We live up north now, but I am originally from Miami. My dad was a Navy diver and worked in the boating industry in Miami for many years--and even dove the Miami river (!) from time to time. He passed away in June of this year, and I have been considering the Neptune Memorial Reef for him since then. It seemed like a fitting tribute to his life and we all liked the idea of visiting him on the reef and seeing it grow over the years. Our son is an avid diver and hopefully dad's future great-grandchildren will be, too!
I didn't want to commit until I had actually seen it myself, particularly after I saw a youtube video with a diver carrying a speargun on the Memorial Reef. That made me uncomfrotable, although I was assured that hunting is not allowed in that area. Frankly, I also worried that the reef might be a little cheesy.
We made a special trip down to Miami and dove with RJ divers (they were very good, btw). There were way too many divers for such a small site, IMHO. Someone caught a lobster, but there was no spearfishing.
The reef is smaller than I expected, but there is also a lot more growth than I expected. None of us found it cheesy at all, so that was one worry dismissed; it was actually quite lovely. Not a lot of fish, but there is a resident spotted moray and a pair of Queen Angelfish. Obviously this is a work in progress, but as a new reef that provides food and shelter for various reef fish and creatures, it does seem to be working.
There are only about 2 dozen or so plaques (or so it seemed to us) and some of them, although new, are already difficult to read. I guess family members could bring a toothbrush to clean them--that's what my dad made us do every time we went out on our boat!--or they could let nature take its course.
We are still weighing the pros and cons and haven't made any final decisions yet. But stopping at a dive shop in West Palm, we saw an advetisement for some kind of treasure hunt on the reef planned for this weekend. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Granted, this isn't an actual cemetery, but is it an amusement park? I don't expect people to be solemn, but perhaps respectful of the reef's purpose? One pays to have the loved one's cremated remains placed there, with the idea that you are helping establish a new reef and that the loved one is now part of the ocean he loved and cherished. I would think a bunch of divers on a "hunt" might be potential danger to all that new growth. Already the backs of the lions are suspiciously bare of growth (do people "sit" on them for photos, I wonder?)
In any case, these are some of my initial thoughts and impressions. I would love to hear other diver's opinions on the experience of diving Neptune Memorial Reef.
I didn't want to commit until I had actually seen it myself, particularly after I saw a youtube video with a diver carrying a speargun on the Memorial Reef. That made me uncomfrotable, although I was assured that hunting is not allowed in that area. Frankly, I also worried that the reef might be a little cheesy.
We made a special trip down to Miami and dove with RJ divers (they were very good, btw). There were way too many divers for such a small site, IMHO. Someone caught a lobster, but there was no spearfishing.
The reef is smaller than I expected, but there is also a lot more growth than I expected. None of us found it cheesy at all, so that was one worry dismissed; it was actually quite lovely. Not a lot of fish, but there is a resident spotted moray and a pair of Queen Angelfish. Obviously this is a work in progress, but as a new reef that provides food and shelter for various reef fish and creatures, it does seem to be working.
There are only about 2 dozen or so plaques (or so it seemed to us) and some of them, although new, are already difficult to read. I guess family members could bring a toothbrush to clean them--that's what my dad made us do every time we went out on our boat!--or they could let nature take its course.
We are still weighing the pros and cons and haven't made any final decisions yet. But stopping at a dive shop in West Palm, we saw an advetisement for some kind of treasure hunt on the reef planned for this weekend. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Granted, this isn't an actual cemetery, but is it an amusement park? I don't expect people to be solemn, but perhaps respectful of the reef's purpose? One pays to have the loved one's cremated remains placed there, with the idea that you are helping establish a new reef and that the loved one is now part of the ocean he loved and cherished. I would think a bunch of divers on a "hunt" might be potential danger to all that new growth. Already the backs of the lions are suspiciously bare of growth (do people "sit" on them for photos, I wonder?)
In any case, these are some of my initial thoughts and impressions. I would love to hear other diver's opinions on the experience of diving Neptune Memorial Reef.
