Photos by Gail Culver
No reproduction allowed without permission.
No reproduction allowed without permission.
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| Florida Keys Dive Sites Upper Keys Dive Pictures Duane Wreck |
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Map
(showing Florida Keys Dive Sites)
(showing Florida Keys Dive Sites)
Florida Keys Scuba Diving,
Florida Keys Dive Sites, Upper
Keys Dive Sites
Florida Keys Dive Sites, Upper
Keys Dive Sites
The Duane Wreck
This wreck is approximately 1 mile South of Molasses reef around 6 miles offshore at MM 100.
Sister ship to the Bibb, the Duane was built in 1935. The ship is 327 feet long with a 41 foot beam. The Duane served as a US Coast
Guard Cutter, patrolling offshore in Florida during WW II, in Europe during the invasion of France, and then the coast of Vietnam. She
was decommissioned in 1985. A group of dive shops and other organizations arranged for the Duane and the Bibb to be stripped and
prepared as artificial reefs and dive sites. The doors were removed above the main deck and the lower compartments were sealed.
Both ships were sunk in 1987.
The Duane sits upright in 120 feet of water. Like the Bibb wreck, the current here is usually very bad. This dive is for an advanced or
technical diver only. Like all deep dives, divers should always descend and ascend holding onto the line.
If you're lucky enough to visit the Duane on a good day, this site is one of the most spectacular dives in the Florida Keys. The hull is
heavily encrusted with corals. Large fish like jewfish, cobia, turtles, big amberjacks, barracuda, angelfish are usually around the wreck.
There are entry points to the wreck if you are certified as a wreck diver. Large fish are often inside the wreck. There is a large circular
hatch on the forward deck where the ammunition storage area of the gun turret was. There is wheelhouse in the middle - don't miss
that.
This wreck is approximately 1 mile South of Molasses reef around 6 miles offshore at MM 100.
Sister ship to the Bibb, the Duane was built in 1935. The ship is 327 feet long with a 41 foot beam. The Duane served as a US Coast
Guard Cutter, patrolling offshore in Florida during WW II, in Europe during the invasion of France, and then the coast of Vietnam. She
was decommissioned in 1985. A group of dive shops and other organizations arranged for the Duane and the Bibb to be stripped and
prepared as artificial reefs and dive sites. The doors were removed above the main deck and the lower compartments were sealed.
Both ships were sunk in 1987.
The Duane sits upright in 120 feet of water. Like the Bibb wreck, the current here is usually very bad. This dive is for an advanced or
technical diver only. Like all deep dives, divers should always descend and ascend holding onto the line.
If you're lucky enough to visit the Duane on a good day, this site is one of the most spectacular dives in the Florida Keys. The hull is
heavily encrusted with corals. Large fish like jewfish, cobia, turtles, big amberjacks, barracuda, angelfish are usually around the wreck.
There are entry points to the wreck if you are certified as a wreck diver. Large fish are often inside the wreck. There is a large circular
hatch on the forward deck where the ammunition storage area of the gun turret was. There is wheelhouse in the middle - don't miss
that.
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