Photo Gallery
The Blue Fire was once “The Dive” to do off Miami. I think it still holds its title as a great dive. Hurricane Andrew did a number on it, it is still standing offering a lot of relief. It is also right up next to reef in 115ft of water and close to another reef line in 80ft of water.
The wheelhouse is still standing, but several side panels have fallen off and the deck around the bridge has collapsed.
The stern has been separated from the back of the ship. There is a lot of debris all around the area and a lot of fish life.
In the middle of the two cargo holds were three big winches. Behind them are the control boxes for their operation.
The forward cargo hold is bent on the port side looking like another ship rammed into it. This hold leads to a forward compartment on the bow.
The bow and compartment are listing to starboard. There were grouper all over and several nice hogfish. This wreck defiantly is not as “stripped” as your typical artificial reef.
For the second dive we headed north up the 80ft reef line. The reef was full of live and the little 5-12ft tall islands of patch reef made for a great scooter dive. Diving with Mike and Joe you can just smell the anticipation of finding a new wreck or solving a mystery.
They dive with the same intensity of purpose as spear fishermen, but then are hunting something bigger, unmoving, and more elusive then a Grouper or Hogfish.
I stopped when I noticed something out of place on the bottom. It was a bilge pump, wow my first artifact! I turned to show it to Mike and I noticed Mike flashing in the distance. Mike had found the bridge of the SAR wreck.
Mike, in his hurried excitement for me to take his picture next to the new find, put both bare hands on the steering wheel to act like he was commanding the fine vessel. In his haste he failed to notice the wheel was completely covered with Fire Coral! A couple handfuls of sand wiped off the sting, but not the smile from my face.
This was just the top of the hull. It appeared to be a 16ft max run-about with no business being 7 miles off shore. After taking our photos with the rare find we scootered around looking for other parts. I found the lower hull and then the engine, still attached to the back of the boat.
The lower unit was taken off the outboard. I wonder if it hit something hard, took off the lower unit and cracked the hull so she filled with water and sunk? Being off Miami, it was probably insurance fraud. But it was still a find, even if it won’t get me the cover of Advanced Diver Magazine.
Click here to order Shipwrecks of the Sunshine State and read about all the wrecks Mike Barnet has identified!
Dive 1: Blue Fire
The Blue Fire was once “The Dive” to do off Miami. I think it still holds its title as a great dive. Hurricane Andrew did a number on it, it is still standing offering a lot of relief. It is also right up next to reef in 115ft of water and close to another reef line in 80ft of water.
The wheelhouse is still standing, but several side panels have fallen off and the deck around the bridge has collapsed.
The stern has been separated from the back of the ship. There is a lot of debris all around the area and a lot of fish life.
In the middle of the two cargo holds were three big winches. Behind them are the control boxes for their operation.
The forward cargo hold is bent on the port side looking like another ship rammed into it. This hold leads to a forward compartment on the bow.
The bow and compartment are listing to starboard. There were grouper all over and several nice hogfish. This wreck defiantly is not as “stripped” as your typical artificial reef.
Dive 2: SAR Wreck “Some Assembly Required”
For the second dive we headed north up the 80ft reef line. The reef was full of live and the little 5-12ft tall islands of patch reef made for a great scooter dive. Diving with Mike and Joe you can just smell the anticipation of finding a new wreck or solving a mystery.
They dive with the same intensity of purpose as spear fishermen, but then are hunting something bigger, unmoving, and more elusive then a Grouper or Hogfish.
I stopped when I noticed something out of place on the bottom. It was a bilge pump, wow my first artifact! I turned to show it to Mike and I noticed Mike flashing in the distance. Mike had found the bridge of the SAR wreck.
Mike, in his hurried excitement for me to take his picture next to the new find, put both bare hands on the steering wheel to act like he was commanding the fine vessel. In his haste he failed to notice the wheel was completely covered with Fire Coral! A couple handfuls of sand wiped off the sting, but not the smile from my face.
This was just the top of the hull. It appeared to be a 16ft max run-about with no business being 7 miles off shore. After taking our photos with the rare find we scootered around looking for other parts. I found the lower hull and then the engine, still attached to the back of the boat.
The lower unit was taken off the outboard. I wonder if it hit something hard, took off the lower unit and cracked the hull so she filled with water and sunk? Being off Miami, it was probably insurance fraud. But it was still a find, even if it won’t get me the cover of Advanced Diver Magazine.
Click here to order Shipwrecks of the Sunshine State and read about all the wrecks Mike Barnet has identified!