USCGC Duane

Few working ships earn a half-century of service as varied as the Duane's. Commissioned in 1936, the 327-foot cutter escorted North Atlantic convoys in the Second World War — taking part with her sister Spencer in the 1943 action that destroyed U-175 and rescuing survivors from the sea — then went on to weather-station duty, Vietnam gunfire support and decades of search-and-rescue and drug interdiction. When she was retired in 1985 she was the oldest active US military vessel afloat. Two years later she was cleaned and sent down south of Molasses Reef, one day after her sister ship Bibb, to seed the Keys' artificial-reef program. The two settled differently: the Bibb lies on her side in deeper water, while the Duane sits perfectly upright at about 37 meters, mast still standing, wheelhouse open to the blue. Bathed in Gulf Stream water, she has grown a vivid crust of sponge and coral and often delivers the clearest, fishiest big-wreck dive in the upper Keys — when the same current that feeds her allows a comfortable descent.

How she sank: Deliberately scuttled as an artificial reef off Key Largo, 27 November 1987.

Condition: Upright and notably intact, mast and crow's nest standing; among the most photogenic profiles in Florida wreck diving

Penetration: Limited. Open hatches invite a look, but interior spaces are confined and silty; anything past the doorways is for trained wreck divers. Entering any overhead environment requires specific training — a wreck certification at minimum, technical wreck training for full penetration.

Recommended certification: Advanced Open Water

Current: Strong · Visibility: 15–30 m

Marine life: Great barracuda stack in the current above the mast, horse-eye jacks wheel around the superstructure, goliath grouper visit the hull, and the rails bloom with encrusting sponge and cup corals.

Hazards: Strong current, depth, and fishing line snagged across the rigging

Within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary — mooring buoys only, and artifact removal is prohibited