The Mercedes Wreck

The Mercedes is one of the most famous wrecks off the east coast of Florida and it brought national attention to the wreck diving offered there. The 198 foot freighter was originally built in 1951 and called the Jacob Rusch. She was washed ashore from her anchorage off the coast of Palm Beach on Thanksgiving Day in 1984 during a terrible storm. She was beached on the terrace and pool of socialite Molly Wilmot's residence on the Gold Coast. She was immediately seized by the State of Florida. Several months later crews successfully succeeded in removing her and she was sunk as an artificial reef site off Fort Lauderdale on March 30, 1985. She was the classic wreck dive, totally upright until Hurricane Andrew, August 24, 1992, which left her twisted in half, her stern crumpled and lists to starboard. The still intact bow now faces north on the outside of the third reef system.