MIAMI-DADE/SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – The largest man-made reef ever created, right off Miami-Dade County. And Suncoast divers are planning a dive at the site.
It’s the ultimate circle of life; but instead of on land, it’s in the sea. And it involves an underwater burial …
“Sure, you go to see memorials and you have that feeling, that ‘awe feeling,’ but this is just magnified underwater,” Sarasota Florida Underwater Sports instructor, LeeAnn Patterson said.
The Neptune Memorial Reef is known as an undersea tribute to life.
“When a family goes out there and they’ve lost someone, and they’re in the water,” Neptune Memorial Reef’s Operations Director,” Jim Hutslar said. “There’s something about the water that just takes the grief away.”
It’s three miles off the coast of Miami Beach. Hutslar says it began years ago as an artist conception of the ‘Lost Sea of Atlantis,’ but then turned into an eco-friendly alternative to burial.
“So we have a lot of coral that’s already growing there, and it’s to the point where the original features, you can’t really see the details because it’s just covered with the growth,” Hutslar said. “It’s the most prolific reef in Florida.”
There are 56 different species of fish among 195 coral colonies.
“We’re the only place on the planet that has a stationary, artificial reef site that’s a dive site,” Hutslar said.
Experienced divers from Sarasota say the most exciting part is how life is recreating life, but in a place that’s not drifting away from you.
“Here, we have a reef ball company, which I love the idea, you get your ashes put in, you get a plaque on the reef ball,” Patterson said. “But you don’t know where the reef ball is, you have to go hunt for it, you might find it, you might not. But here, you can just drop down go right to the spot where you want to visit your family member.”
It’s only 40-feet underwater so all divers can experience it. It’s a way to celebrate life in life.
“This is where you see the remains of your loved ones, surrounded by living life,”Sarasota Florida Underwater Sports instructor, Carl Brady said. “And what a perfect example of the circle of life; it’s right there in front of you, and you’re emerged in it, unlike anywhere else, you’re actually a part of it.”
The first phase is only an acre with 1000 memorials in place today. And the latest phase is expected to be 16 acres with room for 250,000 memorials.
