THE "BERRY PATCH
Location: S of Deerfield Beach rock piles, 75' inside the Third Reef, 1 mile offshore.
Description: A 65' harbor tug, cleaned out so one can swim safely through it, sits in sand just out of sight, about 125' from the edge of Third Reef, upright & almost NW-SE, with the stern SE. Go about 100' to a badly broken up steel hull, NNW of the tug. She was sunk in Aug 1987. A 50' steel houseboat is reported 100' to the S W. Hurricane "Andrew" tossed the wrecks about. There is other debris off the port side of the tug.
Depth: 65' on the sandy bottom, rising to 55' on the tug wheelhouse.
Critters: A variety of small tropicals infest the wreck. Invertebrates, and particularly hydroids, etc., growing in profusion on the steel provide a food source for grazing fish. Reef fish migrate to the wreck & pelagics (amberjack, mackerel, chub) sometimes come in to feed. Good place to catch small tropicals. I have seen a colony of garden eels all around this wreck!
Cautions: The wreck has been torn up by the hurricane. Be careful. Fly your DIVER DOWN flag. Anchor with lots of scope so your anchor will hold in the sand.
Remarks: This is another of the wrecks sunk by the Broward County Artificial Reef organization.
Site information by Ray McAllister, Prof (Emeritus) Ocean Eng., FAU, Boca Raton, FL 33064 Diving Dinosaur, Geologist/Oceanographer/Ocean Engineer, 44 years SCUBA
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mcallist@gate.net (954) 426-0808,
Author Diving Locations, Boynton/Dania