Beacon F: Pickles Reef

Coordinates: 24° 59.459' N / 080° 24.897' W
Depth: 6 to 10 feet

The beacon at Pickles Reef labeled as "F" is located 5.7 nautical miles east-southeast from Key Largo. Nearby anchorages at Tavernier and Rodriguez Keys provided shelter for sailing craft transiting the area. The beacon is inside of the reef's barrier grooves that are located to the south by southeast in water 6 to 10 feet deep. The site has three piles embedded in the seafloor. Two of the three piles measured 11 feet long and both were angled at 60 degrees; the third was slightly less angled and measured only 3.5 feet tall. Archaeologists believe that the sharply canted piles resulted from storm waves battering the beacons. One of the 11-foot piles has a disc-shaped flange, which indicated that it was a tri-vane variety that replaced the single vane beacon represented by the other 11-foot pile. The 3.5 foot long pile was part of the support system used to secure the tri-vane beacons.

Biology

Pickles Reef is a shallow reef crest-back reef zone with relatively flat outcrops of reef structure or framework. The area experiences mostly clear water, and the survey revealed more species and denser populations of benthic organisms than the beacon sites documented further south. Researchers documented mustard hill coral (Porites astreoides), encrusting fire coral (Millepora alcicornis), and soft corals such as sea fans, sea plumes, and sea rods. Several sponge varieties were present along with numerous species of fish and invertebrates.

Site Map

Pickles Reef Totten Beacon Beacon Site Map

3D Models

Explore the beacon remains on the seafloor without getting wet! The image below shows part of a 3D model created using multi-image photogrammetry. Click the image to load the model, then click, hold, and adjust your mouse to view it from different angles.

Pickles Reef Totten Beacon Base by Corey Macom/Mel Fisher Maritime Museum
This model shows the submerged base of the main shaft of the Pickles Reef beacon and one of the three shorter, supplemental, support-points it was once tied to. The large iron disc on the main shaft might have helped the crew installing it to turn and auger the shaft into the seafloor. The Pickles Reef beacon shaft was bent by some unknown trauma.