Lugano Wreck

Lugano Wreck is the remains of a British steamer, lying about 25 feet underwater on Long Reef. It is one of six mapped stops on Biscayne’s Maritime Heritage Trail and is best suited to scuba divers. You reach it by boat, so this is a specialized stop rather than a casual island visit. If you want the wreck’s story without diving, the park’s virtual trail includes 3D scans of its wrecks.

On March 9, 1913, Lugano was sailing from Liverpool toward Havana with 116 passengers and cargo that included silks, wines, rice and other food valued at $1 million at the time. High winds and heavy seas drove the ship aground on Long Reef while it was significantly off course. The tug Rescue brought the passengers safely to Key West; the captain and crew stayed aboard.

Wreckers removed cargo and tried to pump the vessel out. The crew abandoned ship on April 4, but efforts to refloat it continued until April 15, when it was declared a total loss. Lugano was the largest vessel known to have wrecked on the Florida reefs up to that point. Its story did not end there: a yacht struck the wreck in 1917, and a navigation warning followed in 1920.

The park lists three moorings for Lugano. Approach slowly, keep a backup plan in case a buoy is damaged or missing, and limit your boat’s use of any one mooring to four hours. The app pin marks the wreck area; use current nautical charts and the park’s mooring information for actual navigation.