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Be
a Sea Fan
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Photo
courtesy Robert Gauthier
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Reef
Relief installed and maintained 116 mooring buoys at seven
Key West-area coral reef that are available for use at no
cost to the public. These buoys were officially transferred
to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in October,
1997. The reef mooring buoys provide a safe and easy method
of eliminating anchor damage by the world's largest fleet
of charter boats.
 Boaters
are encouraged to hook up to the buoys because they eliminate
the need to drop anchor on the fragile living coral reef.
The Key
Largo National Marine Sanctuary Program is responsible for
designing the state-of-the-art mooring buoy system currently
in use. The design is efficient and only small core drillings
are necessary to hold the eyebolts in place.
The
polypropylene pick-up lines are treated for resistance to
the damaging rays of the sun and are easily removed for
replacement when necessary. The buoy itself floats on the
surface and is recognizable from a distance. A reef tract
surrounded by mooring buoys provides a warning to boaters
that this is an area of shallow water, which should reduce
accidental groundings of boats on the reef.
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The greatest advantage to reef
mooring buoys is that they greatly reduce anchor damage
to the living coral reef.
Reef Relief's mooring buoys
are located at:
- Western Dry Rocks,
- Sand Key,
- Rock Key,
- Eastern Dry Rocks,
- Western Sambo,
- Pelican Shoal
- Cottrell Key
There are also six mooring
buoys installed by Reef Relief off Little Torch Key which
are being maintained by Little Palm Island Resort. There
are other mooring buoys which have been installed and are
maintained by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
throughout the Florida Keys. These are located at:
- Looe Key (54 buoys),
- Sombrero Reef off of Marathon
(25),
- Islamorada reefs (24): Pickles
Reef, Conch Reef, Little Conch, Davis Reef, Crocker, Hens&
Chickens, Cheeca Rocks, Alligator
- Key Largo reefs (129): Three
Sisters, Molasses Reef, Sand Island, White Bank, Dry Rocks,
French Reef, Benwood Wreck, Grecian Rocks, Key Largo Dry
Rocks, The Elbow, Carysfort South, Carysfort Reef, Turtle
Rocks, Turtle Shoals, Northeast Patch.
- The National Park Service
maintains 18 demarcation and 5 reef mooring buoys at the
Dry Tortugas National Park.
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HOW TO USE
MOORING BUOYS
- Slowly approach the buoy from down wind
and/or down current.
- Smaller boats are encouraged to tie off
to one another, thereby allowing larger vessels access to
buoys. Remember, the larger the vessel, the more potential
damage to the coral (if an anchor is used).
- All boats should put out extra scope
by adding an extra line to create a horizontal pull on the
eyebolt. Otherwise, the eyebolt will be pulled out. A good
rule to remember is: if the buoy is pulled underwater, you
must let out extra scope.
- Inspect the mooring buoy your boat is
tied to -- you are still responsible for your vessel.
- Sailboats should not leave large sails
up as steadying sails when on a buoy; this puts too much strain
on the eyebolt.
If you choose not to use a mooring buoy, anchoring
is only permitted in the sandy areas. DO NOT ANCHOR ON CORAL!
This is Florida State Law.
Related Content:
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With locations of reef mooring buoys
in the Upper Keys.
Planning a dive trip to the Upper Florida Keys?
Check out these 23 detailed site maps!
In color and printable from online.
With locations of reef mooring buoys
in the Lower Keys.
Planning a dive trip to the Lower Florida Keys?
Check out these 12 detailed site maps!
In color and printable from online.
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