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Adolphus Busch Wreck
 The Keys, FL
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Max Depth: 121-130ft/37-40m
Average Viz: 36-40ft/11-12m
Entry Type: Boat
Bottom Composition: Sand
Aquatic Life: Big Animals
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Rating: 4.50 by 4 divers
Winter: 81-85°F/27-29°C
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Adolphus Busch Wreck is a boat accessible salt water dive site, located in The Keys, FL. This dive site has an average rating of 4.50 out of 5 from 4 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 121-130ft/37-40m. The average visibility is 36-40ft/11-12m.
The Adolphus Busch has transformed into a great Wreck Dive just offshore in the Florida Keys On December 5, 1998 the Adolphus Busch was sank intentionally along the reef in the Florida Keys. Yes, this is the family that owns the Busch Brewing Co. It sits upright in the sand in one hundred feet of water. The coordinates for the wreck are Latitude 24-31-841 N and Longitude 081-27-688 W. Usually when they sink a ship that is to become an artificial reef they blow holes below the waterline with explosives. This one was sank inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. That meant explosives were not allowed. They decided to use plan “B” to sink the Busch. This meant cutting large holes, twelve of them in the ship above the waterline. She was towed out to the site where she would be sunk then water was pumped into her. It was cool to watch. When the water began entering the ship through the holes that had been cut, she went under really fast. It landed just as they had hoped, it’s in the upright position. The ship is a 210’ long freighter. I just punch the Bush in on my GPS and hit the navigate button and it’s 8.5 miles from where I’m sitting at my computer. The heading is 188 degrees, that’s just west of due south. It’s between Looe Key Reef and American Shoal Lighthouse. There are four mooring buoy’s at the Busch. Two are for fishing and two are for diving. This is written on the mooring buoys. The Adolphus Busch wreck is for snorkeling and diving . The ships tower rises up to within 40’ of the surface of the water. Because the ship is in deep water, you’ll have good visibility most of the time. Some of the divers use Nitrox for this dive. I use just regular dive tanks with no special gases. I use the aluminum 80. This is too deep for my hookah. The hoses on the hookah could also be a problem around a wreck dive. From the surface you can see the tower of the Adolphus Busch. As you go deeper the whole ship comes into view. You get to the tower first at 40’ down, then at 85’ down you get to the main deck. If you go into the wreck and go down into the cargo hold, you’ll be below the sand. That part sits 112’ down. The weight of the ship and shifting sand have buried that much of the ship.