The waters around Miami's South Beach are a virtual shipwreck city. Dade County's Department of Environmental Resources Management began a hugely successful program for artificial reef development in 1981 by sinking a steel-hulled tugboat called the Orion. Since then, they have added various wrecks, including an oil platform, three dozen ships and freighters , a pair of army tanks, radio towers, con- crete pyramids and the fuselage of a Boeing 727. Tenneco Oil Platform, the most popular of these sites, is covered with orange cup coral and frequented by bull sharks, barracuda and amberjack. The platform is home to several hundred more fish species. Miami's shipwrecks are accessible by dive boats that leave from the Miami Beach Marina. To get there from downtown Miami, head east on the 395 MacArthur Causeway, which ends in South Beach. Take 395 to Alton Road. The marina will be on your right. For more information on diving in the area, contact South Beach Divers, 888-331-DIVE, southbeachdivers.com.
Located underwater at the Key Largo Dry Rocks Reef is the famous but crowded Christ of the Abyss. The nine-foot bronze statue was donated to the Underwater Society of America by an Italian diving group in 1961. It is a replica of a statue off the coast of Genoa, Italy, dedicated to the marine life of the world's reefs. Pay a visit and share the experience with the locals: French angelfish, blue tangs, scorpionfish , yellowtail snappers and squirrel fish. Two- location , two-tank dives leave twice a day ($2.50 entrance fee, $37 for two dives. Equipment rental and PADI courses available). From Miami, take US 1 south to Mile Marker 102.5 and look for the park entrance on the left. All local operators also dive in Pennekamp. For more information and reservations, call 305-451-6322, www.pennekamppark.com.
