Molasses reef : the most popular reef in Key Largo for SCUBA Divers and Snorkelers.

Molasses Reef is located around 6 miles off shore of Key Largo and takes around 30 minutes to get there by boat form Key Largo centre. The reef has an iconic light tower on the middle of the reef and has over 30 places to moor and SCUBA dive/snorkel. The original tower was erected in 1921 and is in 9 feet of water. Although it is no longer operational it serves as a waring beacon for boaters during the day.

All of Molasses reef is within a sanctuary protected area (SPA) and is a no touch no take zone. There are large fines if you get caught fishing within the sanctuary and this includes taking lobster or even having lobster on your boat whilst in the SPA.

The mooring ball system runs along the reef from south to north in 3 rows, increasing south to north. The shallow sites are lower numbers near the reef and the bald above 20 tend to be deeper sites.

Great care should be taken if you are driving a boat within the SPA as some place are very shallow at less than 5 feet deep and they could have divers on them so its advisable to have a lookout on the front of your boat so you don’t cause harm to anybody in the water.

Snorkelers and swimmers should take care when you are in the water and stay within the protection of the boats dive flag.

For divers you should avoid crossing over the coral fingers at the top of the reef and keep well within the gullies to avoid boat traffic. If you need to surface and you are not under your boat you should look to surface at a mooring ball where its relatively safe. If you are unable to do that use extreme caution on surfacing with your arm in the air as the first thing to break the surface and be prepared to decend immediately in case of danger.

For all water users its important to keep be alert for the noise of boat engines traveling over the reef at all time.

The North end of the reef tends to have less current. The south end of the reef often has current and is also the home of the larger pelagic species. This is due to a tidal eddy from the gulftream. Generaly if the gulf stream is less than 10 miles off Molasses reef you are likely to encounter current. This link will tell you how far the gulf stream is off shore for any given day.

Staring in the North these are some of the key areas at Molasses Reef for Snorkeling and SCUBA diving

Wellwood restoration area

In 1984, the M/V Wellwood, a 122-meter freighter, ran aground on Molasses Reef. Due to complications with removal, the ship remained on the reef for 12 days causing a great deal of damage to the northern end of the reef.  The image below is courtesy of Wikimedia commons and shows the the Wellwod on Molasses reef. If you look closely you will see the Molasses tower in the center of the image. There is still a lot of damage evident but it is gradually improving with a few good dive sites and usually less current.

The Winchole

One of the popular spots at Molasses reef is the Winch hole. Here the winch from the Solobodna is located. The Solobodna ran aground on Molasses reef in March 1887, she was on route from New Orleans with a cargo of 4500 bales of cotton when she struck the reef in a storm.

A line was run out from the winch and anchored out the stern of the vessel to try and stabilise her during the recovery of cargo. Unfortunately during the process the winch was pulled off the deck and now lies in a shady clearing in the middle of Molasses reef on the shoreward side of mooring ball number 8. This is one of the most popular places for divers to dive on this reef as it generally does not have much current unlike the southern end of the reef up by the Aquarium. Once you get into the clearing that contains the winch there are some great runs through the coral formations that get to the deeper outskirts of the reef and is where we often see sharks cruising by. The current can get stronger out there so beware.

This is a survey and explanation of the sinking and cargo recovery with dive site maps made by Corey Rethorford.

Its a favorite place to take underwater photographs of your fellow divers.

Eagle Ray Alley

Eagle Ray Alley runs alongside of the Winch hole and you can get to either dive site from their moorings.

We often see larger Pelagic fish traveling along the Alley. Watch out for cruising reef sharks on the top of the alley walls too!

keep an eye out in the walls as there are often plenty of Spiny Lobster in holes. Note that you cannot catch lobster here. You will need to go on one of our lobster hunting tours for that!

The Aquarium at Molasses Reef

There is always lots to see at Molasses reef. The Aquarium for some reason seems to have more than most and hence its name. you can expect to see an abundance of marine life but sometimes it does suffer from current

We often dive this site and just sit underneath the boat watching the nurse sharks resting under rocks.

Spanish Anchor

At ball 22 you will find the site of the Spanish anchor. This is a very large anchor around 8 feet long and covered in coral growth. At the top end of it is the large ring used to attache the anchor line and the ring is 2 feet across. looking carefully you will be able to spot it from a position of 10 feet off the seabed.

Just south of the ball is a swim through that looks like a dead end cave and its not until you get into it do you see the exit.

Permit Ledge

On the far south end of Molasses is the number 1 ball and is designated as permit ledge. a nice wall where you will see large schools of Permit gathering.

Guided dives of Molasses reef

A lot of the sites on Molasses reef are difficult to find by the pure nature of the reef and its difficult to navigate with many twists and turns and can confuse even the most experienced guide and also impounded as the sites can be very busy with divers and you have to take detours to avoid the other groups

If you would like your own tour of some of these areas we offer private tours with guide where we can show you some of the best places on offer!