USCG Duane

USCG Duane is a coast guard cutter. The ship was built in 1935 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. In 1936, it was launched for rescue and law enforcement. It is considered a "treasury" class cutter with 327 feet. It was named for William John Duane who was the third Secretary of the Treasury for President Andrew Jackson.

In 1944, the Duane was converted into an Amphibious Force Flagship in order to take it into the World War melee. In 1985 this oldest active military vessel was finally retired. Two years later it was sent to Key Largo and deliberately sunk for an artificial reef. She sits off shore from Key Largo in the Atlantic Ocean a few miles south of Molasses Reef. She rests in 130 feet of water, with an average depth of 95 feet for the dive. As an artificial reef there are mooring buoys for dive shops and other boaters to use.

It is an impressive wreck and reachable only in good weather. The Duane can have a strong current and high waves, thus dive shops visit it once a week and try to choose a day that will be best. Barracuda, sea turtles, cobia, and amberjacks tend to live around the wreck.