In the November issue of Diver Magazine Stephen Weir takes readers on a visit to North America's newest dive site ... the warm waters fronting Miami Beach. In preparing that article Stephen spent a week in Miami Beach diving with four different tour operators and meeting with Dade County officials involved in the creation of the world's largest collection of artifical reefs! The story that we ran was edited because of space reasons. What follows is the story behind the story -- items that Stephen Weir collected while preparing his feature article -- and the original version of our magazine piece before it was trimmed! The pictures that accompany this Website article were taken by Stephen Weir and famed underwater photographer Jim Kozmik.Hitler's Yacht now a coral reef
It is the rewriting of a Christian proverb, Swords into Plowshares has now become war tanks into coral reefs. For the past 15 years Florida's Metropolitan Dade
| County (which includes the city of Miami in its boundaries) has been repairing a small part of the ocean's eco-system; their new underwater work is paying big dividends for both the environment and the economy. The lesson has been learned well. Sink a pile of boats, aircraft, war tanks, oil rigs and radar towers on the bottom of the Atlantic, it is only a matter of time before fish, coral, anglers and the dive community begin to take notice!
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 Miami reef: Divers explore the broken remains of a tug's winch. Photo by Jim Kozmik. |
Flash ahead to modern time. The Dade Country Government, realizing that almost half of the 91/2 million tourists who visited Miami last year came to the city for leisure reasons, decided that it was important that efforts be made to save the dwindling sport fish stock. By creating artificial reefs, ecosystems are established which offer protection and sustenance for small fish while providing a hunting ground for the pelagic hunters. Anglers and divers alike suddenly have a reason to visit Miami.
"Prior to establishing an official Dade County program, artificial reefs were constructed in this area by individuals, corporations and clubs as a means of insuring successful fishing trips," explained Ben Mostkoff, artificial reef program coordinator with the Metropolitan Dade County Environmental Resource Management Department. "It has been well documented that man-made reefs attract and support a wide variety of fish."
Mr. Mostkoff has been the driving force behind the reef building project right from the beginning. With the assistance of the city's Bomb Squad his reef creation work has literally exploded onto the world eco-tourism scene. Many of the 50 ships that have been towed out to the reef sites have been dramatically blown-up by the police to guarantee a clean and speedy drop to the ocean bottom. The actual sinking is a very popular sightseeing event for tourists and locals.
According to Dade County officials, when the ships are placed in depths "which permit sufficient sunlight, they are rapidly colonized and covered by sessile corals, sponges, sea anemones and marine worms. These organisms, in turn, provide an abundant food supply and excellent protective cover for many other marine organisms ( crabs, lobsters, shrimp, brittle stars and all types of juvenile and smaller size fish. They also filter water and improve water quality."
While dropping a 10 ton Vietnam War Tank to the bottom of the sea is a spectacular event, it comes at no small price. The artificial reef must be cleaned and stripped of any potential pollutants. In the case of ships, hatches are removed and holes cut in the hull to prevent divers from being trapped inside. Orchestrating the towing and sinking isn't cheap either. The cost of sinking a donated tugboat can run in the $100,000 range, even with volunteer help. Funding for the project comes from both Federal and Florida State grants and from a registration fee which is charged to all boats operating or stored in Dade County.
Even after more than 60 tries, glitches can occur. Mr. Mostkoff recalls the sinking of one of the world's most infamous boats, a wooden yacht that was owned by Adolf Hitler. Donated to the city by a group of Holocaust survivors, the ship was towed out to sea near the famous Fontainebleau Hotel. Whether it was due to bad weather or an unsteady hand, Hilter's ship was released prematurely and sunk in just 35 feet of water.
The Fontainebleau Hotel paid for the yacht to be raised and resunk in 200 feet of water. "The really sad thing," said Mr. Mostkoff, "was that in the two weeks that it (the yacht) was in the shallow water, divers had defaced the wreck (with anti Semitic graffiti).
When it comes to man made reefs in Miami waters, graffiti has a very short shelf life. A constant warm, nutrient rich current runs northward from the Florida Keys. It doesn't take long before a ship is covered in soft corals, sponges and other fast growing marine life. Barring unforeseen circumstances, (like hurricanes) the artificial reef will stay put and flourish for approximately 50 years!
" There is no doubt that these wrecks are attracting fish, however, the jury is still out on whether this programme really does help raise fish stocks" said Anne-Marie Eklund, research fishery biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "It is obvious that we have improved the lot of life for grunts ... they are thriving out here. I can't say the same thing about other species. Take the grouper, its eggs hatch in the mangrove swamps and then the young fry have to swim out here to begin life. There is so much competition (badly depleted stock of mangrove swamps, pollution, predators, etc) that there well could be no new fish making it out to these artificial reefs."
Mr. Mostkoff is aware that the sunken ships may not be spawning new fish life, so, he and his team have been experimenting with the construction of fish habitats. The County has built long hollow three sided concrete structures and placed them in the shallow, protected waters of Biscayne Bay.
"We have covered the concrete in rocks, there are little holes and crevices where fish can hide. We also have put a concrete obstruction in front of the hole (which runs through the centre of the habitat) to keep divers out. Lobsters can move in without fear of being harvested."
The habitats are relatively inexpensive to make. Mr. Mostkoff estimates that it costs $11,000 to build and sink each unit. The County has plans to place 400 of these "fish houses" in the water.
"This unit has been in the water for six months," the artificial reef program coordinator told Diver Magazine after taking a dive tour on the habitat site. " The fish are already acting quite territorial. It works and other (municipalities) are taking an interest in the technology. Right now I am working with a Canadian Association to try this in a freshwater environment (probably Lake Winnipeg)."
Whether the fish are home grown or just passing tourists who have stopped to make a home in the leeward side of the wrecks, the new dive sites are teeming with fish. Lanky tarpon stay just out of stroking range as they watch divers orient themselves onto an oil rig that has been sunk on the bottom. Schooling barracudas barely move aside as a scuba tourists free fall through their glide path to reach a downed ship. Off to the right, unseen by most of the air breathing visitors, a squadron of eagle rays swoop and dip over the vast sand flats that surround the jumbled remains of a passenger jet aircraft.
The tanks, the wrecks and the airplane are relatively new comers. Soft corals have taken to the rough metal surface. However, the hard corals are taking longer to transform the metal into a living ecosystem. It is a funny thing to witness, the deeper one dives, the thicker the new coral growth! Gloved divers fighting a moderate northbound current, often have to get a firm grip on wreck outcrops at the top of the wreck sites just to stay put. As a result the coral growth is healthiest in the lee of the current and down deep where most divers do not go!
The Second Biggest Florida Dive Secret
What enigmatic thing was said when it appeared that Luke Skywalker had gone over to the Dark Side? "No, there is another one!" Well, outerspace tales also ring true in innerspace -- In Florida the Key Biscayne Underwater Park is the undiscovered coral reef gem that the "Force" has kept hidden from the world!
Back in the glory days, before the diving in Key Largo's Pennecamp Park went a bit sour, America's most famous underwater park was the destination for divers on this continent. Inexpensive accommodations, dirt cheap (and very safe) dive boats abound and its easy-to-reach shallow reef system has made the Florida Keys' facility a must visit for anyone within driving distance of the state (Toronto is a 20 hour drive). Over the past 30 years Pennecamp has become so popular that reefs themselves have been hurt by the very people who want to see undamaged coral heads. In the 90's coral breaks, bleaching, traumatized underwater life and a daily barrage of boats crowded with snorkelers and divers are the drawbacks of this super popular destination.
But don't despair. Yoda was dead on, there is another one. There is an undisturbed section of this reef system that can be dived by any certified diver. And like most other great secrets, this coral playground is hidden right in plain sight!
"Last year 1/2 million people stopped at Pennecamp, while we had just 4,200 guests" explained Scott Windham, the manager of the dive shop. "Despite the low numbers, we are getting better known. In '94 we had 891 divers in the water ... that is way up from the 87 divers we had in 1993!"
The Biscayne Underwater National Park is located in the town of Homestead just south of Miami. A mix of mangrove creeks, wilderness, bird filled islands and coral gardens, this little known park is right at the top of the same reef system which passes through Pennecamp Park to the south. Can't picture it? This is that vast stretch of undeveloped real estate that separates the Keys from the many islands that make up Miami and Miami Beach. Even though the park's lone dive boat Reef Rover, operated by Biscayne National Underwater Park Inc., leaves within site of Miami's majestic skyline, this is a retreat that is difficult to reach ... unless you have a car and a good map! The park is separated from Miami by the alligator filled Everglades, a huge track of agricultural land and a spaghetti-like freeway system.
It takes about an hour to get from the dive shop dock out to the open sea. The pontoon boat cuts slowly through the water -- there is a crew member on watch looking for grazing manatee and hungry alligators, both like to lounge in the shallow park waters. As the bottom drops away a pair of dolphin show up to dance in the boat's wake. A favourite site is a 90 ft wall which runs in a north/ south direction. This is drift diving at its best, scuba teams are given towable buoys so that the boat crew can follow the progress of the divers as they glide above undisturbed coral encrusted reefs. After a week of diving in the sometimes murky waters of Miami Beach, the clear 150+ visibility in the park is a welcome change. It is easy to spot the bold eels stretching their heads out of the rock caves that line the base of the wall. Fighting the 2 knot current, a diver drops to the bottom to photograph an eel. Looking through the view finder there is movement inside the deep enclosure ... this 4 foot green moray seems oblivious to a pair of oversized lobsters who appear to be dancing on his coiled tail.
Continuing on, the dive party spots a big cloud of sand smoke pouring out from a small canyon leading off at right angles to the wall. As the group approach two small rays skirt out under the divers and disappear in the ever present current. The reason for the commotion? A huge ray, 5 ft. wide from wing tip to wing tip, has settled into the sand to feed and kick up a little dirt.
As the drifting tour continues a small reef shark cruises on the edge of visibility. This is a trip where time is on the diver's side; up above the boat captain has given our group the freedom to pick our own depth and bottom time. Cruising at 80 feet midway down the mini-wall, the dive is ended as the tank pressure approaches 500 psi and the computer bottom timers inch towards the no-decompression limits.
When all of our party are once again on the surface the dive boat motors over and makes the pick-up. Stopping long enough to change film and air tanks our dive party is once again in the water. The Reef Rover is moored at one of five buoys in a very shallow garden reef known as the Five Buoys. At a maximum depth of 22 feet there was all the time in the world to explore coral caves, staghorn coral stands and sand holes. Popular with snorkelers, this is a fish filled reef that is free of damage.Although not seen on our dive, green and leatherback turtles are often seen in this area of the park. There is an active Sea Turtle Hatchery program in effect and this year more than 20,000 hatchlings have been released.
A Seabed made of recycled "stuff"
The artificial reef program of Dade County is spread out in 17 sites over approximately 45 nautical miles of open ocean off Miami Beach and in 7 designated inshore locations at the edge of Biscayne Bay. Each wreck cluster has its own reef name, and its own, well, feel to it. Tenneco Reef, named after the huge 3 platform Tenneco oil rig that was sunk in 1985, is 2 miles offshore and straddles the border between Miami's Dade County and, to the north, the city of Fort Lauderdale (which has its own artificial reef project). These city block sized platforms, firmly planted in the sand, 110' down are excellent viewing platforms to watch a never ending parade of pelagic fish.To the south is Pflueger Reef an area of the ocean where a total of 13 ships have been sunk. Close to the Miami Harbour cut, Pflueger is popular with mixed gas divers -- the largest wreck on the reef is the 210' long Deep Freeze, the steel freighter sits in 135' of water. The shallowest wreck, the Tortuga is in 110' of water with its coral covered wheel house at 70' . At the Anchorage Area divers can follow a trail of guide spikes in the sand to reach an M60 Tank, a 100' long barge and a cluster of 19 steel antenna pyramids.
If placed end-to-end the deep-water wrecks would create a reef over 3 miles in length! Clustered in the sand in the 45' to 200 ' depth level there are enough sites available that none of Miami's dive boats need ever anchor near the same wreck and divers could make well over a 100 dives before having to repeat a single dive.
So what is down there? Dade County's Department of Environmental Resources Management has published a call sheet, complete with Loran-C coordinates, of 253 different objects that have been placed on the bottom of the ocean. Included in that list are:
Forget about scuba, mixed gases, rebreathers and the like. In Miami Beach tourists are diving the BOB!
The BOB is the newest form of diving on this planet. Part scuba, part submarine, part underwater scooter this one person vehicle allows humans to view the bottom of the ocean from a sitting position!
Bob Bloom operates the world's only BOB charter service. Daily he takes paying guests out to a shallow reef where, after a lengthy training lecture, they can make a dive in the ocean without having to put on a wet suit or have a regulator in their mouth.
The BOB isn't named after Mr. Bloom it is actually short for the Breathing Observation Bubble. It is a new style of underwater craft that is manufactured in England by Bellaqua Ltd. Bloom's fleet of 10 BOBs is launched from a large luxurious 40 ft catamaran boat which is berthed in Florida's trendiest city.
The BOB is controlled solely by a steering wheel, so this is a machine that is easy to operate. In addition to depth and air gauges, there are just two thumb controls, one that changes the speed (from slow to very slow) and the other which regulates the buoyancy.
" Just use the speed control and the steering wheel ... don't touch the red button" explained Bob Bloom. "We have preset the BOB for eleven feet. We will bring you up from there when the dive is over. At this depth, you can use it to go anywhere on this reef."
Eleven Feet? Doesn't sound too deep does it, however, in Miami Beach, that is far enough down that people who normally don't even like to stick their faces underwater can see small rays, colourful schooling fish, coral reefs and broken up shipwrecks! Riding the BOB is like taking a scooter out for an underwater spin. The "diver" climbs onto the motorcycle style saddle and sticks his or her head into the large clear plastic bubble. Feet are put on stirrups, the steering wheel and controls are at chest level and a battery driven propeller in the stern pushes you along the reef at a stately 21/2 knots! There is no need for a regulator, a free flowing scuba tank continuously pumps air into the large head piece.
"We keep everyone well above one atmosphere," said Mr. Bloom. "I have had the units down to 45 feet to look at a shipwreck and the fellows (his staff of dive guides) did a spectacular night wreck dive with the girls from Hooters (an Miami theme bar). The manufacturers claim that it is safe to 90 feet."
After a season of operation in Miami Beach, Mr. Bloom is looking to expand his operation to foreign diving centres. Don't hold your breath waiting for the BOB to come to Canada, this is a craft that is strictly warm water. Bloom has his eyes set on the wetsuit-free Caribbean for his next franchise!
A Reporter's Notebook
Diver Magazine dove with a number of people during our recent trip to Miami Beach. Some of the outfits I dove with are listed below. As well, if divers want to get in touch with some of the people I interviewed, they may want to take note of some of the numbers I have listed below. These numbers are valid as of 9/9/96.
Island Divers - Miami Beach 300 Alton Road Miami Beach Miami Beach Florida 33139 305-673-DIVE 800-673-DIVe 305-538-4894 fax Florida Dive Adventures (a CD ROM multimedia company that has put Miami Beach on-line and on CD ROM) Michael Goldstein InfoMedia Groups Inc 931 Village Blvd Suite 905-310 West Palm Beach Florida 33409 407-478-3200 407-684-5885 fx www.travelrom.com National Marine Fisheries Services NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Southeast Fisheries Science Center Anne-Marie Eklund Research Fishery Biologist 75 Virginia Beach Dr. Miami FL 33149 H20 Scuba Henry Del Campo - president 160 Sunny Isles Blvd North Miami Beach, FLorida 33160 305-956-DIVE 305-956-9405 fx City of Miami Beach Michael Aller City Hall 1700 Convention Centre Drive Miami Beach, Florida 33139 (305) 673-7000 (305) 673-7782 fx Metro Dade Ben M ostkoff Artificial Reef Program coordinator Metropolitan Dade County Environmental Resources Management 33 SW 2nd Avenue Suite 300 Miami Forida 33130-1540 305-372-6630 fax Biscayne National Underwater Park INc Scott Windham Box 1270 Homestead Florida 33030 305-230-1100 Bob's Boat Miami (underwater scooter adventure for the non-diver) Bayside Marketplace Marina, Miami Beach, Florida 305-358-2877 800-657-2BOBWISH TO WRITE TO DIVER MAGAZINE'S STEPHEN WEIR?