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Molasses Reef
The winch from the Slobadana sank on Molasses Reef in 1887
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Location	Florida, USA
Waterbody	Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Nearest land	Key Largo
Coordinates	25°00′50″N 80°22′15″W / 25.01389°N 80.37083°W / 25.01389; -80.37083
Dive type	Open-water
Depth range	6 to 60 ft (1.8 to 18.3 m)
Average visibility	40 to 60 ft (12 to 18 m)
Entry type	Boat
Bottom composition	Coral
Water	Salt

Molasses Reef is a coral reef located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It lies to the southeast of Key Largo, within the Key Largo Existing Management Area, which is immediately to the east of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. This reef is within a Sanctuary Preservation Area (SPA).

The reef was marked by an unmanned reef light for most of the 20th century.

On August 4, 1984, the motor vessel Wellwood, a 122-meter freighter carrying pelletized chicken feed, ran aground on Molasses Reef. The total destruction from the grounding included 5,805 square meters of living corals and injury to 75,000 square meters of reef habitat. The vessel was removed by the US Coast Guard. NOAA coordinated an effort to restore damage to the reef, by placing reef modules in the injured areas to provide a substrate for new coral colonization. Biological restoration took place using transplants from Pickles Reef and the facilitation of coral larval settlement. NOAA settled a claim worth $6.275 million with the responsible parties, the Wellwood Shipping Company (owner of the vessel) and the Hanseatic Shipping Company (shipping management company), in 1986, and all payments to NOAA were completed by 2001.

Molasses Reef is a popular scuba diving and snorkeling location with numerous dive sites marked by mooring buoys.

One notable site is at buoy #7 and is variously referred to as the Winch Hole, Windlass Wreck, or The Winch. Here lies the large mechanical winch from the Slobadana, a 170-foot wooden hulled schooner that sank in 1887 after only three years in service. In addition to the winch itself, various mechanical artifacts are scattered over the nearby area. Also, large coral formations with (relatively) deep channels between them make this a popular dive location.

References

1. Gittings, SR; Bright, TJ; Holland, BS (1990). "Five years of coral recovery following a freighter grounding in the Florida Keys". In: Jaap, WC (Ed). Advances in Underwater Science...90. Proceedings of the American Academy of Underwater Sciences Tenth Annual Scientific Diving Symposium. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
2. Wellwood Coral Reef Restoration Project, accessed 12 January 2011

External links

• Media related to Molasses Reef at Wikimedia Commons
• Air Photo of Molasses Reef in 1984, showing the wreck of the Wellwood as well as the reef light (near center)
• Benthic Habitat Map
• NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Maps, Florida Keys East
• NOAA Website on Molasses Reef
• NOAA Navigational Chart 11464

v t e Corals and coral reefs
Hexacorallia	Black Brain Elegance Hermatypic Chalice Pillar Table Elkhorn Staghorn †Rugose †Tabulate
Octocorallia	Bamboo Blue Organ pipe Sea fans Sea pens
Coral reefs	Atoll Cay Coral Deep-water coral mesophotic coral reef Fringing Microatoll Coral reef fish Census of Coral Reefs The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs Catlin Seaview Survey Spur and groove formation
Coral regions	List of reefs African coral reefs Amazon Reef Andros, Bahamas Apo Reef Baa Atoll Belize Barrier Reef Coral Sea Islands Coral Triangle East African coral coast Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Great Barrier Reef India Jamaica Kiribati Lakshadweep Maldives Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System New Caledonia barrier reef Ningaloo Reef Non-tropical regions Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Pulley Ridge Raja Ampat Islands Red Sea Solomon Archipelago Southeast Asian coral reefs Tuvalu Archipelago Virgin Islands Yabiji
Coral diseases	Coral bleaching Black band disease Skeletal eroding band Stony coral tissue loss disease White band disease White pox disease
Conservation	Environmental issues with coral reefs Coral reef protection Coral reef restoration Reef resilience Organizations Coral Reef Alliance Green Fins International Coral Reef Society Project AWARE Reef Ball Foundation Reef Check
Symbiotic algae	Zooxanthellae Amphidinium Symbiodinium
Other	Artificial reef Aquaculture of coral Coral dermatitis Precious coral Coral rag Coral sand Coralline algae Deep-water coral Fire coral

• Coral reefs of the Florida Keys
• Underwater diving sites in the United States