Molasses Reef

Molasses Reef is considered by some to be the most beautiful dive spot in the Florida Keys, if not the entire state of Florida. Molasses Reef isn’t just one reef, it’s an entire ecosystem of reef networks marked by hard and soft corals, dropoffs to 100 feet, hard bottom, sponges, caves, and almost every type of reef formation you can think of. The northern end of Molasses Reef is as shallow as 15 feet, and excellent for snorkelers. The other end will be where most scuba divers go, to explore formations such as caves, spur and groove formation corals, walls, ledges – so many are famous that they have names.

There’s a wreck at Molasses Reef called the Slobodna. It ran aground on Molasses on March 15, 1887 and its remnants are still visible here and there. This wreckage is mistakenly thought to be from a barge thought to be carrying barrels of molasses, hence the name of the reef system. However, it’s really the Slobodna, and Austrian ship 170 feet long and 35 feet beam. It was actually carrying cotton from New Orleans- 4500 bales of it! She ran aground and a wrecking ship City of Key West, was unable to pull her off so they salvaged the cargo instead. About half the cotton bales ended up in Key West and the rest was wet and ruined. They removed the fittings, and left the Slobodna high and dry. She eventually broke apart and sunk.

She’s now in 22 feet of water near the south side of Molasses Reef Tower. Some people call it the “Mast Wreck”, and it lies on a sandy bottom. It’s rigging and some pieces of iron and a metal mast, hence the name. There are other bits and pieces as well, scattered about. Much of the wreckage is buried in sand.

Grecian Rocks

Grecian Rocks is really a snorkeling spot, since it only gets to be about 25 feet deep. However, it’s near Christ of the Abyss, it’s got mooring buoys, and plenty to see. Grecian Rocks stick out of the water at low tide, and some areas are only about four feet deep. This causes some divers to stand on the ocean floor, but this damages the marine ecosystem in many ways so please swim and float, but don’t stand up.

This is also a Sanctuary area, and there’s an old Spanish cannon in the area. So, plenty of fish to see and if you can find the cannon that’s a bonus! The reef area is bordered by white sand fields, which make it easy to spot any fish that me cruising by. Elkhorn coral is present at this dive spot.

French Reef

French Reef has it all- caves, swim-throughs, limestone walls, ledges and tunnels. The marine life is spectacular and photographers adore French Reef for its majestic beauty and underwater scenes created by the tunnels and swim-throughs. French Reef is a novice level dive located quite close to another popular spot, Molasses Reef. Depths at French Reef range from 15 to 100 feet and there are also mooring buoys here.

Snorkelers can revel in the beauty as well, and divers can take advantage of the two famous caves here: Christmas Tree Cave and Hourglass Cave. Christmas Tree Cave is supposedly full of Christmas tree worms, which look like cellophane noodles growing out of the coral. French Reef is a sanctuary marked by buoys with the letter “F”. There is rubble within the sanctuary too. Buoy F6 has a swim through and F7 is near an old anchor. The largest cave is at the center of French Reef, called the “White Sand Bottom Cave”.

The Elbow Reef

The Elbow is a section of reef that juts out from the main line of coral that runs along the northern end of Key Largo waters. It’s close to the Gulf Stream, even more so than most other Key Largo dive spots, so visibility is super clear. However, it’s almost always a little choppy out here at the Elbow, since there’s no really shallow water nearby to break the waves. Currents are strong, again due to the Gulf Stream.

Elbow reef has a light tower, but it looks more like a table now – the top blew off. The Elbow is now a Sanctuary, marked by yellow bouys. There are lots of big fish down there, partly because there are lots of wrecks providing structure for coral. It’s a novice-level dive, maximum 55 feet deep. The extremely clear water means you can see bottom from the surface lots of the time. The City of Washington wreck is here, and very snorkel-friendly.

Another wreck that lies under the Elbow is the Tonawanda. This was a US Navy steamer formerly called USS Arkansas that became stranded on the reef in 1966. The hull was wooden so there’s not much left. She sits in 24 feet of water and is sometimes called the Civil War wreck. There are wooden beams and iron pins with sea fans all over them. Lots of local dive boats call the Tonawanda and the Civil War wreck two separate sites but they’re not. They are confusing Micke’s Wreck with the Tonawanda. Tonawanda = Civil War Wreck. Seneca = Mike’s wreck.

The City of Washington

The City of Washington is one of many wrecks at Elbow Reef in Key Largo. It sank while being towed in 1917 in just a few minutes and now sits in 25 feet of water. That makes it good for novice divers and snorkelers. It’s very close to the Seneca, which is also called “Mike’s Wreck”. The City of Washington lies withing the Elbow sanctuary preserve, and there are mooring buoys there.

There’s only five or so feet of relief left of this wreck, but the marine life is abundant. The City of Washington had an iron hull, the lower section of which is still there. Originally, the hull included three decks and was 300 feet long with a beam of 38 feet. She had double masts and a 650 horsepower engine. Built in 1877, The City of Washington earmarked an era of transition from sail powered vessels to steam-powered.

When launched, the City of Washington was a passenger and cargo carrier between New York, Panama, Mexico and Cuba. There were first class cabins and room for 250 steerage passengers. In 1889 her engines were upgraded and now capable of 2750 horsepower.

She played a part in history by chance, having been moored next to the USS Maine in Havana Harbor just when relations between US and Spain were bad. The infamous sinking of the USS Maine started the Spanish-American War, and The City of Washington was there to serve as makeshift hospital for wounded men that night.

Today she rests at the bottom of The Elbow, covered by sea fans in many areas. There is much marine life at this site, and many of the fish here are used to divers feeding them.