The Ship that Capsized and Sank by its Dock

I always find it interesting to read about and listen to stories about the shipwrecks I dive. I have so far not seen or heard any other shipwreck with a warning sign attached to it, "dont eat fish caught on this ship wreck, though it might contain Hepatitis A!" 

The Coast Guard cutter Nemesis was launched from Virginia 1934 but permanently stationed here in St Petersburg to find and rescue people from the water. The storms and hurricanes kept the vessel busy rescuing hundreds of people and towing their boats and ships from the Gulf of Mexico to the safer Tampa Bay. With the war came German submarines targeting oil tankers from Texas and South America so the Nemesis got the mission to hunt down those submarines. It was successfull doing that and after the war it continued to going out from St Petersburg to rescue people. Nemesis was taken out of work 1964 and a business bought the vessel to transform it to a floating restaurant in 1979. The business rebuilt the boat but sold it when it ran out of money. The new owner, who changed the name Nemesis to The Ancient Mariner were planning on opening the restaurant 1981 but the ship capsized and sank just before opening at the dock for no clear reason. She had to go through renovation again at a cost of $ 85 000. The Ancient Mariner became so a popular eaterie in the Fort Lauderdale area. Only five years later, and locals still remember this, was there an outbreak of Hepatitis A coming from one of the kitchen staff through the salad on board. That was the largest Hepatitis A outbreak in Floridas history! But calm down, if you have gotten a vaccine towards Hepatitis A, you should have no problem eating fish that is caught on the shipwreck!

The Ancient Mariner was sunk 22 years ago, 1991, as part of Brovards artificial reef program. The 165 ft Cutter rest in 70 ft of water not far from Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton, where Gulfport Dive Center is going to dive next weekend the 16-17th of March. If you want to join us on this dive trip visit www.divegulfport.com for more information.

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