Florida, United States Dive Sites — Page 5

Showing 97–120 of 143

Continued from the Florida, United States dive sites guide, which covers seasonality and planning details.

Proteus

Florida · Up to 21.9 m

Artificial reef built from 220' Steel Ship, the "Proteus"

IntermediateBoat entry

The Rainbow River is one of Florida's classic drift dives: a crystal-clear, sand-and-eelgrass river fed by the first-magnitude Rainbow Springs group, flowing at a steady walking pace over limestone vents and fossil beds at 10-25 ft. Diving is prohibited in the Rainbow Springs State Park headspring; divers stage from KP Hole County Park, ride the water taxi upstream and drift effortlessly back to the dock. Constant 72°F water, 100 ft+ visibility and abundant fish, turtles and bubbling sand boils make it a superb beginner drift.

Shore entry

Rube Allyn Reef

Florida · Up to 13.4 m

Artificial reef built from Concrete Culverts, 10 yards, 100 square feet Coverage

Boat entry

S.S. Inchulva / Delray Wreck (wreck)

Florida · 4.6–7.6 m

The SS Inchulva, a 386-ft British steamship that sank in the 1903 hurricane with the loss of nine crew, lies scattered in 15-25 ft of water only about 150 yards off Delray Beach's Anchor Park. Known locally as the Delray Wreck, its boilers, propeller shaft and hull plates spread across a debris field roughly 70 ft wide, making it one of South Florida's few true swim-out shore wrecks. It doubles as an artificial reef busy with tropicals, snapper and the occasional turtle, and is popular with both snorkelers and scuba divers on calm days.

Shore entry

Saint Andrew's Bay

Florida · 6.1–21.3 m

The St. Andrews State Park jetties guard the entrance channel of St. Andrew Bay in Panama City Beach and are the Panhandle's best-known shore dive. After a short swim across a sheltered 8-10 foot lagoon, divers cross the granite jetty and work along boulders that drop from about 20 to 70 feet on the channel side, where Gulf and estuary species mix. Timing the dive to high slack tide is essential, as the tidal exchange through the pass generates strong currents and the channel carries constant boat traffic.

Shore entry

Saint Pete Beach Site

Florida · Up to 7.6 m

Artificial reef built from 3 loads from 3/7/83 to 4/6/83, Same Location, Same grant

Boat entry

San Pablo (W) Ship

Florida · Up to 25.6 m

The San Pablo, known locally as the 'Russian Freighter,' was a 315-foot fruit hauler torpedoed by a U-boat off Costa Rica in 1942, refloated, and then deliberately destroyed off Pensacola in 1944 during a secret U.S. weapons test using a radio-controlled boat packed with 3,000 pounds of explosives. The blast scattered her across the seafloor in about 84 feet of water, leaving boilers, refrigeration coils and large sections of twisted hull to explore. It is site #2 on the Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail and one of Pensacola's most popular intermediate wreck dives.

IntermediateBoat entry

Sea Emperor

Florida · Up to 19.8 m

Artificial reef built from 171' Hopper Barge, the "Sea Emperor"

IntermediateBoat entry

Sebastian Inlet

Florida · 1.5–6.1 m

Sebastian Inlet State Park straddles a man-made cut between the Atlantic and the Indian River Lagoon, with miles of shallow nearshore rock reefs starting just south of the inlet. Snorkeling and scuba are allowed everywhere except under the bridge and in the boat channel, and spearfishing is prohibited within the park. The shallow reefs hold tropicals, lobster and rays, but the inlet's powerful tidal flow makes timing around slack/high tide essential.

IntermediateShore entry

Silver Nail

Florida · Up to 30.5 m

Artificial reef built from 48' X 10 'X 11' Ferro Cement Sailboat

AdvancedBoat entry

Soule Barge-Gulf Power Towers

Florida · Up to 25.3 m

The Soule Barge and adjacent Gulf Power steel towers form one of Escambia County's older public artificial reef clusters off Pensacola Beach. The barge now rests upside-down and partially subsided into the sand in about 83 feet of water, with sections of donated power transmission towers nearby. The mix of low-relief steel attracts reef fish, baitfish schools and pelagic visitors.

IntermediateBoat entry

Spanish Reef

Florida · Up to 17.1 m

Artificial reef built from 3rd of 11 drops this date, "Spanish", 10 Reef Balls

BeginnerBoat entry

Spiegel Grove

Florida · 19.8–39.6 m

The USS Spiegel Grove, a 510-ft Navy landing ship dock scuttled in 2002 six miles off Key Largo, is one of the largest artificial reefs in the world. She rests upright in 130 ft of water with her superstructure starting around 60-65 ft, serviced by seven permanent mooring buoys inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Strong currents and sheer scale make it a genuine advanced dive, while the labyrinthine interior is a renowned technical/wreck-penetration playground; goliath grouper, jacks and bull sharks patrol the structure.

AdvancedBoat entry

SS Copenhagen (1898) Wreck

Florida · —

shipwreck near Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida

IntermediateBoat entry

SS Copenhagen Shipwreck

Florida · 4.9–9.4 m

The SS Copenhagen, a 325-ft British steamer that ran onto the reef in 1900, lies broken along a rocky ledge in 16-31 ft of water about 3/4 mile off Pompano Beach. Designated Florida's fifth Underwater Archaeological Preserve and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is the most visited state underwater preserve with roughly 10,000 divers a year. The scattered hull plates, bow section and boilers now form a fish-rich artificial reef ideal for novice divers and snorkelers.

Boat entry

SS Regina Wreck

Florida · —

shipwreck in Florida, US

IntermediateBoat entry

SS Tarpon Wreck

Florida · —

archaeological site in Bay County, United States of America

IntermediateBoat entry

Sylvia

Florida · Up to 25 m

The tug Sylvia is one of several tugboats scuttled as public artificial reefs in the Escambia County reef zones off Pensacola Beach. She rests on sand in about 82 feet of water; storms have removed her wheelhouse and upper deck and the hull has subsided roughly 20% into the bottom. The remaining hull still holds plenty of reef fish and is commonly paired with neighboring reefs on two-tank charter trips.

IntermediateBoat entry

Tarpon Springs Reef

Florida · Up to 8.5 m

Artificial reef built from Fiberglass Boat Molds, 350 square feet Coverage

Boat entry

Tarpon Springs Reef

Florida · Up to 7.9 m

Artificial reef built from Concrete Culverts

Boat entry

Tessie Steel Boat

Florida · Up to 23.5 m

Tessie is a small steel boat deployed as part of Escambia County's public artificial reef program in state waters off Pensacola Beach. It sits on a sand bottom in about 77 feet of water and shows as a very small mark on sounders. Like the other nearshore Pensacola reefs it concentrates snapper, grouper and baitfish on an otherwise featureless seabed.

IntermediateBoat entry