Florida

Miami-Dade County

Divers will travel far and wide to find the best diving. But those who live in the United States have plenty of great diving on their doorstep as well, with plentiful access to the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. From warm-water reefs to temperate seas, here are some of the top places to scuba dive in the United States.

United States

The US Customs Reef is located four miles east of Key Biscayne and contains four cargo ships. These ships include the Bradywine, Minguana, Etoile de Mer, and Tacoma which were all sunk in 2001. The Tacoma was not one of the initial ships sunk to form an artificial reef but was added after it was seized during a drug smuggling.

These ships lie in approximnately 130-145 feet of water and are within 200 feet of each other. In total, 925 pounds of cocaine valued at $7.7 million were seized from these ships. The ships lie near each other and are all upright and intact.



Customs Reef is also known as Etoile de Mer.

Miami

Customs Reef

Sunk in february 2002

Out of kay Biscane

Tacoma

The Spirit of Miami is a Boeing 727 jet (130' long). It was sunk as an artificial reef September 8, 1993.
It is broken in several part, some of them are very damaged.

Key Biscayne Artificial Reef
3.5 miles off of Miami

The Spirit of Miami

Rio Miami was featured on a 1989 episode of 20/20 where Hugh Downs detonated the ship for sinking and dove the site less than 24 hours later. The remote-controlled detonation with which Downs sunk the ship was the first of this type to be used. The publicity brought some popularity to this location.

Today, this 105-foot tug lies in 72 feet of water after being shifted by Hurricane Andrew. She is upright and her cabin and ladders are intact and rise up to 30 feet from the surface. This is one of the most intact wrecks in the area and is easily penetrated.

Barracudas, angelfish, jewfish, grunts, yellowtails, colorful sponges, sea fans and many forms of hard and soft corals are just some of the beautiful organisms that can be seen on this dive.



Rio Miami

Chances are if you received your certification in Miami, you dived The Belzona Barge on your third dive. This 115 foot steel barge was originally sunk in 72FT of water, just north of the South Seas, in August of 1991. However, in August of 1992, Hurricane Andrew moved her to only about 40 feet of water. Like most of the barges, it inverted when it was blown up by the Miami Bomb Squad, and rests upside down on the bottom. The wreck is extremely dark inside and it is not a good idea to try to penetrate it, but there is a great deal of surface area to explore. The top of the wreck, which is really the bottom of the hull, is fully covered with soft corals and the flowing gorgonians constantly waving in the current, make the wreck look more like a coral reef than a rusty old vessel. Located within fairly easy swimming distance of the Belzona Barge (80 feet to the south) is the Belzona Two, a 90 foot steel tug boat sunk in February of 1991 which sits in about 60 feet of water.



Belzona Barge

The DEMA Trader is a 165-foot freighter. It was deployed October 28th, 2003.

Approximately 3.5 miles west of Key Biscane

DEMA Trader is also known as GGD Trader.

DEMA Trader

The Ophelia Brian, previously named the Sea Taxi was sunk in December 2009 by the Miami Dade Reef Guard Association with a grant from the Brian and Lavinia Snyder Foundation.

The 210 foot freighter, built in 1965 by J.J. Sietas in Hamburg, Germany christened Hoheburg and lastly called Sea Taxi, became the Ophelia Brian when she sunk at a pre-permitted site off Key Biscayne on December 30, 2009. The vessel is a sister ship to two very popular, previously sunk Miami-Dade artificial reefs -- the Ultra Freeze and the Deep Freeze. It's been renamed several times in the past 40 years, most recently called the Sea Taxi as you can see painted on the side of the vessel in the photo taken just before the sinking.

Its a really good dive and now has the added interest that a piece of the fuselage from The Spirit of Miami wreck of the Boeing 727 has rolled up alongside at the stern on the starboard side.



Ophelia Brian is also known as Sea Taxi.

Ophelia Brian



4.5 miles east of Key Biscayne

Biscayne wreck is also known as Banana Freighter.

Biscayne wreck

The Proteus is a 220' freighter sunk in the Key Biscayne Artificial Reef Site on January 24, 1985. This site is one of the shallower wrecks dives in South Florida, resting in only 72' of water with at least 30' of relief (top deck is at 50'). This artificial reef site makes an excellent opportunity for the novice wreck diver and serves as a great introduction to Miami's exceptional collection of artificial reefs.

She was once a ferry boat on the Great Lakes before carrying freight and supplies between the Caribbean islands. Most of her superstructure was removed to allow maximum cargo space, but the ship failed to make a profit resulting in bankruptcy in 1980. The freighter sat on the Miami River for 5 years as a derelict vessel behind Bud's Auto Parts on 34th Avenue. During its tenure as Bud's garbage barge, thousands of license plates were thrown into the ship from the auto shop. Although most of the plates have been salvaged by sport divers as souvenirs, if you look close you may still be able to find one laying in the hold to this day.

NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors) expressed their interest in helping to obtain and sink a ship in late 1984 and discovered the Proteus through Ben Mostkoff, then Director of the Miami-Dade County's Artificial Reef Program. Volunteers cleaned and prepared the ship to made it environmentally safe before sinking.

Resting on a sandy bottom, not far from the popular Biscayne wreck, the Proteus was broken into several large pieces by the forces of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Since the structure spread out over a wider area, more marine life seems to have taken up residence in the various twisted metal remains of the wreck. Moray eels, schooling grunts, barracudas, angelfish and the occasional groups can be found within the wreck and around debris field.



Proteus Wreck

The Orion was sunk as a part of the artificial reef program in 1981. It is a steel hulled tug boat. 

The wheel house broke off during hurricane Andrew and lies off to one side. It is often passed over for the larger ships in Key Biscayne, but it is a well established and a very nice for a shorter second dive.

3 miles off Key Biscayne (SW corner of the reef). 

Orion wreck

The Neptune Memorial Reef project is the largest man made reef ever conceived and provides an extraordinary living resting place for the departed, an environmental and ecological masterpiece, a superb laboratory for marine biologists, students, researchers and ecologists, and an aesthetically exquisite, world-class destination for visitors from all walks of life.

3.25 miles of the east of Key Biscayne, FL. 


Customs Reef

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Customs Reef