southern diver/skin diver

LOOE KEY WOOS DIVERS

TO BIG PINE KEY

Just 30 miles northeast of Key West, Big Pine Key and the diving mecca of Looe Key are in another world. If your vision of the Florida Keys is quiet and natural, Big Pine Key and Looe Key Reef will woo you above and below the surface.

Quiet Big Pine Key is the base for exploring the stunning reef tract of Looe Key, just 6.7 nautical miles to the southwest. Once a national marine sanctuary in its own right and now part of the larger Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the reef out at Looe Key encompasses one of the most varied and voluminous reefs in the Florida Keys.

"We've been here since 1969 and never tire of the diving and life here," says Maryanne Rockett, co-owner of Big Pine Key's underseas, inc. "Looe Key Reef is a very special place for Florida Keys divers and Big Pine Key is the ideal base."

Looe Key Reef is something that shouldn't be missed on any mid or lower-Keys dive trip. The area is completely protected from spearfishing and shell collecting and has thus become one of the most active reefs in the Keys, with a wide array of fish and a representative mix of coral found throughout the area. Mooring buoys help protect the fragile reef even further. The actual reef is approximately 800 yards long by about 200 yards in width, but veteran divers rarely get tired of exploring it.

Looe Key is named for the H.M.S. Looe, which ran aground on the eastern end of the reef in 1744. Though guides can often point out the coral-encrusted anchor, ballast, and other remains, the ship has virtually disappeared under the ever-growing reef.

Looe Key is comprised of a spur-and-groove reef formation, with fingers of coral running parallel between floors of sand. The reef contains virtually all types of patch and outside reef coral found in the Florida Keys, including elkhorn, staghorn, and fire coral. The fingers of coral often reach 35 feet in height, with gently waving sea fans welcoming divers to this typically easy dive. Frequent fish sightings include barracuda, jacks, angelfish, parrotfish, and many others.

On rough days, many boats head north into Florida Bay for a different dive on Content Keys, where a shallow dive and unique bayside corals and fish await, as do lots of lobsters. However, Looe Key Reef is still the big draw for divers visiting the Big Pine Key area.

But bad weather days also give divers time to explore the unique topside life of Big Pine Key and the surrounding area. The first thing visitors notice about Big Pine Key is the drop in speed limits on the Overseas Highway. The low and strictly-enforced speed limits (45 m.p.h. during the day and 35 m.p.h. at night) are to protect Big Pine Key's most famous residents, the Key deer.

Key deer are miniature versions of typical Virginia white-tailed deer and typically only grow to 28 inches in height and about 75 pounds in weight. Theory has it that common deer left the Florida mainland thousands of years ago and stayed out on the Keys (no Overseas Highway bridges back then). Over hundreds of generations, the lack of land, food, and water slowly led to the smaller size of today. A large majority of them ended up on Big Pine Key because the island has the only year-round fresh water supply in the area.

Because of pressure from hunters and other hazards, the U.S. government established the National Key Deer Refuge in 1954, thanks to efforts by cartoonist J.N. "Ding" Darling and environmentalist Jack C. Watson. The population, which had dwindled to fewer than 50, now stands between 250 and 300. Today, the greatest threats are autos (thus, the lower speed limits) and loss of habitat due to development.

Though you may spot a key deer just driving along the Overseas Highway, your best bet is to head to the 8,000-acre National Key Deer Refuge. Located 1.5 miles in from the Overseas Highway, off Key Deer Boulevard, the refuge includes a loop walk along the Watson Wildlife Trail (less than a mile) that introduces visitors to the harsh environment key deer must endure to find food and water. They eat a variety of palms, ferns, palmettos, buttonwood, and other foliage, while drinking from small sinkholes in the oolite limestone.

The best place to spot a key deer is Blue Hole, a former rock quarry that now holds fresh water. Nearby, Watson Hammock has a trail where you'll see a huge mahogany, torchwood, strangler fig, guava, light-yellow raccoons, and lots of birds.

Other outdoors pursuits in the Big Pine Key area include Bahia Honda State Park (beach, snorkeling, boating, hiking, and camping) and the Sugarloaf Bat Tower (constructed to attract bats to eat mosquitoes...it failed). If you need a "big city" fix, Key West is just thirty miles down the Overseas Highway.

For further information, contact the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 430511 (MM 31), Big Pine Key, FL 33043, (800) 872-3722 or (305) 872-2411, or the Florida Keys & Key West Visitors Bureau at P.O. Box 1147, Key West, FL 33041, (800) FLA KEYS or (305) 296-1552.