![]() CHRIST OF THE ABYSS Often considered the symbol of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the statue of Christ of the Abyss actually sits in federal waters five miles offshore at Dry Rocks reef. For the Florida Keys dive community, however, it turned out to be a gift that keeps on giving. The second project was the Spiegel Grove, and it was a nightmare of epic proportions. ![]() The Duane, however is perfectly upright and holds a massive concentration of fish: bluestriped grunts in the wheelhouse, Atlantic spadefish swirling about the bow, barracuda alongside the radar tower and gray snapper amidships. The Bibb landed on its starboard side given its narrow beam and 130-foot depth, it is best suited for technical divers. That might be the deal of the century considering the popularity of the Duane, especially among visiting divers. Granted, it was 1987, and a dollar went further then, but we spent only $300,000 on the project. While I might be repressing some of the problems associated with the project, it seemed like it all went very smoothly and remarkably inexpensively. Coast Guard cutters: the Duane and the Bibb, each 327 feet long. Our first community shipwreck project was to acquire, clean, tow to Key Largo from Boston Harbor in Massachusetts and sink a pair of U.S. ARTIFICIAL REEFS In my 40 years in Key Largo I have been intimately involved in two big artificial reef projects, the first being fairly easy and straightforward. But Dennis did his work for free, and now Key Largo enjoys a wreck of immense stature and popularity. This project was a lot more expensive than the previous one, costing about $1.5 million once salvage costs were considered. Incredibly, storm-driven surge from Hurricane Dennis set the wreck perfectly upright on July 9, 2005. Marine salvors ultimately managed to place the ship on the bottom, where it rested on its starboard side for the next three years. ![]() The ship was sunk May 17, 2002, but it sank completely upside down, presumably as a result of internal bulkheads giving way and prematurely flooding the engine compartment. Navy in June 2001, cleaned of contaminants and towed to Key Largo. With a budget supported by a grant from the Monroe County Tourist Development Council, along with individual and business donations, the Spiegel Grove was acquired from the U.S. We settled on the 510-foot Spiegel Grove. We had some money left over from the last project, so we sent Bill Harrigan, the former FKNMS manager, to scout the derelict ships of the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia. After the success of the Duane and the Bibb, several of us in the local dive community set about pondering how we could do another wreck, bigger and better. ![]() It too was blown apart for being a hazard to navigation, but enough remains that divers can make out its crushed bow, and the ribs and deck plating are magnets for schools of goatfish, schoolmaster snapper and seasonal congregations of glass minnows. The Benwood ran to the safety of shallow water but only made it to 25-to 40-foot-deep water before it sank. On the night of April 9, 1942, while carrying a load of phosphate rock to Norfolk, Va., the Benwood collided with the Robert C. Freighters often ran with their lights off to avoid being easy targets for submarines, but the practice led to more than one collision. The Benwood was a casualty of World War II, sinking during a time when German U-boats prowled off South Florida. But there is still sufficient superstructure for it to be recognizable as a ship and to provide refuge for the schooling fish and green morays that reside there. Like most large ships run aground in shallow water (25 feet, in this case), the City of Washington wreck was blown apart to avoid being a hazard to navigation. The City of Washington and a nearby Spanish cruiser rescued 90 crewmen from the Maine. Harbor in Cuba, precipitating the Spanish-American War.
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