Diving Key West
Key West is a diver's paradise boasting a National Marine Sanctuary with America's only living coral reef. Numerous wrecked and sunken ships add to the attraction and Key West's "surface intervals" are among the best in the world. And now's the time to visit the Keys!
"Summer is the best time of year to dive down here... that's when the wind dies down and the blue water moves in." James Noplis, dive instructor at Key West Diving Society, told us, referring to the Gulf Stream that's moving into the area.
There are quite literally dozens of locations along the reef perfect for divers of every qualification.
"We have the third largest reef in the world," Mr. Noplis added, referring to Key West's world-famous reef system. "With all the fishing regulations we have, we also have plenty of fish to see."
Indeed, a stunning variety and abundance of sea life shelters and feeds among the coral. Divers and snorkelers lucky enough to visit Key West will discover barracuda, jacks, yellow-headed jawfish, stingrays, nurse sharks and loggerhead turtles on their dives.
Much of that diversity is due to the regulations associated with National Marine Sanctuary status that Mr. Noplis spoke of. These protect many species of sea life within the borders of the Sanctuary, 2,800 square nautical miles that surround the entire archipelago of the Florida Keys and includes the waters of Florida Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
The reef lies on average 4 - 6 miles off shore, running from Biscayne Bay to the Marquesas Keys. This puts Key West right in the middle of the teeming underwater parade.
There are quite literally dozens of locations along the reef perfect for divers of every qualification. Most guide books list at least fifty such spots, and there are certainly more. Check with the dive shop you'll use on the islands for maps and directions.
An amazing variety of sunken ships dot the waters off Key West. Some of these are natural wrecks which foundered off the Keys over the years. Some are of more recent vintage, and were put there by design.
Key West has been at the forefront of artificial reef creation and continues to create these fascinating underwater ecological wonders today.
While much attention has been paid to the unfortunate circumstances around the sinking of the Spiegel Grove, few are aware that a similar effort to put the USS Vandenberg below the waves near Key West is on-going. With any luck this sinking will go smoothly and the only people who will know about it are those fortunate enough to dive Key West!
Among the ships you can dive on your trip is the Cayman Salvage Master. Located in 90 feet of water her deck sits about 72 feet from the surface. Built in 1936 as a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse buoy tender, she had a long and mostly uneventful career until she was seized after being used during the Mariel boatlift.
Neglected after that, she sank at her mooring in the Navy harbor at Key West. She was refloated in 1985 and sank prematurely while being taken out for use as a fishing reef.
Joe's Tug is another wreck in easily accessible waters. Sitting on the bottom in 65 feet of water, she is a steel-hulled harbor tug. Dropped as an artificial reef in 1986, she now shelters scores of species of fish, most particularly snapper. Her most famous tenant is "Elvis," a giant Jewfish (or Goliath Grouper) who has had his picture taken by hundreds of divers!
Alexander's Wreck, the decommissioned US Navy destroyer "Amesbury," sits in two pieces in shallow waters on the Gulf side of Key West. Resting only 25 feet below the surface, her debris field is an excellent habitat for such undersea creatures as grouper, lobster, stingrays and cobia.
A veteran of the Normandy "D-Day" Invasion, the ship has historical interest as well. It isn't often that you can touch history in such an unlikely way!
Of course one of the most outstanding features Key West offers divers is its one-of-a-kind "surface intervals." What the heck are those? Well... to divers dry land isn't their natural environment. That is below the waves... the time they spend ashore, therefore, is known as surface intervals!
And Key West has an overabundance of wildlife on shore to compete with it's underwater denizens... but that's another story.
Dive Key West, you'll never forget it! 
