Alicia Wreck

Alicia is a submerged iron-hulled steamer on Long Reef: 345 feet long, with three masts, and one of six mapped sites on Biscayne’s Maritime Heritage Trail. It’s a boat-only stop and best suited to scuba diving, so don’t plan it as a snorkel-first wreck.

Built in Scotland in 1883, Alicia sailed from Liverpool toward Havana. A storm drove her onto Long Reef on April 20, 1905; a passing ship took the crew on to Havana. Her cargo was valued at more than $1 million at the time and included silk, silverware, furniture, pianos, wine and a complete iron bridge.

Captain “Hog” Johnson, a Key West schooner captain and master wrecker, reached Alicia first. More than 70 other wreckers joined the salvage effort, and the competing claims led to a permanent rewriting of U.S. salvage laws. The wreck’s story keeps going long after the ship hit the reef.

There are four named moorings around the wreck. Their listed depths range from 16 to 20 feet, and one boat can use a mooring for up to four hours. The map pin marks Alicia 3 (SW), the listed mooring closest to the wreck’s official point; don’t use it as a navigation fix. Check current charts and buoy conditions and have a backup plan, since a buoy may be damaged or missing. For an underwater photo, frame a section of the coral-covered wreck with fish nearby so both the ship and reef life read clearly.