The Less Traveled Reef: Going Deep Reveals Abundant and Unusual Sealife

There are a few places in the outer edges of the Florida Keys reef tract that are a whole different world. Deep French, Deep Elbow and Deep Molasses are quite different than the shallower namesakes. The contours begin around 50 feet, and usually bottom out in the 80 to 90 foot range. Nitrox is the preferred gas on these dives, with a mix of 32 to 36 percent preferred. Once you are down the line the first thing you notice is the abundance and variety of tube and barrel sponges. There is a very different feel to these dives, and I would encourage you, if you have a boat full of advanced or higher level divers, to give these sites a try. Again, these dives are not for beginners. These are advanced dives. We have done them as drift dives as well. The perfect scenario would be a sixpack operator or private boat with experienced dive buddies.