[dropcap]A[/dropcap]rtificial reefs dot the Florida coastline. Anglers love them, because they attract fish. Thanks in part to the MCAC Reef Fund, Martin County is blessed with an abundance of these artificial fish homes.
While some of the materials for an artificial reef consist of natural or concrete material, some are made up of things like ships. What some might also find interesting is the history of these ships.
The Wickstrom Reef was formerly know has the “Lady Laura”, then “Tauros”, and finally U.S. Army FS553. This reef was the joint effort of the Martin County Anglers Club, now the MCAC Reef Fund, Karl Wickstrom, editor and founder of Florida Sportsman magazine, plus numerous marine and diving organizations.
Martin County’s newest and largest artificial reef, the “Hailey Glasrud”, was deployed April 24, 2014. This ship began its life in 1966 at the Pella Sieta shipyard, located in Hamburg, Germany. It was named the “Petra Gunda”, after the daughters of Reederei Hans Heinrich, who owned a fleet of cargo ships in Germany.
Our very own “Hailey Glasrud” was recently featured in the German shipping magazine Deutsche Seeschifffahrt. It seems that the Germans also have an interest in what happens when their ships find a final resting place.
According to the article, members of the Heinrich family plan to visit Florida soon to visit the site. They are excited about a part of their family history ending up on the Treasure Coast. One member of the family, Petra Heinrich, particularly liked the quote from the MCAC Artificial Reef Fund web site www.mcacreefs.org. It says “If I were a ship, at the end of my useful life span, I would much prefer something different, such as a living reef. I believe that is an honorable burial for a ship.”
[sws_yellow_box box_size=”565″] The Hailey Glasrud Reef Stats
- 224’ Cargo Ship | 7.7nm from St. Lucie Inlet | Depth: 188-feet
- Latitude: 27°12.597 North • Longitude: 80°00.287 West [/sws_yellow_box]
View deployment, first day dive and GoPro footage at http://www.mcacreefs.org/p/81/hailey-glasrud-reef.
Jim Weix is an avid hunter, angler, conservationist, as well as an outdoor writer. He is the owner of The Real Estate Company, Inc. He can be reached at 772-288-1900 or by email: jimweix@jimweix.com.
