Wrong GPS coord. in Ned DeLoach's Underwater Florida

I just did a wreck dive a couple weeks ago and was very disappointed not to be able to find the wreck. Granted the vis. was poor for the open ocean ( maybe 20-30 ft), but nonetheless it was frustrating. This was for the Biscayne Wreck/Miracle Express.

After reviewing the book some more, it seems that there is a discrepancy in the GPS coords. First of all the Biscayne wreck/ Miracle Express has two sets of coords. The one in the title says Lat 25.42.263 Lon 80.05.302 and then another set of coords. saying 25.40.194, 80.040.358.

I believe the true coords. may be the latter of the two.

Also, looking at the Sheri-Lynn which is described as being 300 yards due east of the Biscayne Wreck, its coords. are 25.40.090, 80.04.223. Clearly something is amiss.

And finally looking at the Rio Miami which is described as being 100 yards from both the Biscayne/Miracle Express and the Sheri-Lynn, its coords. are 25.42.166, 80.05.232.

At least one of these has to be wrong. Any help here would be greatly appreciated. I'm going to try the Biscayne wreck again tomorrow afternoon, but this time I'm going to try the second set of coords. I'll let you know how it goes!

Hurricanes can move wrecks off their coordinates, you guys just got hit by quite a few of them... just a thought.

Lots of coordinate problems are because there are 3 common formats:

dd.ddddd (degrees + decimal degrees)

dd mm.mmm' (degrees, minutes, decimal minutes)

dd mm' ss" (degrees, minutes, seconds.)
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A second possible confusion factor is a change of datum. When in doubt, just use WGS84, although older data may be referenced to NAD27.

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When you try to adjust the coordinates of one wreck by the distance off to the other wreck, 100 yards will be 0.050 minutes, or 3 seconds of latitude. At your latitude 100 yards will be about 0.55 minutes or 3.3 seconds of longitude.

GOOD LUCK!

Most published GPS #s are extrapolated from LORAN #s rather than a direct reading.When I use Ned's #s on my LORAN they have usually been right.At least in the NE Fla,E.C.Fla and the Keys.

Well, so much for my alternate GPS coords. 25.40.194, 80.040.358 puts you in 300+ feet of water so that didn't work.

We decided to do a wreck we did a couple months ago - the Belcher Barge. The coords. of 25.41.810, 80.05.280 are right on the money. We also had enough time to see the Belzone 3 tug just south. Baracuda, stingray, and zillions of fish. What a beautiful dive! Current was a bit strong.