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Dive Key Largo. Dive the Benwood, Bibb, Duane, and Spiegel Grove. Wreck, deep, drift, and reef diving.
Dive Pennekamp, the Elbow, Christ, French, Molasses, Pickles, Snapper, and Conch Reef.
Dive instruction. Limited seating or private charter. Ten divers maximum.
The USS Spiegel Grove
The USS Spiegel Grove "Top Dog" is the largest ship ever intentionally scuttled for recreational scuba diving. Conceived and built in the mid nineteen fifties, she was a product of the Cold War, designed and equipped for amphibious beach assault. The Spiegel Grove saw action in Lebanon in 1976, and again in Grenada in 1984. She also assisted with NASA splashdown recovery missions.
In May of 2002, her planned sinking was botched. She sank prematurely and landed upside down, with her stern resting on the sandy bottom 130 feet below, while her inverted bow floated like a tiny island with 40 feet of elevation! Within a month, tug boats and lift bags were employed to roll the Spiegel Grove onto her starboard rail. Within a year of her sinking, the Spiegel Grove had already become home to a greater variety of fishes and aquatic life than the USCG Cutters Bibb and Duane combined.
Jacks, groupers, snappers, and other predators were balling bait on and above the wreck. Soft corals, anemones, hydroids, and sponges had begun to carpet the exposed areas. Arrow Crabs, Coral Banded Shrimps, Fire Worms, and Sea Urchins were abundant. The USS Spiegel Grove had, in short order, become a phenomenal artificial reef!
In July of 2005, Hurricane Dennis brushed by the Florida Keys, and in the process rolled the Spiegel Grove squarely onto her keel! She now sits nearly level in about 130 feet of water, just seaward of Dixie Shoals, off Key Largo, Florida. Her main deck lies between ~90 feet deep at the bow and ~100 feet deep at the stern. Her well deck is ~120 feet down. Due to depth and unpredictable currents, the Spiegel Grove is considered to be an advanced dive by most local dive operators.
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