Bonsai Diving: Messages

An excellent dive when it has been calm for a few days. The wreck sits in silty sand which clouds the wreck on rougher days. Totally stripped wreck. Easy, safe penetrations on 4 levels. Computer diving with safety stops recommended. Lots of fish life!

This site, named after a 9 ft stake (actually an 8 " diameter pipe) which marked the reef to keep deeper draft vessels from running aground is situated approximately 7 miles SE of Key West Harbor. The old stake was knocked over by a fishing vessel and now sits on top of this reef in the NE corner.

This is a typical patch reef with coral spurs divided by sand grooves running north/south. This reef has a great variety of marine life but is especially noted for its resident nurse sharks, moray eel, and transient sea turtles, eagle rays and hammerheads. Larger solo hammerheads have been spotted here regularly during the spring tarpon season. This site is a popular second dive after doing the Cayman Salvager since the depth makes the whole dive like an extended safety stop. There are only two NMS balls here to tie off on, which restricts the number of dive boats. Anchoring here is illegal unless a diver sets the anchor in the sand to avoid coral damage.

Joe's Tug was broken apart by the 2005 storms. There is a small bow section pointing South, a debris field leading North to a small stern section. It sits in 59 ft of water and makes a nice easy wreck dive providing currents cooperate. Lots of barracuda, moray eels, stonefish, and occasionally a sea turtle or hammerhead. There is no longer anything left that is large enough to penetrate.

The entire W. Sambos Reef is a SPA which extends all the way to the shore from the reef. Once a spectacular reef it has damaged heavily by Hurricane Georges followed by coral bleaching. The Haystacks and The Cut are the most popular sites on this reef and are still good dives.

After the last series of storms in 2005 the wreck seems to have disintigrated. It was in poor shape to begin with and had less life than Joe's Tug nearby.

An excellent dive even for novices! This wreck was never part of an artificial reef program. It was being towed out to a spoil area in deeper water when the line snapped. There are many loose parts inside and most doors are still working inside. The engines, instruments, and even fire hoses are all still in there. There is no evidence of holes blasted in the hull. Katrina was in 2005, apparently It was Kate that righted the wreck. Penetration aft and more than one level is not recommended.