For the last two years, volunteers have joined forces with Port Authority working on a decommissioned ship that is scheduled to be sunk in the gulf to become part of Bendickson Reef tomorrow.
The hope, Frank Santo, chairman of the Hernando County Port Authority, said in a recent statement, is to "attract more of the same type of fish that go into the main reef, but hopefully in larger schools, and it will also attract different types of fish that don’t go on the more flat-based reefs.”
Volunteers have spent hundreds of hours on the project, most recently drilling holes in the "ghost ship” which has been sitting on Hernando Beach for the last 14 years.
Built in the mid-'80s the ship is made of ferro cement, making it ideal for the project.
"Any other boat might not have worked, but because this boat is made out of ferro cement, that’s the key to this whole thing,” Santo added.
The official name is Adventure Coast, to attract tourist and attention to the area.
The ship will also become the Adventure Coast's first wreck dive site.
Stephen Barton, vice chairman of the Hernando County Port Authority, shared his excitement as the project comes to an end. "It’s going to be thrilling when it goes down. I’ve never sunk a big boat like this. I’ve sunk a few small ones involuntarily, but not a big one like this.”
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This article appears in Apr 18-25, 2019.