Wickstrom Reef

Wickstrom Reef is a deep wreck off Stuart in Martin County, roughly 9 to 10 miles out from St. Lucie Inlet. The reef is a steel coastal freighter, 168 feet long by the county's records, that served as US Army supply vessel FS-553 and later sailed as the Lady Laura and the Tauros. Florida Sportsman founder Karl Wickstrom and the Martin County Anglers Club bought her for a reef, and she was sunk in January 2003. She sits on the bottom in about 188 feet (57 m) of water, with her deck near 160 feet and the top of her mast near 120 feet. Grouper, amberjack and spadefish gather on the wreck, and Warsaw grouper have been seen here. Ivory tree coral, a deep-water coral, has settled on parts of the hull. Wickstrom is a boat dive only, well offshore. The Gulf Stream often runs over the wreck, especially in summer, so a delayed surface marker buoy for the ascent is standard. This is a technical dive beyond recreational limits. It needs mixed-gas technical training and a full technical setup, and Advanced Open Water alone does not qualify.