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Photo courtesy of Capt. Keith Plaskett.
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A venerable and well-respected passenger and supply freighter with a solid 34-year history of reliability plying the northern Gulf of Mexico, Tarpon sank off Panama City during a storm in 1937. Disastrous decisions about load, course, and rescue strategy resulted in the loss of 18 lives and much of the cargo. Both her 81-year old captain and inspectors at Mobile were blamed for the sinking. She lies in 100 feet of water on a sand and live-rock bottom, about eight miles offshore at 30° 05.702’N and 85° 56.555’W. As Florida’s sixth Underwater Archaeological Preserve, Tarpon offers visitors an opportunity to explore her engines, propeller drive shafts, hull plates, wooden decking, and anchor windlass, which are the foundation of a unique deep-water marine oasis.
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