Explore the best places to dive in United States. 89 dive sites with real reviews and ratings from divers.
Big Pine Key, Florida
The Adolphus Busch Sr. is a 64-metre former island freighter that worked Caribbean cargo runs as MV Ocean Alley and Topsail Star before being sunk as an artificial reef on 5 December 1998 just outside the Looe Key Sanctuary Preservation Area south of Big Pine Key. She sits upright on the sand at 34 metres with the main deck near 27 metres and the bridge wing tip at about 20 metres, making her well within reach of a single advanced air dive. The hull is essentially intact, and divers can penetrate the bridge and engine room through purpose-cut openings. The wreck is well known for resident goliath grouper, black grouper, large schools of yellowtail snapper and horse-eye jacks, and growing colonies of orange and yellow tube sponges along the rails. Currents are usually moderate but pick up with strong Gulf Stream meanders. The site pairs naturally with the shallow Looe Key reef as a two-tank trip from Bahia Honda or Big Pine Key dive operators.
Morehead City, North Carolina
The Aeolus is a 124-metre former United States Navy cable repair ship, originally USS Aeolus (ARC-3), that served from 1955 through the 1980s and was scuttled as an artificial reef about 17 nautical miles south of Morehead City on 19 June 1988. She landed upright on a sand bottom at 33 metres but was torn into two distinct sections by Hurricane Fran in September 1996; the two halves now lie close together, with the highest superstructure around 24 metres. The artificial-reef program scrubbed the ship before sinking, and purpose-cut openings allow safe penetration into the holds and bridge for trained wreck divers. The Aeolus has matured into one of the best dives in the Olympus and Discovery Diving Co. roster: large sand tiger shark aggregations through summer, schools of bait fish and amberjack, queen angelfish, lionfish (the invasive Pterois) and dense growth of cnidarians and sponges. Visibility 12 to 25 metres.
Islamorada, Florida
Alligator Reef sits four nautical miles off Islamorada on the outer reef tract and is marked by Alligator Reef Light, an 1873 screw-pile cast-iron lighthouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The reef takes its name from USS Alligator, a US Navy schooner lost on the reef in November 1822 while pursuing pirates; the ship was deliberately blown up to prevent capture and timbers and ballast can still be found scattered in the sand. The modern site is a moored Sanctuary Preservation Area within the Florida Keys NMS, with spur-and-groove formations dropping from about 4 metres on the inner flat to 12 metres on the seaward edge. Divers regularly see green and hawksbill turtles, southern stingrays, Caribbean reef squid in season, queen angelfish, midnight parrotfish and large schools of yellowtail snapper. Currents are usually moderate and visibility opens up significantly when the Gulf Stream pushes in close, typically in late summer and fall.
Channel Islands, California
Cathedral Cove (sometimes called Cathedral Rock) is on the south side of West Anacapa Island inside Channel Islands National Park and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. The cove is named for a tall, thin sea arch in the volcanic cliff that rises directly from the water and resembles a cathedral spire from a distance. Underwater, the site is a typical Channel Islands kelp forest from 4 metres on the inner reef to 18 metres on the outer rocks, with giant kelp canopies and a complex boulder-and-ledge bottom. The reef life reflects the protections of the surrounding Marine Reserve (no-take since 2003): garibaldi, large sheephead, kelp bass, blue and olive rockfish, lingcod, painted greenling, large California spiny lobster in season, the occasional giant black sea bass and resident California sea lions that haul out on the rocks. Visibility is typically 8 to 18 metres, best in late summer and fall. Cold water year-round; 7 mm or dry suit standard.
Channel Islands, California
Anacapa Landing Cove is the main boat anchorage on the south side of East Anacapa Island inside Channel Islands National Park and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. It is one of the most reliable kelp forest dives in southern California: dense canopies of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) reach to within a few metres of the surface and rise from a rocky bottom in 12 to 21 metres. The cove faces away from prevailing northwest swell and is often dive-able when other Channel Islands sites are blown out. Resident California sea lions haul out on the rocks and routinely play with divers. Other regulars include garibaldi (the California state marine fish), giant black sea bass, sheephead, kelp bass, blue rockfish, lingcod, orange and purple sea stars on the rocks, and large California spiny lobsters in season. Harbor seals and bat rays appear in the sand patches. Visibility is variable but typically best from August through November after the spring plankton blooms have cleared. Water temperatures are cold, generally 13 to 18 C.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Andrea's I is a 30-metre former harbour tugboat sunk on 13 May 2002 by the Broward County artificial reef program along Fort Lauderdale's second reef line, about a mile off shore. She landed perfectly upright on a sand bottom at 21 metres with the wheelhouse at around 15 metres, putting the entire wreck within a single open-water profile and making her one of the most beginner-friendly wreck dives in southeast Florida. The hull has been heavily encrusted with hard and soft corals and orange cup coral. Resident species include schools of grunts and sergeant majors inside the wheelhouse, French angelfish and queen angelfish around the deck, the resident green moray eel that lives in the engine room, occasional goliath grouper, southern stingrays on the sand and lionfish (the invasive Pterois) around the rails. The site is moored and is regularly visited as the second tank of two-tank wreck trips out of Fort Lauderdale operators.
Morehead City, North Carolina
The SS Atlas was a 132-metre US-flagged Standard Oil tanker carrying gasoline from Houston to New Haven when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-552 (Erich Topp) on the night of 9 April 1942 about 20 nautical miles southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Two of the 34-man crew were lost. The bow section detonated and burned, but the stern section settled relatively intact and is now the focus of the dive. The wreck lies at 40 metres on a sand bottom with the highest superstructure around 27 metres, accessible with good gas planning on a single advanced air or nitrox profile. The Atlas is a regular summer station for sand tiger sharks and has matured into a heavily encrusted artificial reef of sponges, hydroids and small ascidians. Schools of amberjack, almaco jack and Atlantic spadefish circle the structure. Visibility is excellent in Gulf Stream weeks (18 to 30 metres). Currents are typically moderate.
Key Largo, Florida
The Benwood is a 110-metre Norwegian-flagged merchant freighter that played an unlikely role in WWII along the Florida reef line. On the night of 9 April 1942, while running blacked out from Tampa to Norfolk, she was struck by a torpedo from the German submarine U-67 and simultaneously collided in the dark with the SS Robert C. Tuttle. Her crew beached her on French Reef to keep her from sinking in deep water. The Navy later used the hulk for bombing and gunnery practice, and the bow was demolished as a navigation hazard. What is left is now one of the most popular and accessible wreck dives in the Keys: scattered ribs, plates, boilers and the stern section in 8 to 14 metres of water. The site is teeming with sergeant majors, grunts, glassy sweepers, French angelfish, green moray eels and giant resident barracuda. The Benwood is moored inside the Florida Keys NMS and the shallow profile makes it ideal for night dives.
Kaanapali, Hawaii
Black Rock (Pu'u Keka'a in Hawaiian) is a lava cinder cone that drops directly from the north end of Kaanapali Beach into the sea on the leeward coast of Maui. Hawaiian tradition holds the rock as a 'leina a ka uhane', a soul-leaping place where the spirits of the dead were believed to leap into the next world. Beneath the surface the rock extends as a sloping wall to about 12 metres, then breaks into a sand-and-rubble bottom. Entry is straight off the beach in front of the Sheraton Maui Resort and the dive follows the wall north and around the point. The site is one of the easiest and most reliable shore dives on Maui and one of the best places to encounter green sea turtles feeding on the rocks; 5 to 10 turtles per dive are typical. Other species: yellow tang, Moorish idols, ornate butterflyfish, achilles tang, scrawled filefish, the state fish, octopus and the occasional white tip reef shark resting under ledges. Calm conditions year-round when winter swell drops.
Riviera Beach, Florida
Blue Heron Bridge crosses the Lake Worth Lagoon between West Palm Beach and Singer Island, and the artificial habitat below the bridge at Phil Foster Park has become one of the most famous macro-photography shore dives on the planet. Maximum depth on the lagoon side is about 6 metres, with most of the action between 3 and 5 metres. Diving is timed to slack high tide because the inlet is a major waterway and the current is otherwise too strong. The dive site is a 800-foot snorkel trail with intentionally placed concrete reef modules, plus the bridge pilings and rubble, all carpeted in sand and home to a remarkable concentration of cryptic species: striated frogfish, painted frogfish, flying gurnards, batfish, jawfish, octopus (including blue-ringed and Atlantic pygmy), Caribbean reef squid, hairy clinging crabs, peacock flounder, and rare seahorses. The park has free parking, showers and full facilities; it is the most beginner-friendly ocean dive in Florida and a daily destination for underwater photographers.
Bonne Terre, Missouri
Bonne Terre Mine in southeastern Missouri is the world's largest freshwater dive resort, operating since 1980 inside a former lead-and-zinc mine that was actively worked from 1864 until pumping stopped in 1962. With pumping shut off, groundwater filled the lower five of nine mining levels, creating a cathedral-like underground lake of more than a billion US gallons. National Geographic listed Bonne Terre among the top ten adventure destinations in the world. Diving is permit-only and run by West End Diving / Bonne Terre Mine; divers descend a former mine shaft and explore 24 marked underwater trails through chambers up to 27 metres deep. Original mining equipment is left in place: ore carts, locomotives, ladders, drilling rigs, the foreman's office, even an operational pump house preserved by the cold (14 C) clear water. Visibility is constant 30 metres or more under permanent floodlights. There is no native marine life to speak of; the attraction is the surreal, cathedral-scale geology and history.
Jupiter, Florida
Bow and Arrow sits within Jupiter's signature ledge-and-reef corridor, a stretch of low limestone relief reachable only by boat and ridden as a drift dive with the Gulf Stream pushing hard along the bottom. Neighboring ledges in this same run -- Tunnels, Scarface, Lighthouse, Loggerhead -- sit in the 60-90ft band, and the profile here follows that pattern: a broken reef terrace colonized by starlet coral, cut with crevices holding resting nurse sharks and the occasional Caribbean reef shark. Goliath grouper move through in numbers August through October, staging near wrecks just off the ledge, while loggerhead and green turtles work the reef year-round. Expect current on every dive here -- this is not a site for divers still building comfort with drift conditions or holding a current line.
Captain Cook, Hawaii
Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island's Kona coast is a State Marine Conservation District named for the obelisk on the north shore that marks the spot where Captain James Cook was killed in February 1779 during his third Pacific voyage. The bay is sheltered from trade-wind swell, drops away to 30+ metres very close to shore, and is protected from fishing, making it one of the richest reefs in Hawaii. The most popular dive area runs along the wall below the monument from 6 metres on the reef shelf to 24 metres on the deeper drop-off. Hawaiian green sea turtles graze on the algae-covered shallows, and the resident pod of spinner dolphins regularly visits divers in the bay. Yellow tang, achilles tang, ornate butterflyfish, milletseed butterflyfish, large parrotfish and scrawled filefish are abundant. White tip reef sharks rest in caves on the deeper slopes. Visibility regularly exceeds 30 metres. Most divers reach the site by boat from Keauhou.
Pompano Beach, Florida
Captain Tony's, also known officially as the Tony Salido, is a 52-metre former oil rig supply vessel built in the 1960s and sunk off Pompano Beach, Florida, on 8 September 1995 as part of the Broward County artificial reef program. She sits upright on a sand bottom at 23 metres with the main deck around 18 metres. The wreck has been heavily encrusted by stony coral, sponges and gorgonians, and openings cut during preparation allow safe penetration for trained wreck divers. Resident species include large goliath grouper during the summer spawning aggregation, schools of horse-eye and bar jacks, blackbar soldierfish in the holds, queen and grey angelfish, and a regular green moray eel under the bow. The ship is part of a cluster of artificial reef wrecks off Pompano Beach that also includes the Lowrance, the Mercedes I and the Sea Emperor; operators run multi-tank trips to combine them. Currents follow the Gulf Stream and visibility is typically 12 to 25 metres.
Morehead City, North Carolina
The Caribsea was a 78-metre US-flagged steam-powered bauxite freighter torpedoed by the German submarine U-158 on 11 March 1942 off Cape Lookout Shoals, North Carolina. The ship broke up rapidly after the torpedo strike and 21 of the 28 crew were lost. The most famous story attached to the wreck is that of crewman James Baum Gaskill: his wallet floated ashore at Ocracoke Island, where his family lived, and was returned to them by a beachcomber. The wreck is now scattered across a debris field on a sand bottom at about 26 metres. The ship is largely flattened but the boilers, engine block and ribs remain prominent. Visibility is reliably good in the Gulf Stream summer months. Resident species include sand tiger sharks in summer, large schools of amberjack and Atlantic spadefish, queen and grey angelfish along the wreckage, and the occasional sea turtle. Closer to shore than the Papoose and U-352, the Caribsea is a popular two-tank trip with the Aeolus or Spar.
Key Largo, Florida
Carysfort Reef is the northernmost site on the Florida Keys outer reef tract and one of the more remote reefs accessible from Key Largo, lying about six nautical miles offshore. It is marked by Carysfort Reef Light, a screw-pile cast-iron lighthouse built in 1852 and one of the oldest of its type still standing in the United States, although decommissioned by the Coast Guard. The reef has long been a focus of coral-restoration work by the Coral Restoration Foundation, and divers will see clearly defined plots where elkhorn and staghorn coral fragments have been outplanted onto the spurs. Typical depths on the main reef run from 8 to 15 metres, with deeper sand grooves down to about 21 metres on the seaward edge. Resident species include goliath grouper, midnight parrotfish, schools of horse-eye jacks, bar jacks, spotted eagle rays in season, and large green and hawksbill turtles. Distance from shore means visibility is often excellent but trips are weather-dependent.
Avalon, California
Casino Point Underwater Park sits beneath the iconic Avalon Casino building on Catalina Island and was established in 1965 as the first underwater park in California. Boat traffic is banned inside the marked boundary, which makes it the safest and most accessible shore dive in the Channel Islands. Entry is from a concrete platform with handrails and stairs into the water. The bottom is a kelp-covered rocky reef from 5 metres at the swim platform down to 24 metres on the outer mooring boundary. Several small artificial reefs and a few small wrecks (including the Suej, the Kismet and the Glassbottom Boat) are scattered across the park. The site is a known summer station for giant black sea bass (Stereolepis gigas), federally protected and reaching 2 metres in length. Other species: garibaldi, kelp bass, sheephead, blue and olive rockfish, sea cucumbers, and large California spiny lobsters that emerge at night. Visibility is best in late summer and fall, often above 18 m.
Avalon, California
The East End Pinnacle (also referred to colloquially within Italian Gardens by some operators) is a granite pinnacle rising from 30 metres on the surrounding sand to about 12 metres on top, sitting at the east end of Santa Catalina Island in California. Its exposed offshore position makes it a reliable intercept point for pelagic species moving along the coast. The site is well known among local divers for the summer aggregation of giant black sea bass (Stereolepis gigas), federally protected and reaching 2 metres and 200 kg. Other reliable species include schools of jack mackerel and barracuda over the pinnacle top, large lingcod and cabezon among the boulders, blue and olive rockfish, kelp greenling, sheephead, garibaldi and pelagic visitors such as bonito and the occasional ocean sunfish in late summer. Currents are reliably moderate to strong; advanced certification, surface marker buoy and good gas planning required. Visibility 12 to 25 metres.
Lanai, Hawaii
The Cathedrals are two large collapsed lava domes off the south coast of Lanai, accessed by boat from Lahaina or directly from Lanai. Cathedral I and Cathedral II are within a kilometre of each other and feature open chambers up to 18 metres deep, with windows and skylights in the basalt that send shafts of sunlight onto the white sand floors and create the stained-glass effect that gives the site its name. Penetration is straightforward through wide openings; the largest chamber is big enough for a class to fit comfortably while still leaving overhead clearance for bubbles to escape. Resident species include white tip reef sharks resting in the side caves, large green sea turtles, slipper lobsters in the cracks, spotted eagle rays and schools of pyramid butterflyfish on the outer walls. The site is weather-dependent: a north or strong south swell will close it, but on calm days visibility regularly exceeds 30 metres. Intermediate certification recommended due to the overhead environment, even though the openings are large.
Key Largo, Florida
Christ of the Abyss is a 4-metre bronze sculpture standing on the sand at Key Largo Dry Rocks inside John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The statue is the third casting from the same mould as the original Christ of the Abyss installed in San Fruttuoso, Italy, in 1954, and was donated to the Underwater Society of America by Italian diving entrepreneur Egidi Cressi in 1962. Its arms are raised toward the surface, fingers encrusted with coral, sponges and barnacles after six decades underwater. Depth at the base is around 8 metres, with the head at roughly 4 metres, so the site is suitable for snorkelers and open water divers. Surrounding shallow reef hosts French angelfish, sergeant majors, parrotfish, spiny lobster and the occasional green moray eel. The location is inside a sanctuary preservation area: do not touch, anchor only on moorings, and be ready for boat traffic above. Best dived in calm summer mornings when visibility opens up.
Tavernier, Florida
Conch Reef sits on the outer reef tract off Tavernier and is best known to divers as the location of NOAA's Aquarius Reef Base, the only operational underwater research laboratory in the world. The yellow habitat module is moored on a sand patch at 19 metres at the foot of the reef wall and is sometimes occupied by saturation aquanauts. The reef itself is a two-tier site: a shallow Sanctuary Preservation Area on top in 6 to 12 metres and a deep wall that drops from 18 metres to 30 metres at the edge of the reef tract. The wall is covered with barrel and rope sponges, deep-water gorgonians and black coral on the deeper sections. Divers regularly see goliath grouper, large schools of horse-eye jacks, queen triggerfish, hogfish, hawksbill turtles, eagle rays in winter, and the occasional reef shark. Currents along the wall can be brisk and visibility frequently exceeds 20 metres. Two distinct profiles make this site popular for two-tank trips.
Pompano Beach, Florida
The SS Copenhagen was a 99-metre British-flagged steel cargo steamer carrying a load of coal from Philadelphia to Havana when she grounded on Pompano Beach reef on the morning of 26 May 1900. Salvage attempts failed and the ship was abandoned; she lies broken across the shallow second reef line in just 4 to 9 metres of water about 1.5 nautical miles off Pompano Beach. During WWII, US Navy aircraft used the wreck for target practice, leaving it more flattened than it would otherwise be. In 1994 the State of Florida designated her as the state's first Underwater Archaeological Preserve. Today the boilers, engine block, ribs, plating and a 7-metre auxiliary anchor are clearly recognisable, and a bronze plaque on the wreck tells the story. The shallow profile makes it ideal for snorkellers and open-water divers. Marine life: large schools of grunts, sergeant majors, French angelfish, large green moray eels in the boilers and spotted eagle rays cruising past.
Alpena, Michigan
The Cornelia B. Windiate is a 41-metre three-masted schooner built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in 1874. On her first commercial winter run from Milwaukee to Buffalo with a cargo of wheat in November 1875, she vanished with all nine hands. She was presumed lost in Lake Michigan, but in 1986 her wreck was discovered upright and almost completely intact at the bottom of Lake Huron inside what is now the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, with all three masts still standing and rigging in place. The cold dark fresh water of the deep Great Lakes had preserved the ship as a time capsule. The wreck rests at 56 metres on a flat clay bottom and is one of the most photogenic deep wrecks anywhere. The yawl boat is even still on its davits at the stern. Visibility is reliably 18 to 30 metres but water is below 5 C; the dive demands trimix or hypoxic-trained advanced divers, dry suits and full redundancy.
Islamorada, Florida
Davis Reef is a shallow patch reef on the inner reef tract off Islamorada, only about three nautical miles from the marina. The site sits in 5 to 9 metres on a sand and rubble floor and is built around two long ledges that run roughly east-west, undercut in places to form small overhangs sheltering green moray eels and Caribbean spiny lobster. A small bronze Buddha statue placed by local divers sits on the sand near the main mooring buoy and is the site's signature photo subject. Resident species include schools of grunts and porkfish, queen angelfish, midnight parrotfish, hogfish, the occasional nurse shark resting under the ledges, and southern stingrays gliding on the sand. The shallow profile, gentle currents and easy navigation make Davis Reef a favourite for refresher and scuba review dives, as well as for snorkellers being towed off the dive boat. It lies inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary; mooring buoys only.
Williston, Florida
Devil's Den is a karst window — a small surface opening into a larger underground freshwater spring system — about 90 minutes north of Orlando near Williston, Florida. The name comes from the column of warm steam that rises through the entrance hole on cold winter mornings, when the 22 C spring water meets cold air. The pool is privately owned and operated as a year-round dive facility. The dome of limestone above the water has a single skylight opening that lets a beam of sunlight stream onto the rock-and-sand bottom 16 metres below. The water is gin-clear with visibility regularly above 30 metres. There is no live coral or fish to speak of, but the cave walls are decorated with karst features and prehistoric mammal fossils have been recovered from the floor: extinct horses, ground sloths, mastodons, dating back roughly 33,000 years. Cavern training with line is required to penetrate the side passages; the open pool is open to all open-water divers.
Islamorada, Florida
The Eagle is an 88-metre former Dutch freighter (originally Aaro, later Eagle Tire Company purchase) sunk in December 1985 about three nautical miles north of Alligator Reef Light off Islamorada. She landed on her starboard side at 34 metres and stayed essentially intact until Hurricane Georges in September 1998 tore the wreck into two large sections that now lie close together on the sand. The break has actually made the wreck more interesting: divers can swim through the gap, peer into open holds and follow the spine of the ship along the sand. Depths run from about 21 metres on the highest point of the structure to 34 metres at the keel. Goliath grouper, large jewfish, schools of horse-eye jacks and barracudas use the wreck as a permanent station, and bull sharks are sometimes seen during the cooler winter months. Currents are usually moderate and visibility ranges from 15 to 25 metres depending on Gulf Stream meanders.
Weeki Wachee, Florida
Eagle's Nest is a deep freshwater sinkhole in the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area near Weeki Wachee in west-central Florida. From the surface it appears as an unremarkable, lily-fringed pond perhaps 30 metres across; below the surface, the pond drops into an immense karst cavern called the Ballroom, with a flat ceiling at 18 metres and a sand floor at 65 metres. From the Ballroom, two side tunnels (Main Cavern and South Tunnel) descend to 95 metres or more along surveyed lines. The site has been dubbed 'the Mount Everest of cave diving' and is also notorious for fatal accidents involving untrained divers; access requires full-cave certification, deep-mix training, redundant rebreathers or doubles, and registration. The water is gin-clear at 22 C constant. There is no surface marine life of note, but the geology is staggering: a complete karst cathedral hidden beneath a Florida pine forest. Florida regulations require certification verification at the gate.
Galveston, Texas
East Flower Garden Bank is one of three salt-dome-capped coral reefs in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, lying about 110 nautical miles south of the Texas–Louisiana border in the Gulf of Mexico. Together with West Flower Garden Bank and Stetson Bank, it represents the northernmost coral reef on the North American continental shelf. The crest of the bank rises to about 17 metres below the surface and is covered with healthy hard corals — boulder star, brain and great star — at coverage levels exceeding 50 percent, among the highest in the wider Caribbean. The site is accessible only by liveaboard from Freeport, Texas (typically Fling Charters), with crossings of about 8 hours each way. Marine life includes massive schools of horse-eye jacks, manta rays through summer, scalloped hammerhead aggregations in winter, whale sharks August to September, large loggerhead turtles, queen and grey angelfish, blue chromis and many adult goliath grouper. Visibility regularly above 25 metres.
Edmonds, Washington
Edmonds Underwater Park is a 27-acre marine reserve immediately adjacent to the Edmonds ferry terminal in Puget Sound, Washington. Established in 1970 and protected as a no-take area, it is the largest underwater shore park on the US west coast. The bottom is mostly sand and rubble at 4 to 12 metres, but volunteers have placed dozens of intentionally sunken structures across decades — small boats, dry-dock fragments, the wreck of the DeLion Tug, the Triumph and the Diaper Barge — to provide habitat and dive interest. The park is famous as one of the most reliable places anywhere to encounter giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), the world's largest octopus species. Wolf eels live in the structures and lingcod, cabezon, painted greenling, kelp greenling, copper rockfish, perches and Puget Sound king crabs are common. Currents are weak inside the no-go zone but ferry traffic dictates a strict surface boundary. Best in winter when visibility opens up.
Catalina, California
Farnsworth Banks is a series of offshore pinnacles about three nautical miles off the windward (south-west) coast of Catalina Island. The high points of the pinnacles rise to around 18 metres, while the bases sit at 40 metres or more on the open San Pedro Channel. The site is famous as one of the only places in California where the rare California hydrocoral (Stylaster californicus), a calcified pink-and-purple branching coral, grows in abundance; large stands carpet the pinnacle tops and walls. The colony is fragile and good buoyancy is essential. Other species include schooling jack mackerel and barracuda, giant black sea bass in summer, blue sharks and mako sharks in the open water around the pinnacles, and the occasional ocean sunfish. Currents are reliably strong because the site is in open ocean exposed to channel flow. Visibility is the best in the Catalina region, frequently above 25 metres. Advanced certification, redundant air or doubles, and surface marker buoys are mandatory.
Lanai, Hawaii
First Cathedral is the larger and more spectacular of the two collapsed lava-tube domes that make up the Cathedrals dive site complex on the south coast of Lanai. Boats from Lahaina, Maui, run the site as part of a Lanai day trip, with the crossing taking about an hour. The chamber inside the dome is large enough for an entire dive class to fit comfortably, with multiple openings, skylights and a sand floor at 14 to 18 metres. Sunlight streams down through holes in the basalt ceiling and reflects off the white sand floor in a stained-glass effect that gives the cathedral metaphor real weight. Penetration is straightforward through wide openings; the site is technically considered overhead environment but in practice is a swim-through. Resident wildlife: white tip reef sharks resting in the side caves, slipper lobsters in the cracks, spotted eagle rays cruising the entrance, large green sea turtles, schools of pyramid butterflyfish on the outside walls. Visibility regularly exceeds 30 metres.
Key Largo, Florida
French Reef sits within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary on the outer reef tract north of Molasses Reef and is well known for the number of swim-throughs, caves and ledges that cut into the coral platform. The most famous formation, Christmas Tree Cave, is a vertical chimney decorated with sponges and small invertebrates that exits onto the deeper reef around 12 metres. Other popular spots include Hourglass Cave and the White Sand Bottom Cave. Depths run from around 4 metres on the inner reef flat to 14 metres on the seaward slope, with sandy patches that host garden eels and southern stingrays. Goliath grouper, Nassau grouper, queen angelfish, spiny lobster and green and spotted moray eels are common residents, and divers regularly see hawksbill and loggerhead turtles working the reef. The site is fully moored under sanctuary regulations. Visibility is best in calm summer weeks; tidal currents can be felt along the outer wall but are usually manageable for novice divers.
High Springs, Florida
Ginnie Springs sits on the Santa Fe River near High Springs, Florida, where the Floridan Aquifer surfaces into a basin averaging 4m deep and reaching 15m in the Ballroom, a chamber sealed by an iron grate that stops divers before the true cave system begins. Entry is shore-based, down wooden stairs from the riverbank -- no boat needed. Visibility holds a steady 30m, water stays at a constant 22 degrees C year-round, and the floor mixes limestone shelving with heavy sand. Current in the main basin is gentle, but 150m away Devil's Ear vents one of the world's most forceful cave flows, strong enough to shoot an untrained diver upward -- full cave certification is mandatory there. Open Water divers are welcome in the Ballroom; look for gar, Suwannee bass, bowfin, mullet, sunfish and catfish.
San Diego, California
The HMCS Yukon was a Canadian Mackenzie-class destroyer escort, 111 metres long, that served in the Royal Canadian Navy from 1963 to 1993. Towed to San Diego in 2000 by the San Diego Oceans Foundation, she was prepared for divers and scuttled on 14 July 2000 about 2 km off Mission Beach. The sinking did not go entirely to plan; she rolled on her port side as she went down and now lies at 30 metres on her port flank, with the highest stern superstructure around 18 metres. The orientation makes the wreck more challenging to navigate than an upright ship, and many openings have been pre-cut for safe penetration by trained wreck divers. The Yukon has matured into a heavily encrusted reef of metridium anemones, hydroids and sponges. Resident fish include large lingcod, schools of blacksmith and senorita, rockfish, and the occasional giant black sea bass at the bow. Visibility is variable: 6 to 18 metres. Advanced certification required.
Avalon, California
Italian Gardens is a kelp-and-rock dive on the leeward (north-east) coast of Santa Catalina Island between Long Point and Avalon. The site sits inside Marine Conservation areas of Catalina that limit fishing. The bottom is a series of granite ridges and boulder piles running roughly perpendicular to shore from 9 metres on the inner reef down to 27 metres on the sand. Giant kelp covers the shallower rocks and provides a sheltered canopy. The site is one of the more reliable Catalina dives for adult giant black sea bass aggregations from July through September, when the federally protected fish gather to spawn; encounters with two to ten individuals up to 2 metres long and 200 kg are possible. Other reliable species include garibaldi, sheephead, kelp bass, large lingcod, blue and olive rockfish, California moray eels in the boulder cracks, and the occasional bat ray on the sand. Currents are moderate; visibility frequently exceeds 18 metres in late summer.
Alpena, Michigan
The Joseph S. Fay was a 65-metre wooden steam barge built in 1871 in Marine City, Michigan. On 19 October 1905, while running light from Cleveland to Escanaba in a heavy gale, she broke up in the breakers off Forty Mile Point on the Lake Huron shore north of Alpena. The captain and crew survived, but the ship was a total loss. The wreck now lies in just 4 to 6 metres of water inside the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which protects the graveyard of more than 200 known shipwrecks in northwest Lake Huron. The hull is broken but the keel, frames, planking, capstan and machinery sit clearly on the sand and cobbles, and the long, intact rudder washed ashore on the beach next to the site. The shallow profile, cold-fresh visibility (often above 10 metres) and gentle currents make the Joseph S. Fay one of the easiest historic shipwrecks in the Great Lakes for snorkelers and open water divers, and it is a popular two-tank pairing with the Norman or the Montana.
La Jolla, California
La Jolla Cove is a small protected cove on the north side of the La Jolla peninsula in San Diego, sitting inside the 6,000-acre San Diego–La Jolla Underwater Park, the state's first underwater preserve (1971). Entry is from a steep public stair and small sandy beach. The bottom slopes from 3 metres at the kelp edge to about 18 metres on the outer reef line, with shelving sandstone reefs and patches of giant kelp. The cove is a State Marine Reserve where take is prohibited, and the resident colony of California sea lions hauls out on the surrounding rocks. Common reef species include garibaldi, kelp bass, sheephead, moray eels, large lobsters in the cracks and the famous summer aggregation of leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata) that gather just outside the cove from July through October. Visibility ranges from 4 metres in winter to 12 metres on the best summer days. Currents are generally weak inside the cove.
Jupiter, Florida
Lemon Shark Drift describes the seasonal winter drift dives run from Jupiter Inlet, Florida, over the inshore reef ledges between roughly 18 and 27 metres of depth. From December through April every year, lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) gather along the Jupiter coast in numbers that can exceed 100 adult animals. The reason for the aggregation is still under study by Florida Atlantic University and other researchers, but the predictability has made the dive one of the world's premier shark-encounter experiences. Operators (such as Jupiter Dive Center, Emerald Charters and Florida Scuba Charters) drift along the natural reef line on Gulf Stream current while groups of 10 to 50 lemons cruise through. Bull sharks, sandbar sharks, nurse sharks, the occasional tiger shark and large schools of jacks and amberjack are also part of the show. Drift conditions, cold winter water and abundant pelagic life make this an advanced trip with SMB, drift hood and current attentiveness mandatory.
Big Pine Key, Florida
Looe Key is a crescent-shaped spur-and-groove reef in the Lower Florida Keys, protected as a Sanctuary Preservation Area within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary about six nautical miles off Big Pine Key. The site is named for HMS Looe, a British 44-gun frigate that ran aground here in 1744 while escorting a captured prize, and remains of the wreck still lie scattered in the sand near the southwest corner. The reef itself is a textbook example of Caribbean fore-reef morphology: long ridges of star and brain coral separated by sand grooves that drop gently from 4 metres to about 11 metres. Despite hurricane damage and bleaching events in recent decades, the site still supports queen and French angelfish, midnight and rainbow parrotfish, large numbers of yellowtail snapper, southern stingrays, hawksbill turtles and occasional Caribbean reef sharks. Currents are usually moderate. Looe Key is moored only and fishing is forbidden inside the SPA boundaries.
Marathon, Florida
Lost Blue Hole is a circular karst sinkhole on the outer shelf of the Middle Florida Keys south of Marathon, formed during Pleistocene low-sea-level periods when the limestone shelf was exposed and groundwater carved it out from below. Sea-level rise then drowned the feature. The rim sits at about 22 metres below the surface and the floor is at 40 metres, with vertical walls of bare limestone descending into the dark. Currents above the hole are typically moderate, but inside the pit the water is still and almost always crystal clear. The site attracts large pelagic predators: Caribbean reef sharks patrol the rim, occasional silky and bull sharks pass through in summer, and large barracuda and goliath grouper hold inside. The walls hold deep-water sponges, gorgonians and small caves where Caribbean spiny lobster gather. Advanced certification, deep training and good gas planning required; the open-water dive is reasonable but going to the floor demands deep certification.
Pacific Grove, California
Lover's Point is a granite headland on the west side of Monterey Bay in Pacific Grove, with shore entry from a small protected beach on the north side of the point. The site lies within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Pacific Grove Marine Gardens Refuge, a State Marine Conservation Area. Underwater the bottom is a maze of granite reef covered in giant kelp, palm kelp and bull kelp, with sand patches connecting between rock outcrops. Depths along the point run from 4 metres on the inner reef to 18 metres on the deeper outer rocks. Lover's Point is a dependable place to encounter southern sea otters (a federally protected species) working the kelp canopy, harbor seals, and large schools of blue rockfish. Other regulars include lingcod, cabezon, kelp greenling, painted greenling, China rockfish, garibaldi at the south end, and clusters of strawberry anemones on the rocks. Surge can be heavy on swelly days; best windows are calm late summer and fall mornings.
Waianae, Hawaii
The Mahi is a 50-metre former United States Navy minelayer (originally USS Hoist, ARS-40) that served from 1945 in salvage and rescue duties before being decommissioned, refitted as a research vessel and finally cleaned and sunk as an artificial reef on 17 April 1982 about a mile off the leeward Waianae coast of Oahu. She landed perfectly upright on a sand bottom at 27 metres with the main deck at 24 metres and the bridge at around 18 metres. Decades of growth have covered the hull with hard and soft corals, sponges and crinoids. The wreck is a regular stop for spotted eagle rays in pairs and small flights of devil rays in the warmer months, and resident species include green sea turtles, white tip reef sharks resting under the bow, scrawled filefish, large helmet shells in the surrounding sand and schools of Hawaiian sergeants and goatfish. Visibility on the lee side of Oahu is reliably excellent. Currents are usually moderate and the sheltered orientation makes the Mahi divable year-round.
Key Largo, Florida
Mahogany Hammock Reef sits on the outer reef tract of Key Largo between French Reef and Molasses Reef, inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The site is a classic spur-and-groove formation with depths from about 4 metres on the inner flat to 13 metres on the seaward edge, less crowded than its more famous neighbours and popular as a refresher and second-tank dive. The reef has retained healthy stands of elkhorn and staghorn coral on the upper spurs, with brain and great star coral on the shoulders and Caribbean sea fans waving in the surge. Resident species include large schools of yellowtail snapper, bluestriped grunt, hawksbill turtles, southern stingrays in the sand grooves, queen and French angelfish, the occasional Caribbean reef shark patrolling the outer ledge and goliath grouper. Visibility 18 to 30 metres in summer. The site is moored only and fishing is prohibited inside the surrounding Sanctuary Preservation Area.
Lahaina, Hawaii
Mala Wharf is the collapsed remains of a former cargo and passenger pier built in 1922 in front of the small town of Mala just north of Lahaina, Maui. Most of the structure was torn apart by Hurricane Iniki in September 1992 and the broken concrete pilings, decking and substructure now form one of the easiest and most rewarding shore-and-boat dives on the island. The wreckage lies in 7 to 11 metres of water on a flat sand bottom and creates shaded pockets that white tip reef sharks regularly use for daytime resting; sightings of two to six animals are normal. Green sea turtles use the structure as a cleaning station and are extremely habituated. Other regulars include schools of Hawaiian sergeants, needlefish, octopus, scrawled filefish, crocodile snake eels poking out of the sand and the occasional spotted eagle ray cruising past the outer pilings. Currents are usually weak. Boat dives are easier than the long shore swim from the small Mala Ramp.
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
The Kona manta ray night dive at Garden Eel Cove (also known as Manta Heaven and Manta Village depending on the operator) is one of the most reliable and well-documented manta ray encounters in the world. Resident reef mantas (Mobula alfredi) have been individually identified by the Manta Pacific Research Foundation since the 1990s, with the catalogue now exceeding 280 animals along the Kona coast. After sunset, dive operators run two formations: divers kneel on a sand bottom in 9 to 12 metres holding lights pointed upward to seed a plankton bloom, while snorkellers float at the surface above doing the same. The mantas, with wingspans typically 3 to 4 metres, swoop in repeated barrel rolls inches above divers' lights to feed. The dive is suitable for open water divers because depth and current are minimal; the challenge is buoyancy and lighting discipline. Year-round encounters with very high success rates, particularly on calm summer evenings.
Pompano Beach, Florida
The Mercedes I is a 60-metre Venezuelan-flagged freighter that became a celebrity story in 1984 when she broke loose from her moorings in a Thanksgiving-weekend storm and grounded in the surf in front of socialite Mollie Wilmot's Palm Beach mansion. The ship sat there for 105 days while courts and the Coast Guard argued over salvage and ownership; the spectacle drew tourists by the thousands. After eventual refloating, she was donated to the State of Florida and sunk as an artificial reef on 30 March 1985 off Fort Lauderdale, near Pompano Beach. She landed upright on a sand bottom at 30 metres with the wheelhouse at around 22 metres and the main deck at 25 metres. The wreck has been heavily colonised by Caribbean reef growth and is a regular goliath grouper aggregation site through summer. Schools of jacks, barracuda, queen angelfish and the occasional spotted eagle ray are common. Currents from the Gulf Stream are usually moderate to strong.
Key Largo, Florida
Molasses Reef is one of the most-dived sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, located on the outer reef tract about six nautical miles southeast of Key Largo. The reef is a classic Caribbean spur-and-groove formation: long ridges of star, brain and elkhorn coral run perpendicular to the shore, separated by sand channels that funnel divers between coral heads. Average depth across the main mooring buoys (M1-M23) is 6 to 12 metres, making the site accessible to open water students while still offering interest for experienced divers along the deeper outer edge. A historic Spanish anchor, lost from a sailing vessel and now half-buried in coral, marks one of the most photographed corners. Resident marine life includes goliath and Nassau grouper, great barracuda, southern stingrays, green moray eels, hawksbill turtles and large schools of yellowtail snapper and sergeant majors. Currents are typically gentle but can pick up on the outer ledge with the prevailing southeast trade winds. The reef is moored, anchoring is prohibited, and conditions are best from late spring through early fall.
Wailea, Hawaii
Molokini is a crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic tuff cone three nautical miles off Maui's south coast, designated a State Marine Life Conservation District since 1977 and a State Seabird Sanctuary on the dry rim. The crescent shelters its inner lagoon from prevailing trade-winds and its calm, clear water has made it one of the most-visited dive and snorkel sites in Hawaii. Two distinct dives are run: the Inside Reef on the protected face, in 4 to 20 metres with sloping reef and a sand bottom, ideal for beginners; and the Back Wall, a vertical drop on the seaward side that falls past 76 metres into the open Pacific. On the back wall, divers float in blue water along the wall covered with whip corals, lace corals and antipatharians, with grey reef sharks, white tip reef sharks, scalloped hammerheads in season, eagle rays and the occasional manta. Inside, expect green sea turtles, octopus, yellow tang, ornate butterflyfish and the state fish. Visibility regularly exceeds 30 metres.
Alpena, Michigan
The Montana was a 72-metre wooden bulk freighter built in 1872 in Port Huron, Michigan. On the morning of 6 September 1914, while loaded with coal and downbound from Port Huron, fire broke out in her hold and the crew abandoned ship as the wooden hull burned to the waterline. She sank in Thunder Bay roughly nine nautical miles east of Alpena. The wreck now sits upright on a hard clay bottom in 18 to 23 metres of water inside the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Although the upper works and decking burned away, the entire lower hull, engine, boiler, propeller, rudder and stern arch are intact and reachable. The Montana is one of the most-dived wrecks in the sanctuary because the depth is single-tank-friendly, the structure is large and recognisable, and visibility in late summer is often 15 to 25 metres in the cold lake water. Currents are usually weak. Dry suit and intermediate certification recommended.
Monterey, California
The Breakwater (also called San Carlos Beach or the Coast Guard Wall) is the most-dived shore site on the US west coast and the home water of the Monterey training community. It runs along the west side of the granite breakwater that protects the US Coast Guard Pier in Monterey Bay, with easy entry from a small sandy beach. The wall drops in steps from 6 to 18 metres along the rocks and continues onto a gradually deepening sand bottom. The site sits within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and is a Marine Protected Area; fishing is restricted. Resident species include hundreds of metridium anemones blanketing the breakwater rocks, large lingcod, cabezon, China and blue rockfish, painted greenling, rainbow nudibranchs and a colony of California sea lions that haul out on top of the wall. Sea otters work the kelp at the surface. Visibility is highly variable, typically 5 to 10 metres, with the best windows in late summer and fall after spring upwelling has cleared.
Morehead City, North Carolina
The Naeco was a 125-metre US-flagged Pure Oil Company tanker torpedoed by the German submarine U-124 on the night of 23 March 1942 about 30 nautical miles southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. The ship was carrying heating oil from Houston to Sewaren, New Jersey, and 24 of the 38-man crew perished, mostly from the burning oil that spread across the surface. The wreck broke into two large sections; the stern is the section visited by divers, sitting upright on the sand at 43 metres with the main deck at around 33 metres and the highest structure at about 28 metres. The Naeco is one of the deeper wrecks on the NC dive circuit and is run by Olympus Dive Center as an advanced trip. Resident species include large schools of sand tiger sharks in summer, almaco jack, amberjack, large queen angelfish, dense colonies of orange cup coral on the steel and the occasional cobia. Visibility 18 to 30 metres in summer; technical certification or doubles preferred.
Key Largo, Florida
North Dry Rocks is a shallow patch reef on the inner reef tract north of Key Largo, just south of Carysfort and adjacent to the Christ of the Abyss site at Key Largo Dry Rocks. The reef is best known for Minnow Caves, a series of arches and tunnels cut into the spurs that are wide enough to be transited by open water divers. Light streams down through cracks in the reef tops and small silversides crowd inside the caves in summer, providing one of the most photogenic sights in Key Largo. Depths run from about 2 metres on the reef tops to 11 metres on the seaward edge. Resident species include green and spotted moray eels, Caribbean spiny lobster, schoolmaster snapper, French and queen angelfish, hawksbill turtles and southern stingrays. Currents are usually weak inside the spurs but can run on the outer edge. The site is moored only inside the Florida Keys NMS and is a regular two-tank pairing with Christ of the Abyss.
Key West, Florida
Olympus is a deep ledge-and-wreck site on the outer reef tract about 30 nautical miles west of Key West, near the Marquesas Keys, dived primarily by Lower Keys liveaboards and longer-range day boats. The site is a wide ledge that drops from 18 metres to 36 metres with a debris field that includes the remains of an unidentified steel freighter, scattered hull plates, ribs and concretions, mixed with natural reef structure. Goliath grouper aggregations are reliable in summer along the ledge; large schools of grunts and snapper, queen angelfish, southern stingrays, hawksbill turtles, blacktip and Caribbean reef sharks are routine. Currents follow the Gulf Stream and visibility is reliably 18 to 30 metres. Distance from shore makes the site weather-dependent and most operators only run it as part of multi-day trips. Advanced certification, drift gear and good gas planning required because of depth and current.
Morehead City, North Carolina
The Papoose (often referenced as the SS Papoose) is a US tanker torpedoed by the German submarine U-124 on the night of 18 to 19 March 1942 off Cape Lookout, North Carolina, during the height of Operation Drumbeat. Two of the 33-man crew were lost. The wreck has long been identified as the Papoose by NC dive operators, although NOAA has documented that the actual identity of the upside-down hulk is debated and may instead be the SS W.E. Hutton (also torpedoed in the same period); for the purposes of this dive description we use the operator-traditional name as that is how it is dispatched. The wreck lies inverted on a sand bottom at 37 metres about 35 nautical miles south of Morehead City, with the keel around 30 metres. The hull has corroded into a complex of overhangs and debris fields ideal for shelter, and the site is famous for resident sand tiger sharks: aggregations of 20 to 60 animals are routine in summer. Visibility is excellent during Gulf Stream weeks.
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Pelagic Magic is an open-ocean, mid-water blackwater dive run by Jack's Diving Locker and other Kona operators about three nautical miles off the Kona coast over more than 1,500 metres of open ocean. After dark, the boat drifts down-current and divers descend on a weighted line festooned with downward-shining lights to roughly 12 to 18 metres while the ocean floor remains far below. The lights attract the deep-scattering-layer organisms that rise to feed at night: salps and siphonophores, pelagic octopuses and squid, larval flounder, leptocephali, pyrosomes, juvenile mahi-mahi and tuna, plus myriad pelagic invertebrates that are rarely seen anywhere else. The dive demands solid trim and buoyancy because there is no bottom to reference and no reef to stop a runaway descent; advanced certification, a tether, and full lighting are required. Night-only and weather-dependent; visibility is whatever the torch beam reaches but the experience is described by many as the closest a recreational diver can get to a true alien ocean.
Key Largo, Florida
Pickles Reef is a mid-shelf coral reef off Key Largo named for the cement-filled wooden barrels from a nineteenth-century shipwreck that lie scattered across the bottom; early divers thought the cylindrical shapes looked like pickle barrels and the name stuck. The barrels themselves have hardened into reef rock and are now home to encrusting sponges, feather duster worms and small reef fish. The reef has gentle spur-and-groove relief from about 4 metres on the inner flat to 11 metres on the outer edge, with patches of brain and star coral and sea fans on the spurs. It is a quieter alternative to Molasses and French Reefs and a favourite for second-tank dives. Common sightings include hogfish, French and blue angelfish, southern stingrays, hawksbill turtles, Caribbean spiny lobster under the ledges, and schools of grunts. Currents are usually weak and conditions are forgiving for newly certified divers practicing buoyancy and navigation.
Carmel, California
Point Lobos State Marine Reserve protects the granite headland just south of Carmel and is widely considered the most beautiful kelp forest dive in California. Diving is by permit only and limited to roughly fifteen pairs per day, which keeps the site quiet. Two coves are open to divers: Whaler's Cove on the north side, and Bluefish Cove on the south side, accessed by a longer surface swim. Granite ridges, pinnacles and kelp-draped reefs run from 6 metres in the coves to past 30 metres on the outer pinnacles. The reserve has been a no-take area since 1973 and the fish life reflects it: giant lingcod, schools of blue and olive rockfish, vermilion rockfish, large cabezon, kelp greenling, and a healthy population of California sea lions and harbor seals. Sea otters use the inner kelp canopy. Visibility is variable but regularly the best on the Monterey Peninsula, with 10 to 20 metres possible on calm fall days.
Honolulu, Hawaii
The San Pedro is a small steel fishing trawler sunk in 1996 by Atlantis Submarines about a mile off Waikiki on Oahu's south shore, intended as a companion artificial reef to the much larger YO-257 oiler about 100 metres away. She rests upright on a sand bottom at 27 metres with the highest superstructure at around 21 metres. Most operators dive the two wrecks as a single profile, swimming the sand corridor between them at depth and completing the loop with a slow ascent up the higher of the two ships. The smaller wreck is heavily encrusted with hard coral, cup coral and sponges and provides a shaded refuge for resident species. Green sea turtles use both wrecks as long-term cleaning stations and several white tip reef sharks rest beneath the bow during the day. Other regulars include schools of pyramid butterflyfish, milletseed butterflyfish, scrawled filefish, taape (bluestripe snapper), Hawaiian sergeants, scribbled filefish and the occasional spotted eagle ray cruising past. Currents are usually moderate; visibility is reliably 18 to 30 metres because the lee side of Oahu is sheltered from north and east trade winds.
Channel Islands, California
Santa Barbara Island is the smallest island in Channel Islands National Park, about 60 km off the southern California coast and reached only by liveaboard or longer-range charter from San Pedro and Long Beach. The island is a Marine Protected Area where fishing is prohibited and the underwater life reflects four decades of protection. Granite reef pinnacles ring the island and rise to within a few metres of the surface, with kelp forests of giant kelp and bull kelp, dropping into deeper sand at 30 metres. The island is home to large breeding colonies of California sea lions, harbor seals, and northern elephant seals; encounters with curious juveniles are routine. Other regulars include garibaldi (the California state marine fish), sheephead, kelp bass, blue and olive rockfish, lingcod, large cabezon, California spiny lobster, and the occasional giant black sea bass at the larger pinnacles. Visibility is typically 12 to 20 metres, best in late summer and fall. Cold water; 7 mm or dry suit recommended.
Channel Islands, California
Painted Cave is on the northwest coast of Santa Cruz Island inside Channel Islands National Park and is one of the largest sea caves in the world by volume. The cave reaches 374 metres into the cliff, with the entrance roughly 30 metres tall and 30 metres wide. The walls are streaked with lichens, algae and mineral deposits in vivid greens, oranges, reds and blacks that give the cave its name. The site is more famous as a kayak destination but experienced divers visit the entrance bowl from boats anchored in the bay outside, with depths of 6 to 12 metres. Surge inside the entrance can be significant and only the outer section is dived; deep penetration is for cavern-trained divers in calm conditions only. Marine life along the entrance walls includes large lingcod, cabezon, blue rockfish, kelp greenling, anemones, and giant green sea slugs. California sea lions and harbor seals are frequent companions. Conditions are best in late summer and early fall when the swell drops.
Avalon, California
Sea Fan Grotto sits on the back side (windward) of Santa Catalina Island near Eagle Reef, boat-access only from Avalon or San Pedro. The site is a series of granite ledges and shallow caves at 9 to 21 metres festooned with red and purple Pacific gorgonians (sea fans) growing in the cooler shaded water beneath the overhangs. The orange-pink California hydrocoral can be found at deeper recesses. The site sits inside California Marine Conservation Areas that limit fishing and the fish life reflects it. Resident species include garibaldi, sheephead, kelp bass, large cabezon, lingcod, blue and olive rockfish, octopus tucked into the cracks and the occasional giant black sea bass that uses the cooler shadows of the overhangs. California sea lions sometimes follow boats in. Visibility is reliably 12 to 25 metres on calm days. The back side of Catalina is weather-dependent; west swells close it for stretches in winter.
Honolulu, Hawaii
The Sea Tiger is a 50-metre former Chinese coastal trading vessel that became famous in 1995 when she was seized off Oahu carrying nearly a hundred undocumented immigrants. After a long stay impounded at Honolulu, she was cleaned and intentionally sunk on 11 January 1999 about a mile off the Kewalo Basin to create an artificial reef. The wreck sits perfectly upright on a sand bottom at 36 metres, with the main deck at around 28 metres and the wheelhouse and masts reaching as shallow as 18 metres. Penetration is straightforward through purpose-cut openings into the holds and bridge. The site has become Oahu's most reliable green sea turtle encounter, with several large resident animals using the wreck as a cleaning station. White tip reef sharks, eagle rays, schooling pyramid butterflyfish, taape (bluestripe snapper) and moray eels are regular sightings. Currents are typically moderate. Operators in Waikiki run the Sea Tiger as a two-tank trip with a nearby reef site.
Haleiwa, Hawaii
Sharks Cove is a small lava-rock cove on the North Shore of Oahu, inside the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District where fishing and collecting are prohibited. The cove is protected from prevailing trade-wind swell by an offshore reef and is dive-able only in the summer months from roughly May to September; in winter, the famous Banzai Pipeline swell wraps in and the site becomes dangerous. The name refers not to live sharks but to the cove's shape from above. Underwater the reef is a maze of arches, caves, lava tubes and ledges from 3 to 14 metres of depth, with a sand-floored amphitheatre on the outer edge. Resident species include green sea turtles, white tip reef sharks resting in the lava tubes, octopus, schools of yellow tang, milletseed butterflyfish, parrotfish and the Hawaiian state fish, the humuhumunukunukuapua'a (reef triggerfish). Entry is over slick lava rocks; reef shoes and a calm-day window are essential.
Poipu, Hawaii
Sheraton Caverns sits about half a kilometre off the Sheraton Kauai Resort at Poipu on the south shore of Kauai, the most consistently calm and accessible coast on the island. The site consists of three large collapsed lava tubes that run roughly perpendicular to shore and connect through wide openings at depths from 9 to 18 metres. The tubes are big enough to swim through without being a true overhead environment: there is always an obvious exit and ceiling clearance. Sheraton has become Kauai's signature green sea turtle dive: at least a dozen large resident animals use the cavern walls as a cleaning station, and encounters with three to six turtles per dive are normal. Reef life on the surrounding lava rubble bottom includes white tip reef sharks resting in the side caves, ornate butterflyfish, yellow tang, scrawled filefish, octopus and the occasional Hawaiian green lionfish. Currents are typically weak; visibility ranges from 12 to 25 metres depending on swell.
Marathon, Florida
Sombrero Reef is the main outer-reef site for the Middle Keys, located about 4.5 nautical miles south of Marathon and inside a Sanctuary Preservation Area of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The reef is marked by Sombrero Key Light, a screw-pile lighthouse first lit in 1858 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Underwater, the site is a spur-and-groove formation with profile from about 2 metres on the inner reef flat to 9 metres on the outer ledge. The shallow tops are heavily colonised by elkhorn coral, brain coral and branching gorgonians. It is a reliable spot to see large numbers of bluestriped and French grunts, blue tangs, midnight and stoplight parrotfish, hawksbill turtles, Caribbean spiny lobster and the occasional nurse shark. The shallow profile and good moorings make Sombrero ideal for open water students and snorkelers, while photographers like the broad sun-lit topography. Currents are usually mild but can run on the outer wall.
Galveston, Texas
Stetson Bank is the third feature of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, lying about 30 nautical miles northwest of West Flower Garden Bank and roughly 110 nautical miles off the Texas coast. Unlike its two coral-capped siblings, Stetson is a series of claystone pinnacles and ridges covered with sponges, fire coral and a mix of Caribbean-Atlantic species at the northern edge of its range. The crest comes up to 18 metres and the surrounding sand floor sits at 30 metres. Annual coral spawning here, like at the Banks, is a well-known event. Resident species include large schools of horse-eye jacks, scalloped hammerhead sharks in cooler months, the occasional whale shark, manta rays through summer, large green moray eels in the rock cracks and resident goliath grouper. Visibility is typically 18 to 30 metres but is more variable than at the Banks. Like the rest of the sanctuary, Stetson is reached only by liveaboard.
Key Largo, Florida
The Elbow is a kink in the outer reef tract north of Key Largo where the line of reef bends from a north-south to an east-west orientation. The change in geometry has trapped several ships over the centuries and the site is famous for the wreck remains scattered along the spurs: the City of Washington, a 99-metre US passenger steamer driven onto the reef in 1917 while under tow, lies broken up across the shallow spurs in 7 to 12 metres; the Tonawanda, a Civil War-era paddle-wheel steamer lost in 1866, contributes the boilers and walking-beam engine that crown the highest spur; and the Civil War munitions ship Hannah M. Bell adds ballast and iron knees in the deeper grooves. Reef life is excellent: large goliath grouper, schools of horse-eye jacks, hawksbill turtles, queen angelfish and southern stingrays. Depths run from 7 metres on the wreck remains to 21 metres on the outer ledge. Currents can be brisk on the corner; the site is moored only inside the Florida Keys NMS.
Crystal River, Florida
Three Sisters Springs is a cluster of three interlinked freshwater vents feeding Kings Bay inside Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, Florida. There's no shore entry — paddle or swim in from Hunter Springs or Kings Bay Park, since concrete posts keep motorboats out of the pool itself. Water sits at a constant 72-74°F (22-23°C), visibility runs 9-11m in the main basin, and depth stays shallow — 1.5-2.5m over sand with rocky, vegetated edges, dropping to 3.7-4.3m right at the vents where sand visibly boils. Current is weak, easy to kick against, making this a beginner-friendly snorkel site; scuba and full in-water access run only April 1-November 14, closed the rest of the year to protect wintering manatees.
Haleiwa, Hawaii
Three Tables takes its name from three flat-topped lava platforms that emerge from the surface just offshore of the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District on Oahu's North Shore. Like neighbouring Sharks Cove, the site is dive-able only during the calm summer months when the north-facing coast is not pounded by Pacific swell. From shore, divers swim out and drop down between and around the tables in 5 to 12 metres of depth onto a mixed sand and lava-rock bottom punctuated by ledges and small caves. The conservation district has been in place since 1983 and the fish life is correspondingly rich: green sea turtles, white tip reef sharks, octopus, large schools of convict tang and yellow tang, milletseed butterflyfish, spotted and zebra moray eels, scrawled filefish and the brilliantly coloured state fish, the reef triggerfish. The sand patches between tables are good places to find Hawaiian sole and the occasional banded boxer shrimp under coral heads.
Marathon, Florida
The Thunderbolt is a 57-metre former United States Army cable layer launched in 1942 as the Randolph and used for cable work and lightning research before being donated to Florida and scuttled four nautical miles south of Marathon on 7 March 1986. She landed perfectly upright on a sand bottom at 37 metres, with the main deck around 30 metres and the wheelhouse at about 24 metres. The wreck is famous for the resident colony of goliath grouper that gather around the bow in the warmer months, often joined by green moray eels and large schools of horse-eye jacks. The cable spool that gave the ship its working purpose is still in place on the bow and is one of the most photographed features. Currents on the site are moderate but vary with the Gulf Stream and tide. Penetration is possible for trained wreck divers; the holds and engine room have been opened up for safe transit. Advanced certification and good gas planning are required by most operators.
Makena, Hawaii
Turtle Town is the operator nickname for a cluster of collapsed lava tubes and small ledges along the south Maui coast off Makena, used by Hawaiian green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) as a long-term cleaning station. The site sits in 9 to 14 metres on a rocky reef and sand bottom, with several small archways and short swim-throughs that make for relaxed navigation. Resident reef fish, including saddle wrasse, gold-ring surgeonfish and yellow tang, act as cleaners, removing parasites, algae and dead skin from the turtles' shells while the animals hover patiently above the rocks. Encounters with three to ten turtles per dive are typical and habituation is so complete that many turtles ignore divers entirely. Other species seen on a regular basis include white tip reef sharks resting in the larger tubes, octopus tucked into the cracks, scrawled filefish, large midnight parrotfish and the Hawaiian state fish, the reef triggerfish. Currents are usually weak; visibility ranges from 15 to 25 metres depending on Maui channel conditions. The site is a year-round destination from Maui operators in Wailea and Kihei. South-facing swell can close it briefly in summer.
Morehead City, North Carolina
U-352 was a Type VIIC German U-boat that operated in the Battle of the Atlantic during WWII and was sunk in surface combat by the United States Coast Guard cutter USCGC Icarus on 9 May 1942 about 26 nautical miles southwest of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Of the 46 men aboard, 13 went down with the boat and 33 were rescued and became among the first German POWs of the war held in the United States. The wreck rests upright on a sand bottom at 34 metres in the warm Gulf Stream water that pushes onto the Continental Shelf here. The conning tower has collapsed, but the pressure hull is largely intact, with the bow and deck gun in their original positions. Sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus) regularly patrol the wreck through the warmer months and are the main attraction. Penetration is forbidden by NOAA regulation; the U-352 is a war grave. Visibility is excellent during Gulf Stream weeks (often 18 to 30 metres) but cold dark water can move in quickly.
Key Largo, Florida
The USCGC Bibb (WPG-31) is a 100-metre Treasury-class United States Coast Guard cutter, sister ship of the Duane, scuttled on 27 November 1987 along with the Duane in a joint ceremony just south of Molasses Reef. Unlike her sister, she did not land upright; the Bibb rolled and now rests on her starboard side at 40 metres with the port rail (effectively the highest point) at about 28 metres and the deck plane at around 33 metres. The orientation makes the dive more challenging: the wreck reads more like a wall than a deck, and most operators only run it for advanced divers in good conditions. Schools of horse-eye jacks, great barracuda, large goliath grouper and amberjack are common, with bull sharks occasionally patrolling. The ship sits on the edge of the Gulf Stream, so visibility is often excellent but currents are frequently strong. Penetration is possible for trained wreck divers but more disorienting than on the upright Duane.
Key Largo, Florida
The USCGC Duane (WPG-33) is a 100-metre Treasury-class United States Coast Guard cutter that served from 1936 through World War II and into the 1980s before being scuttled on 27 November 1987 just south of Molasses Reef as part of the Florida Keys artificial reef program. She landed perfectly upright on a sand bottom at 36 metres, with the main deck at around 30 metres and the crow's nest reaching up to about 18 metres, where it makes a useful safety-stop platform. The Duane is regarded as one of the best wreck dives in the continental United States for the combination of intact structure, abundant pelagic life and reliably good visibility. Goliath grouper, large barracuda schools, amberjack, blackfin tuna, eagle rays and bull and reef sharks are seen on most dives. Currents are frequently strong, sometimes requiring a live drop on the mooring line. Penetration is possible for trained wreck divers. The site sits within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary; mooring buoys are mandatory.
Key West, Florida
The USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg is a 159-metre former troop transport and Air Force missile-tracking ship that was sunk seven nautical miles south of Key West on 27 May 2009. Originally launched in 1943 as the General Harry Taylor, she later tracked Apollo, Mercury and Gemini missions from her array of distinctive radar dishes. Today she sits upright on a sand bottom at 43 metres with the main deck near 30 metres and the upper radar masts reaching as shallow as 12 metres, making her one of the largest intentionally sunk artificial reefs in the world. The huge structure attracts goliath grouper, large schools of horse-eye and bar jacks, great barracuda, and growing populations of sponges and stony corals on the upper decks. Currents are often strong because the wreck sits on the open Gulf Stream edge, and dives frequently turn into drift profiles. Penetration is technical-only; the interior is largely unmodified. Advanced certification, redundant air and good buoyancy are essential.
Pensacola, Florida
The USS Oriskany (CV-34) is a 270-metre Essex-class aircraft carrier that served the United States Navy from 1950 through Korea and Vietnam — including launching the strikes during which Senator John McCain was shot down. After decommissioning, she was prepared by the Navy and the State of Florida and scuttled as an artificial reef 22 nautical miles off Pensacola Beach on 17 May 2006, becoming the largest ship ever intentionally sunk and the largest artificial reef in the world. The carrier landed upright on the sand bottom at 65 metres, with the flight deck at around 45 metres and the island superstructure rising to about 24 metres, putting the upper sections within recreational reach for advanced air or deep nitrox divers. Schools of barracuda, amberjack, scamp grouper, almaco jacks and spadefish patrol the upper levels, while gag and goliath grouper hunt the lower decks. Penetration is technical only. Visibility 18 to 30 metres in summer; currents are usually moderate but the open-Gulf location means weather windows matter.
Morehead City, North Carolina
The USS Schurz was a 90-metre former German light cruiser, originally launched in 1894 as SMS Geier, that was seized in Honolulu when the United States entered the First World War in 1917 and recommissioned into the US Navy as a patrol vessel. On the foggy night of 21 June 1918 she collided with the SS Florida off Cape Lookout, North Carolina, and sank shortly afterward, making her one of very few WWI shipwrecks accessible to recreational divers in US waters. The wreck rests on a sand bottom at 33 metres about 30 nautical miles south of Morehead City. The bow section, boilers, engine and aft superstructure are still recognisable, with portholes, fittings and ammunition still in place. The site is heavily encrusted with sponges and hydroids and is a regular sand tiger shark aggregation site in the warmer months. Currents follow the Gulf Stream and visibility is reliably 18 to 30 metres in summer. Advanced certification required.
Morehead City, North Carolina
The USCGC Spar (WLB-403) was a 54-metre Iris-class United States Coast Guard buoy tender commissioned in 1944 that served Atlantic and Arctic duties for nearly six decades before being decommissioned in 1997. After cleaning and preparation by the North Carolina Aquariums and the Coast Guard, she was scuttled as an artificial reef on 11 June 2004 about 23 nautical miles south of Morehead City near the Aeolus and Schurz. She did not land upright; the Spar rolled and now rests on her starboard side at 33 metres, with the port rail (effectively the highest point) at about 24 metres. Penetration is possible for trained wreck divers via openings cut during preparation. The orientation makes navigation more difficult. The site is one of the most reliable dives for sand tiger shark aggregations in summer, joining the Aeolus and Papoose on the Discovery Diving roster of shark wrecks. Currents on the Stream edge can be moderate to strong; visibility 12 to 25 m.
Key Largo, Florida
The USS Spiegel Grove (LSD-32) is a 155-metre Thomaston-class dock landing ship that served the United States Navy from 1956 to 1989 and was scuttled as an artificial reef six nautical miles off Key Largo on 17 May 2002. The sinking did not go to plan: the ship rolled on its side and settled with the bow protruding from the surface, and it was not until Hurricane Dennis in 2005 that wave action finally rolled her upright on the sand. Today she rests in 40 metres with the deck around 24 metres and the superstructure as shallow as 18 metres, making her one of the largest intentionally sunk artificial reefs in the world. The wreck has been extensively prepared for divers, but penetration is recommended only for trained wreck divers and there are still tight spaces. Schools of horse-eye jacks, barracuda, goliath grouper, amberjack and the occasional bull shark patrol the structure, which is heavily encrusted with sponges, hydroids and corals. Currents are often strong; an advanced certification is the minimum recommended.
Deerfield Beach, Florida
Veterans Reef is a cluster of artificial reef modules off Deerfield Beach in Broward County, Florida, established in stages by the Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach artificial reef programs to honour American veterans. The reef sits in 20 to 23 metres of water and includes purpose-built concrete modules, decommissioned military hardware (including reefed Marine Corps tracks and engineering equipment) and several smaller wrecks. The site is moored, accessible by short charter from Deerfield, and is a regular goliath grouper aggregation site through the late-summer spawning months. Resident reef life includes large schools of yellowtail snapper, French and grey angelfish, queen triggerfish, hogfish, southern stingrays on the surrounding sand, spotted moray eels in the modules and lionfish (invasive Pterois) around the structure. The Gulf Stream is close enough that currents are usually moderate and visibility is reliably 12 to 25 metres. The site pairs well with the nearby SS Copenhagen wreck.
Whitefish Point, Michigan
The Vienna was a 58-metre wooden bulk freighter built in 1873 in Cleveland that sank on 17 September 1892 after colliding with the steamer Nipigon off Whitefish Point in eastern Lake Superior. Whitefish Point is the graveyard of more than 200 ships, including the famous Edmund Fitzgerald, and is now a Michigan Underwater Preserve. The Vienna lies upright and remarkably intact on a flat clay bottom at 44 metres, with masts still in place, the rudder swung over and her steam engine and boiler at the stern fully exposed. The cold fresh water of Lake Superior preserves wood almost indefinitely; brass fittings and deadeyes look as though installed yesterday. Visibility in late summer is regularly 15 to 25 metres but water temperature stays just above 4 C even in August at depth. Dry suit and advanced or technical certification with redundancy are required, and the site is weather-dependent: Lake Superior storms close access for weeks.
Ponce de Leon, Florida
Vortex Spring is a privately operated freshwater dive resort in the Florida Panhandle near Ponce de Leon, fed by a first-magnitude spring that pushes 100 million litres per day at a constant 22 C. The open basin is a sand-and-limestone bowl from the surface to about 17 metres, equipped with platforms, training stations, sunken VW Beetle, school bus, and various playthings for instructors. From the bottom of the bowl, the spring vent itself drops as a cavern into a long cave system that has been mapped to over 1,500 metres of passage at depths to 35 metres or more (cave training required to enter). The shallow open area is one of the most popular open-water training spots in the southeast and the site runs full-time scuba operations including training, gear rental and on-site accommodation. Resident species include native fish such as bluegill, largemouth bass, small turtles and the occasional eel. Visibility in the open bowl is gin-clear, often exceeding 30 metres. Wetsuits recommended for thermal comfort beyond a single dive.
Galveston, Texas
West Flower Garden Bank is the larger and more frequently visited of the two coral-capped salt domes that gave Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary its name, sitting about 12 nautical miles west of East Flower Garden Bank in the Gulf of Mexico. The reef crest rises to about 17 metres below the surface and supports the same dense, healthy coral cover as the eastern bank: massive boulder star, brain and great star coral form the matrix, with Caribbean reef fish weaving through. Coral spawning here is one of the most studied annual events in the Gulf, occurring eight nights after the August full moon. Manta rays from the resident northern Gulf population are reliable summer visitors, whale sharks aggregate August to September following spawning, and scalloped hammerhead schools come in over winter. Other regulars include large green moray eels, queen triggerfish, French and queen angelfish, schools of creole wrasse and resident goliath grouper. Visibility is usually 25 to 35 metres. Liveaboard only.
Dry Tortugas, Florida
The Windjammer Wreck is the popular name for the remains of the Avanti, a 76-metre Norwegian iron-hulled three-masted barque that ran aground on Loggerhead Reef in the Dry Tortugas in January 1907 while carrying timber from Pensacola to Montevideo, Uruguay. All hands made it to nearby Loggerhead Key and were eventually rescued. The wreck has broken up but the iron ribs, plating and the famous bow remain clearly recognisable in just 4 to 6 metres of water inside Dry Tortugas National Park. It is a popular snorkel-and-shallow-dive site on the Yankee Freedom day trip from Key West and on liveaboard itineraries. Marine life is dense: nurse sharks dozing under the plate sections, large jewfish (goliath grouper) over the sand, spotted eagle rays, large schools of grunts and schoolmasters, queen and grey angelfish, hawksbill turtles, and the occasional barracuda. Visibility regularly exceeds 25 metres. The site is inside a no-take park; nothing may be removed.
Kenosha, Wisconsin
The Wisconsin was a 99-metre steel passenger and package freight steamer built in 1881 in Detroit. On 21 October 1929, while running from Chicago to Milwaukee in a heavy gale, she took on water through hull seams that had been weakened by years of ice; despite a rescue effort by the Coast Guard, she sank with the loss of nine of the 75 people aboard. She rests upright on a flat clay bottom at 40 metres about three nautical miles off Kenosha, Wisconsin, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The deck and bulwarks are intact at around 35 metres, with the wheelhouse, smokestack base and the steam engine still recognisable. The cold fresh water has preserved the iron and steel well. Visibility ranges from 6 to 15 metres depending on lake conditions, and water temperature stays near 4 C at depth. Dry suit, advanced or technical certification and good gas planning are essential.
Edmonds, Washington
Wolf Eel City is the local nickname for a particular glacial boulder pile on the Possession Sound side of Whidbey Island in Puget Sound, Washington, named for the consistent population of breeding pairs of wolf eels (Anarrhichthys ocellatus) that live in dens between the boulders. Wolf eels are not true eels but elongated members of the wolffish family, can grow to 2 metres, and pair-bond for life in the same den; the site is one of the most reliable places in North America to encounter them in their natural setting. The pile sits in 21 to 30 metres on a sand bottom, accessed by boat from Edmonds. Other regular species include giant Pacific octopus, lingcod up to a metre, kelp greenling, painted greenling, copper and quillback rockfish, Puget Sound king crab and large fields of metridium and sun anemones. Visibility 6 to 12 metres depending on plankton; cold water year-round (8 to 12 C). Dry suit and advanced certification mandatory.
San Diego, California
Wreck Alley is the local nickname for the cluster of artificial reef wrecks sunk by the San Diego Oceans Foundation about 2 km off Mission Beach to provide structure for marine life and a regular dive playground for the city. The cluster includes the 111-metre former Canadian destroyer HMCS Yukon, the 50-metre Coast Guard cutter Ruby E and the 30-metre fishing trawler El Rey, plus the research platform NOSC Tower (Naval Ocean Systems Center research tower) sunk in pieces alongside. All sit in 24 to 30 metres on the same sand plain and operators run the alley as multi-tank days. The structures are carpeted in metridium anemones, hydroids and sponges, and host large lingcod, blue rockfish, sheephead, the occasional giant black sea bass, schools of blacksmith and California sea lions cruising through. Visibility 6 to 18 metres depending on plankton and runoff. Intermediate certification recommended; the Yukon is on her side and advanced for penetration.
Honolulu, Hawaii
The YO-257 is a 53-metre former United States Navy yard oiler that served from 1944 through the Vietnam era refuelling fleet vessels around the Pacific. She was decommissioned, cleaned and sunk on 10 June 1989 by Atlantis Submarines about a mile off Waikiki to act both as an artificial reef and as a stop on their tourist submarine routes. The wreck sits upright on a sand bottom at 35 metres with the main deck at around 27 metres and the railings as shallow as 24 metres, making her a perfectly framed deep dive for advanced air or nitrox divers. Multiple openings allow safe penetration into the cargo holds. The site shares a mooring with the smaller San Pedro fishing trawler nearby, and the two are usually combined into one dive. Marine life is excellent for an Oahu wreck: large green sea turtles cruise the deck, white tip reef sharks rest in the lower holds, and schools of pyramid butterflyfish and milletseed butterflyfish work the rails. Currents are typically moderate.
Jupiter, Florida
The Zion Train is a 50-metre former cargo freighter built in 1965 that worked Caribbean trade routes before being decommissioned and sunk as an artificial reef on 17 May 2003 about 1.5 nautical miles off Jupiter Inlet, Florida. The name and a memorial plaque honour reggae musician Bob Marley. She landed upright on a sand bottom at 27 metres with the main deck around 24 metres and the highest superstructure at about 18 metres. The wreck has matured into a heavily encrusted reef of tube sponges, corals and gorgonians. From August through October it is one of the most reliable Florida sites for the goliath grouper spawning aggregation, with 30 to 100 large adults gathering on and around the ship. Schools of horse-eye jacks, barracuda, queen angelfish, and the occasional bull shark are also seen. Currents from the Gulf Stream can be very strong; Jupiter operators run drift dives with surface markers and an experienced live-boat captain.
