Cottrell Key is on the Gulf side of Key West, so it makes a good snorkeling spot for days when the reef is just too rough.  Scuba divers will find that this spot is too shallow since it’s about 10 to 20 feet deep.   There are mooring buoeys here, and you just follow the northwest passage out of Key West harbor, so it’s a convenient spot to aim for.

Cottrell Key is part of chain of uninhabited islands leading from Key West out to the Marquesas, and has lots of little coral patches as well as a wreck near it.  Just tie up at the second bouey you come to from Key West and look for debris on the bottom, evidence of some old wreck.  There are lots of hogfish at Cottrell Key, as well as lots of really healthy looking coral and schools of fish.  If you’re used to diving or snorkeling on the Atlantic side of Key West, you’ll notice a difference in the abundance of coral and, in season, schools of bait fish.  Look for the large jewfish under a rock at the first bouey.

Small Bait Fish at Cottrell Key

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Joe’s Tug has a great story behind its sinking, although much of the circumstances around the actual events remain a mystery to most, even to this day.  Joe’s Tug is an old shrimp boat sunk in not very deep water, just south of Key West.  Because it was made of steel, you can still see the shape of the hull, and it makes a good beginner’s dive since it’s not that deep.  For snorkelers and freedivers, if the vis is good and you can dive down a bit, say around 50 feet,  you will see Joe’s Tug.

Back  in the 80′s, when apparently nobody kept an eye on the harbor too much, Joe’s Tug was docked and ready to be towed to Miami to become an artificial reef.  She had been stripped of dangerous pollutants and readied for sinking.  Sometime in the night, some locals decided they’d like the new reef a little closer to home.  So they stole it and planned to sink it in their own secret spot.

They didn’t make it to their secret spot and the thing sank in 65 feet of water where it is now.  Her position has been slightly modified by past hurricanes and it sits upright in the water.  A lot of the local dive shops that run boats for scuba divers love to take their customers to Joe’s Tug.

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The Alexander Wreck is named after Chet Alexander who purchased the ship for scrap in 1962. The actual name of the vessel is the the USS Amesbury. It was meant to be sank in deeper water but ran aground and then broke apart in a storm.  The wreck lies in two pieces, one of which is so shallow it is a navigational hazard and is marked with a buoy.

The ship is in 20-30 of water and the visibility of the water in the area is highly variable. The wreck is good spot to dive when there are strong easterly or southern winds, making the the Atlantic side less friendly.  The ship is home to thousands of fish, and if you look inside you will see schools of lane snappers, jewfish , spade fish and others.

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Alexander Wreck is unique because it’s the only shipwreck that’s explorable by beginner snorkelers.   This shipwreck offers even those who stay in the boat a glimpse of a real live shipwreck and the colorful coral that grows everywhere on its surface.  For those interested in shipwrecks or underwater photography but who might still be beginners in either  hobby, this is a defiinte Key West dive site to put on your list.

Since it’s in the Gulf, where vis can be a little murky much of the time, it’s good to arrange your snorkeling or dive trip to include other spots as well.  Try Cottrell Key on the way to Alexandar’s Wreck.   Both Cottrell Key and Alexandar’s Wreck are also good destinations when the wind is blowing hard from the South.  The land mass of Key West will protect you a bit from the choppiness.