Copenhagen and Nursery Trip (2 Tank Open Water Level)

Dive Sites are subject to current and weather conditions. The captain has final say on Dive locations. SS Copenhagen (20'), a 19th Century British cargo steamer, struck a reef in 25 feet of water off present-day Lauderdale-By-The-Sea on May 26, 1900. The wreck is one of 11 Florida underwater archaeological preserves; it became the state's fifth shipwreck preserve in June 1994 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Constructed in England and launched in 1898, the steamer's final voyage began on May 20, 1900, when it left Philadelphia for Cuba carrying 5,000 tons of black coal. Six days later, the ship accidentally slammed into a reef three-quarters of a mile offshore. The wreck is located almost directly off the Sea Watch Restaurant. The bulk of the ship's cargo was removed. Salvage crews were preparing to pull the vessel off the reef when they were ordered to abandon Copenhagen and respond to the Hoboken Docks Fire. The ship remained above water for decades and was used as target practice by U.S. Navy pilots during World War II. What remains of its structure has become part of the Pompano Dropoff Reef, where it provides a home for spiny lobsters, tropical fish and other marine life. Divers sometimes report seeing small lumps of coal and spent ammunition shells on the site.