Tarpoon Wreck

The Tarpoon Wreck was a former Haitian freighter called "Medor Herode," which was dedicated as a memorial to Mike Kevorkian on May 10, 1988.

Mike was the owner of Trapoon Skin Diving Center, established in Hialeah, Florida in 1956. He was very well known and respected in Miami diving circles, especially for his encouragement of young people to begin their exploration of the ocean world. He was respected and loved by all in the dive community, which was shocked when he unexpectedly passed away on March 7, 1988 at the age of 61.

Robert Arnove (RJ), of RJ Diving Ventures, Inc., felt something needed to be done to honor his memory, so he contacted Ben Mostkoff about sinking a ship. Ben knew of the freighter Medor Herode which was declared unseaworthy by the Coast Guard, after taking on water.

Through tremendous efforts, RJ raised a total of $10,000 of the $20,000 needed to purchase, clean and tow the vessel to it's site for sinking. The remaining $10,000 was donated by DERM (Department of Environmental Resource Management).The wreck was fittingly placed in the RJ Diving Ventures Artificial Reef Site.

A bronze memorial plaque was donated by Joyce Mavromatis, honoring Mike, which was found attached to the front of the pilot house, until August 24 of 1992, when Hurricane Andrew hit Miami and devasted the remains of the Tarpoon. The wreck was scattered for hundreds of yards and to this day, the plaque has not been located.