The Adolphus Busch

The Adolphus Busch is another intentionally sunk ship that now forms a great artificial reef for marine life and divers. It lies just six miles offshore from Big Pine Key in 110 feet of water. This 210 ton freighter is named after a member of the Busch family, as in the beer.

The sinking of The Adolphus Busch is interesting: becuase it was sunk inside a sanctuary, no explosives were used. They just cut holes, then pumped water into her until she sunk. These holes are today good swim-through spots- there are 12 of them. The ship is in very good shape, so exploring is ok.

This is an advanced level scuba dive. There are mooring buoys at this site.

Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary

Bahia Honda State Park is one of the most famous parks in the Florida Keys. Prized for its campsites with gorgeous sunset views, it’s been written up in dozens of travel magazines. Ten miles out to sea on the ocean side, likes Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary. This is one of the most beautiful dive spots in the Florida Keys. There are 70 mooring buoys at this spot, to accommodate the divers and snorkelers who visit.

Depths at Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary range from five to 70 feet. Diving here is at the novice level. There is lots of different types of structure here, including sandy bottom, large overhangs, tall coral colonies, and remains of a wreck that include only a chain and some ballast.

Part of the reef at Looe Key is a Sanctuary Preservation Area (SPA). That means, among other things, no anchoring. Use the mooring buoys. The deepest areas are buoys 50-70. The current will be strongest here, too.

Sombrero Key

Sombrero Key is marked by a red lighthouse from the 1850s There is a string of these lighthouses down the Florida Keys, and this is the biggest one at 150 feet tall. You can always find Sombrero Key, as the lighthouse is anchored to it. The Army Corps of Engineers built all of the Florida Keys lighthouses this way.

Sombrero Key is popular with everyone because of The Arch, an underwater coral formation through which you can swim and take awesome photos. It’s located eight miles off from Key Colony beach and easy to find, of course. Depths range to about 30 feet, so good for snorkelers, too. It’s a novice level scuba dive. There are mooring buoys and lots and lots of coral. No fishing, as Sombrero Key is a Sanctuary Preservation Area (SPA) and it’s heavily enforced.

Delta Shoals

There’s a lot to like about Delta Shoals. There are coral canyons, several wrecks, and numerous types of coral heads. All this in 25 feet of water near Sombrero Light and it’s one heck of a popular dive spot in Marathon. Delta Shoals are less than a mile from Sombrery Key, so combine dives if ou can.

There’s a wreck here called Ivory wreck, named after ivory tusks that sunk with the ship. Leg irons were also found at the Ivory, making hisotrians believe it had been a slave ship.

Delta Shoals run for half a mile over what used to be very treacherous waters, as there are many old remnants of wrecks out there.

The Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt was sunk to be an artificial reef and dive spot in 1986 and ranks as the number one dive spot in Marathon. Thunderbolt sits in 115 feet of water with 45 feet of relief. She counts as an intermediate level dive spot. She was a cable-laying 188 foot military ship later used by Florida Power and Light to study lightening. That’s how she got her name. She sank at the docks in Miami and was purchased by divers in the Florida Keys.

Features that Marathon scuba divers flock to on the Thunderbolt are the twin propellers and the engine room. From her lightening studying days, there’s a huge reel of cable on her bow. Divers can descend 110 feet into the hull for further exploration.

Thunderbolt sits just five miles off the shores of Marathon making the proximity just one more thing that makes this site the top dive spot in Marathon.