|
Several wrecks were excluded from project T1.1 due to their
location in the extreme southern section of Dade County. These
dive sites generally involve long boat rides, making them
practical only in calm weather.
Project T1.2 was completed on November 10th, 2007, with a
dive on the Berry Patch and Doc de Milly by Joel Svendsen,
Matthew Hoelscher, and David Buhlinger with the help of Ralph
Figueroa as boat captain.
Bluefire 110FT
A large (195ft) freighter, the Bluefire was an
exceptionally pretty wreck before Hurricane Andrew tore her
apart in 1992. Her keel is generally in one piece, but
the superstructure has been twisted and torn away from the
keel towards her port side. A pretty dive site,
despite generally substandard visibility.
Belcher Barge South 120FT
An 85ft barge sitting in 120ft of water, surrounded on
all sides by natural reef. There are several piles of
unidentified metal debris scattered in the sand surrounding
the barge. The barge itself is relatively
unremarkable, but there is quite a bit of fish life here.
Almirante 125FT
The Almirante is a 200ft long steel freighter. All
but the bottom deck of her superstructure was removed before
her sinking. She is upright and mostly intact.
Her stern is slightly twisted to port, and she is partially
collapsed amidships on her starboard side. The Almirante lies in a location which suffers from
particularly bad current, although the payoff is an above
average fish population.
Doc De Milly 140FT
Considered by many to be the best dive in Dade County,
the Doc de Milly is a huge 287ft long freighter sitting in
150FT of water. Eagle rays and goliath grouper are
common here. The wreck was sunk using concrete bombs,
which are visible on the bottom around the wreck. This
is a remote location, approximately 26 nautical miles from
Miami.
The Doc De Milly is upright, and she survived Hurricane
Andrew with minimal damage, but sometime around 2003 her
stern section broke away from the main hull and is now lists
around 40 degrees to port.
Hugo's April Fool 145FT
A small (115ft) freighter located near the Doc De Milly.
She sits upright with her hull largely intact, but her
superstructure is somewhat collapsed. A large school
of Jew Fish was resident at the wreck during her survey dive
in September 2007.
Berry Patch 150FT
A 155ft steel ship, she is upright and intact except for
some damage to her stern. She is a rather low lying
wreck, with little penetration potential.
|