Discover the Topsy-Turvy Underwater World of Key Largo

Florida in one of the most popular destinations for scuba diving holidays in the United States and it’s no surprise that the waters there are teeming with sunken vessels; some intentionally sunken, and some not.

Two of these vessels include the USCGC Duane and the Bibb Coast Guard Cutter which lie deep down on the ocean floor, five and a half miles off the coast of Key Largo.

Both ships were sunk in the 1980’s to create an artificial reef and despite efforts to try and sink them both so that they would sit upright on the ocean bed, the 327-foot long Bibb fell on its side, making it difficult for scuba divers to explore it while scuba diving in Florida.

Diver Chris Brown said: “The fact that this ship is on its side it what makes her fascinating. The floor is now a wall, and the wall is now a ceiling. So that just completely changes the whole dive and makes it extremely challenging.”

The Coast Guard Cotter lies 100 feet below the surface of the ocean and the ship’s decks are not accessible to divers while the hatches are welded shut. The position of the ship makes it hard for recreational divers to explore as a single tank of oxygen will not be enough and twin tanks won’t fit through the narrow gaps.

One experienced technical diver, Alex Zerga, came prepared for the dive and brought with him two tanks of “fat gas” (a blend of Helium, Oxygen and Nitrogen), a de-co bottle of 50 percent oxygen, three lights, and two knives in case he had to cut himself free.

“Once you do serious wreck penetration, you’re in a different world,” Alex said about adventure scuba diving down to the Bibb. “It’s a lot like cave diving. If everything on my rig broke I could always switch to my decompression gas as long as I get to 70 feet pretty quickly.

He explained: “The captain’s quarters’ tables are on their side, the doorways are on their sides. Makes you feel like you’re on acid trying to penetrate a wreck on its side.”

Zerga added: “I had never dived to the Bibb before. [Dive]Shops always go to the Duane. It’s very rare they choose to go to the Bibb. I love diving, and I love wreck diving in particular. You get to learn about the history and when you finally get to go down and see it, there’s a big draw there. There’s a little bit of an adrenaline rush in technical diving and a lot of advantages.”

Key Largo is a hotspot for scuba diving holidays and during trips beneath the surface of the ocean in this small Florida key, divers can explore several diving sites, shipwrecks, coral gardens and reefs that lie within the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park, Everglades National Park, and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

As well as being one of the most visited scuba diving destinations, Key Largo offers plenty of other recreational water activities including fishing, boat charters, kayaking, and bird watching.