DIVING ZONE

Originally a German luxury yacht built in 1918 Following its use as a luxury yacht it was converter to a patrol vessel in WW2, after the war ended it was used as a freighter in New York. Its days were numbered however, as following a drug courier operation it was intercepted and seized by the US Customs near florida.

Sunk in 1985 as an artificial reef it offers a good days wreck diving with much of the superstructure being wood. It sits upright and makes excellent photography.

Colonies of Atlantic spiny oysters have made this large wreck (210 Ft) their home since the Deep Freeze was sunk in 1976. A small portion of the stern was ripped away when Hurricane Andrew passed by in 1992.

Two fighter jets whose origins are said to from Homestead Airbase. It is unknown how they came to rest under the sea but it is said that a maverick pilot (who was also a scuba diver) at the base boldly flew both planes into the sea and each time 'bailed-out' of the cockpit as the plane sank!

Now one jet is inverted and the second is on its side. The site makes for good 'posing' photography!

Fowey Light was constructed atop Fowey Rocks back in 1876, after a local indian attack on the Cape Florida Lighthouse. The reef, marked with a 120 foot tower sits in shallow water with plenty of grouper, snapper, yellowtail and lobsters.

The remains of a steamer, Arakanapka can be found in the shallows just northwest of the tower. Nearby is Car Frame Reef, now totally overgrown with healthy corals.

Key Biscayne has Bear Cut Reef; one of the few shoreline reefs in the country. Though very shallow its ease of access along with rays, tropical fish and reef sharks make this dive site very popular.

East of Bear Cut is the 150 foot long Haroldine marked by the daymark R"2." Commodore Ralph Monroe, an early South Florida pioneer, purchased the salvaging rights to the four masted ship for only $7.50 around the turn of the century. The wreck ishometo lobsters and small snappers.

An LCU (Landing Craft Utility) from the vietnam war era. It was sunk as an artificial reef back in 1982 after its tour of duty ended and now sits inverted on the sandy bottom.

The wreck can still be explored quite easily though. Be aware however that the gulfstream is nearby causing strong currents to cut through the area.

At this 'site' a series of concrete structures (tetrahendon in shape) lowered into the water to form a ground-breaking new type of artificial reef/breakwater.

Since 1996 onwards the results have been promising. So far lobsters, coral and tarpon have 'moved in' to the dive site.

The sister ship and exact replica of Hitlers own private yacht! Built in 1928 for the Guggenheim family.

After many different owners the yacht ended up in Miami where its condition had deteriorated. By the time investors came to buying her to effect a restoration it was too late, the yacht had sank into a canal. In 1983 the yacht was sunk and over the years it has been scattered across a wide area. Parts of the wreck still remain though. This dive site is popular with novices and rookies.

A Boeing 727 decommissioned in 1993. Lowered into position using a crane as opposed to the normal explosive method. This artificial reef was in perfect condition until Tropical Storm Gordon struck in 1995.

Now the foward section has been torn off and lies in deeper water from the tail section. Interestingly a 50 year time capsule has been secretly hidden somewhere in the plane and is due to opened in 2043 (or if a diver discovers it first!).

The Steane D'Auray was a former Atlantic trawler sunk as an artficial reef in 1986. Hurricane Andrew scattered some of it to 'The four waters'.

The main part that remains intact benefits greatly from the Gulf Stream that flows nearby and coral is predicatably 'en masse'.

These left over sewer pipes were disposed and have "stacked up" on top of each other. The growth on the structures is incredible as the open pipes allow uninhibited flow of water and thus nutrients.

Oysters, clams, sponges and the associated invertebrates are abundant and growing not only on the outside, but all along the inside of the pipes. Fish congregate on the adjacent reef and moray eels and lobster are a common occurance here. The inside of the pipes are literally full of gorgonians attached to the sides.

A diver skilled enough in the ways could navigate through the pipes though it is no mean feat.

The Tortuga is a 165 foot steel ship that was sunk in April 1995. The difference between this wreck and others is this particular ship was purchased by a movie company to be sunk on purpose in conjunction with DERM (Department of Environmental Resource Management) as an artificial reef. The elaborate explosion and sinking was all to be filmed for the movie Fair Game, starring Cindy Crawford and William Baldwin.

In the climatic scene at the end of the movie, the entire detonation and sinking of the Tortuga was documented as the characters portrayed by the two stars narrowly escape from the ship with their lives.

The wreck is a classic one, sitting completely upright in 100 feet of water. One of its distinctive features are the twin props which are totally intact making a great photographic opportunity.

The Ultra Freeze was placed into an artificial reef site by the South Florida Spearfishing Council in the summer of 1984. She had formerly served as a refridgerator ship between the bahamas and Miami.

After Hurricane Andrew hit her on August 24, 1992, her starboard side hull was torn, the entire vessel bent into an L-shape, but never-the-less she remains upright, with little of the marine gorwth being affected.