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The wreck of the Sheridan
By TERRY TOMALIN, Times Outdoors Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 5, 2000
[Times art: Earl Towery]
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Twenty miles off Indian Rocks Beach you will find the rusting hulk of a 383-ton tugboat, the D.T. Sheridan, resting in 80 feet of water. Scuba divers who haven't visited this wreck don't know what they're missing.
The ship, sitting virtually intact with a superstructure that rises 35 feet off the ocean floor, attracts a variety of pelagic, open-ocean fish, including amberjack, cobia and king mackerel.
Bottom dwellers, including gag and red grouper, lurk in the shadows of the ship's hull, hiding from predator and prey alike.
On a good day, a diver can see 180 feet from bow to stern, with only clouds of baitfish to mar the view. The site is an excellent place for a beginner to experience his first open water dive.
The LORAN numbers are 14181.6, 44943.3.
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