Big Pine Key, Florida, United States

Adolphus Busch Sr.

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.