, and brain coral.Sea fans and a variety of sponges are abundent.It is home to stoplight parrotfish, princess parrotfish, queen parrotfish, and blue parrotfish, and the great barracuda.There is an old Spanish cannon 75 feet south of this area. At shallower waters, branching corals become more and abundant until they are completely dominate at the reef crest. Giant golden-brown elkhorn coral cover the reef crest.Grecian Rocks is the shallowest of all the reefs in the Upper Keys and is exposed at low tide.Behind the reef is a large white sand plateau that is partially overgrown by turtle grass.The plateau is only 3 to 6 feet deep and makes it ideal for snorkeling.

French Reef   - popular for it's coral caves and "swim-throughs",

Pickles Reef  -  home of such sites as The Pillar Coral Patch

North Dry Rocks  
- in relation to Key Largo Dry Rocks, this is "the next reef to the north." A relatively shallow location, this reef contains the popular "Minnow Cave" - known for it's large seasonal population of glass minnows.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ACCOMMODATIONS OF THE UPPER KEYS

                                        OCEAN POINTE  Vacation Rental

CORAL REEF  KEY LARGO AND THE UPPER KEYS

Snorkelling is the practice of swimming at the surface of a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usuallyswimfins.

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Eagle: MileMarker: 84 Location: Lat 24 52.18 Long 80 34.20

         The Eagle is 4.5 miles SE of Islamorada, in 75 to 120 feet of water. This conventional-hull freighter Raila Dan, then re-named Eagle was built in in Werf-Gorinchem, Holland in 1962. The Eagle is 269 feet long, with a 40-foot beam. In 1985, a fire broke out aboard while enroute from Miami to Venezuela. The fire damaged the vessel beyond repair. Members of the Islamorada diving and tourism communities and the Eagle Tire Company arranged for the vessel to be prepared as a artificial dive reef.

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The USCG Cutters Duane and Bibb were  sunk in 1987 to form an artificial reef. they are located a mile south of Molasses Reef. Both are in 130 feet of water. The Duane stands upright  sixty feet below the surface; the Bibb lies on its starboard side.

DUANE   YOU TUBE KEY LARGO

The wreck of the Benwood is a shallow wreck found between French Reef and the Spiegel Grove sight. The Benwood is an old Norwegian freighter that has been down since 1942. The abundance of marine life and easy navigation makes it a popular night dive.

Location: Lat 25 03.16 Long 80 20.02  Depth Range: 25 to 55 feet deep The Benwood was a freighter, built in 1910.  360 feet long  Benwood sits upright in 50 feet of water. The hull is intact.The area has a  large numbers of fish. The metal sides are coated with coral and sponges.Under the bottom of the hull look for moray eels, lobster, and nesting jawfish. The Benwood is home for several large grouper and snook. About 100 feet away from the Benwood, along the ledge that runs offshore from the bow, a large anchor.

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                                        SHIPWRECK TRAIL OF THE UPPER KEYS

City of Washington - In 25 feet of water east of Key Largo, the remains of the City of Washington lie on Elbow Reef. On July 10, 1917 the tugboat Luchenbach #4 towing the City of Washington and the Seneca ran aground on Elbow Reef.

Benwood -  is located between French Reef and Dixie Shoals in 25 to 45 feet of water. She sank after a collision in 1942 with the Robert C. Tuttle.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Duane lies upright on a sandy bottom in 120 feet of water one mile south of Molasses Reef off Key Largo. After being decommissioned the Duane was donated for use as an artificial reef. On November 27, 1987 she was put to rest .

Eagle -Built in Holland in 1962, this freighter was acquired and sunk by the Florida Keys Artificial Reef Association in 1985. She lies her starboard side in 110 feet of water three miles northeast of Alligator Reef Light.

San Pedro, a member of the 1733 Spanish treasure fleet caught by a hurricane in the Straits of Florida, sank in 18 feet of water one-and-a quarter miles south of Indian Key. At snorkeling-friendly depth rests the Spanish Galleon, San Pedro; you can swim down and see its historic cannons, ballast stones and timbers.

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 Scuba diving is the term used to describe the use of a self-contained breathing equiptment to stay underwater for periods of time greater than an individual can hold ones breath. Learning to scuba dive is safe and requires a modest amount of training.  To be safe, always dive within the limits of your experience and level of training. Scuba takes you to a different world with new colors, shapes, textures and creatures. Scuba diving frees you to explore the underwater world – from historic shipwrecks and pristine reefs. Experience a connection with nature; a feeling of freedom. Pay careful attention to those creatures that could do you harm and be careful not to do anything that might damage our fragile environment. --explore the two-thirds of the planet that's under water. Whether you are a sport diver, an old pro, or a new diver looking for lessons, Scuba Diving has something for you.

 

ECOSYSTEM    KEY LARGO AND THE FLORIDA KEYS

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