Spiegel Grove

Few artificial reefs in the Atlantic have the sheer presence of the USS Spiegel Grove. At 155 metres long, the former Landing Ship Dock is one of the largest vessels ever intentionally sunk for recreational diving, and she dominates any dive plan that includes her. She rests about ten kilometres off Key Largo in roughly 40 metres of water, and the top of her superstructure comes up to around 15 to 18 metres. That range is what makes her so versatile. Open Water divers get a long swim over the upper decks with the ship's sheer bulk rising underneath them, while experienced teams can drop to the hull and work their way back up along the side. The Spiegel Grove has a story that even casual divers tend to remember. She was originally scuttled in 2002 and promptly misbehaved, sinking early and rolling onto her starboard side. Two years later Hurricane Dennis passed through the Keys and, in one of the strangest navigational footnotes of the decade, rolled her upright. She has sat stable and keel down ever since, which is the configuration you will dive today. Currents on site swing from slack to demanding, and local operators will happily abort a dive if the forecast turns nasty. PADI Advanced Open Water with Deep and Wreck specialties is the honest minimum. Nitrox will stretch your bottom time and reduce the surface interval penalty, particularly if you are diving her twice in a day, which is the usual move. Expect to see goliath groupers sheltering inside the hull, schooling horse eye jacks in the water column, barracuda orbiting the masts, and reef sharks cruising the sand at depth. Conditions are generally best from late spring through early autumn, though the wreck dives year round. Summer offers the best visibility, often above 25 metres, while winter can bring a sharper thermocline and a more active pelagic window.