Carysfort Reef

At the northern boundary of Key Largo's National Marine Sanctuary and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a reef system named after the frigate that long ago ran aground at this site -- the M.S. Carysfort.

You won't find a crowd of dive boats here, as a matter of fact, you may have it all to yourself. Only the dive operators in northern-most Key Largo run trips to Carysfort on a semi-regular basis.

The tower marks the end of shallow water and the beginning of a relatively steep drop-off to the sandy bottom at 65 feet. A gang of barracudas guards the tower area in the shallows. Large sponges and healthy grouper can be found between 60 and 120 feet.n