Christ of the Abyss - John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Christ of the Abyss

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Key Largo, Florida

Off US Highway 1 – Mile Marker 100

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park was America’s first underwater preserve, where ocean life abounds with brilliant tropical fish as far as the eye can see.  One of the highlights besides the beautiful reefs, ship wrecks and colorful fish is a 4,000-pound bronze statue that stands just beneath the ocean’s surface off the island of Key Largo at the head of the Florida Keys.

  

In shallow water within the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, “Christ of the Abyss” rests at a depth of approximately 25 feet at a site called the Key Largo Dry Rocks in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Donated to the Underwater Society of America in 1961 by Italian scuba entrepreneur Egidi Cressi, the statue is the third bronze casting of sculptor Guido Galletti’s “Il Cristo Degli Abissi,” translated in English to Christ of the Abyss and also called Christ of the Deep.  It depicts Christ offering a  benediction of peace, with his head and hands raised skyward.

Since the 8.6-foot sculpture was placed in 1965, its outstretched arms have reached upward from its pedestal, rising so close to the surface that both divers and snorkelers can view the watery effigy with ease.  The Key Largo statue also is a replica of the like-named statue set in the Mediterranean Sea, and was cast from the same mold.  The Italian doppelgänger was submerged in 1954 off Genoa as a memorial to sailors lost at sea.

Surrounding the Key Largo statue are large outcroppings and thriving boulders of large brain, staghorn and elk horn corals as well as other reef formations, and several species of fish including a photogenic barracuda.  The statue remains one of the Keys’ most-photographed underwater sites.

Johnny and I dove at this site several times but the first one was the most memorable for me.  We took photos of each other holding the hand of “Christ” and swimming all around its base.  Back then there was very little growth of crustaceans on the bronze body of the statue.  The smooth statue and color in the shallow water changed with the sunlight from a bronze yellow hue to the blue hue of the surrounding water.  Dry Rocks reef is varied with part of the reef rocks sticking out of the water at low tide (hence the name) and close to the statue there is the most incredible field of non-stop coral formations. There is an array of sea fans like you could never again see in this country.  The fish were plentiful and of every color.  Parrot fish were the most predominant. As you go off of the statute, it gets very shallow, perfect for snorkeling. The current was not fast so it was an easy swim. 

Water visibility was about 125 feet and Johnny was right over the statute. Then, he moved down about the same depth as me to take pictures of me next to and holding the hand of the statue. Suddenly, he started giving me a signal to turn around.  At first I thought he wanted to switch places again to take more photos of him but he kept pointing behind me and to turn around.  I started turning around with my back to the statue when I realized there was a four foot long barracuda about six inches off my face mask.  I probably shouted or blew air out of my regulator as I slowly started to descend with the barracuda matching my rate and staying just off my face.  I stayed completely still not wanting to make any sudden gestures and we dropped down to the ocean floor about 25 feet deep.  When I inhaled air and slowly started to rise from the bottom the barracuda rose too and was looking me in the face just inches in front of my mask.  Big round eyes, silvery body, sleek in appearance his image has stayed with me to this day.

 Johnny took several photos of me with the fish which I had until I left Alaska last year.  We did two cycles of inhale and exhale breaths when the barracuda suddenly turned away from me and darted about 100 feet to my left then stopping for about three seconds quickly swam 100 feet in another direction forming a triangle. It stopped then darted back in front of my face quickly stopping six inches from my mask again.  I thought I was about to be eaten but he just stayed there.  His swim away and back was quick, probably less than fifteen seconds.

When we surfaced and got back on the boat we were excited about what had happened and Carl Gage kind of shrugged it off telling us it was probably one of Steve Klem’s fish that he feeds every day and it was looking and waiting for me to feed him.  Steve was another dive shop operator who was known in the Keys’ as the Pied Piper of Pennekamp Park because he always dove and fed hundreds of underwater creatures including barracudas, jewfish, sharks, eels and groupers.

Carl might not have cared but it was a pretty unique experience for us.  Later on this trip we went out on a dive charter with Steve Klem and had more fantastic dives and adventures together.  We went to Molasses and French Reef on Steve’s charter and saw many types of fish and fed sting rays in the shallows.

Ice