Sanctuary News - Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail

News

NOAA's Shipwreck Trail an adventure to dive for!

Weather and war, uncharted waters and human error enacted a deadly toll on seagoing vessels traveling the waters now contained within the boundaries of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuaries. The reasons for shipwrecks are many: a sailor's inability to accurately determine position, inadequate charts, lack of navigational aids such as lighthouses and buoys, unpredictable currents, lack of wind, and hurricanes. The grave losses of vessels from earlier eras now provide a rich historical resource for visitors to Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail.

The Shipwreck Trail in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary includes the vessel Duane now an artificial reef. (Photo: Paul Caputo) Shiphehe

The Shipwreck Trail, inaugurated in July 1999, is the result of cooperative efforts on the part of NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries Program, federal and state agencies, and local communities and businesses and an army of dedicated volunteers. The Nature Conservancy, Florida Heritage, the Keys Association of Dive Operations are just a few of the groups who worked to create a Shipwreck Trail among many others. In promoting the Trail, the National Marine Sanctuary Program hopes to do more than provide opportunities for historians and biologists to conduct research or divers to learn more about maritime history. Shipwrecks in their final resting place become artificial reefs and provide a special habitat for the colorful variety of fish common to Florida's waters. As more visitors learn about the Shipwreck Trail's value as a diving destination, the trail will help to divert diving pressure from the major natural reefs in the state.

The Shipwreck Trail is not a path in the physical sense rather it is a thematic map of significant, accessible, commonly-dived shipwrecks and artificial reefs through the sanctuary's waters. The nine sites represent three broad periods of Keys maritime history: European Colonial, American, and Modern. Along the trail that stretches from Key Largo to Key West , visitors learn not only about the human element in maritime history, but discover the materials, craftsmanship, and the methods used by artisans who built these vessels.

Shipwreck trail markers

The Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail extends north to Key Largo and south to Key West. (Photo: NOAA)

The Dutch-built San Pedro, was part of a Spanish treasure fleet wrecked by a hurricane in 1733. Today an anchor, replica cannons, and a ballast pile rest in a sand pocket one-and -a quarter miles south of Indian Key in 18 feet of water and are the only remaining evidence of the 18th century vessel. During the 1800s when New Orleans prospered as a port of great commerce, so many wrecks went down in the Keys that several thriving communities of wreckers sprang up to retrieve cargo and vessel remains. Two shipwrecks of this period are included on the Shipwreck Trail: The Adelaide Baker, south of Duck Key, and a wreck believed to be the North America located on Delta Shoals. The most recent shipwreck -- a decommissioned Coast Guard Cutter Duane -- was purposely sunk in 120 feet of water off Molasses Key to create an artificial reef for marine creatures.

Local dives shops and the Florida Keys Sanctuary's three offices carry underwater site guides (waterproof slates) for each of the nine sites which are easily accessible by private boat or dive shop charters and identifiable by a spar buoy. These guides help to enrich a visitor's understanding and appreciation for these historic treasures. Guides give shipwreck and mooring buoy locations, history, a site map, and identifies marine life divers can expect to see.

Conditions on the Shipwreck Trail vary from easy dives in shallow water to deeper dives of 100 feet or more into areas of swift currents. Some of the deeper sites require mooring to submerged buoys. Diving and snorkeling charters, underwater site guides, and additional information for each site are available from area dive shops.

Visitors to the site are reminded that the shipwreck was chosen for its historic, biologic or aesthetic worth and so extra care must be taken while visiting. Controlling buoyancy while diving and care while anchoring will prevent further deterioration and protect these sites for visitors who follow..

The Shipwreck Trail makes available a shared cultural and historical legacy, as well as physical property, that belongs to all the people of the United States. Removing artifacts or damaging the resources is not only forbidden by law, but it also violates the public trust and deprives others of the joy of viewing the remnants of vessels from the past.

For more information about the Shipwreck Trail, contact Karen Bareford, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 305-852-7717.
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August 22, 1999