Replica of Atlantis Awaits Off Key Biscayne
Posted on: Saturday, 15 December 2007, 06:00 CST
By Sue Cocking, The Miami Herald
Dec. 15--Curious scuba divers who came across several mooring buoys about three miles off Key Biscayne recently have taken the 45-foot-deep plunge, only to come up sputtering and hyperventilating in astonishment.
No wonder. They stumbled upon the first phase of what is probably the most unusual artificial reef ever sunk in Miami-Dade County waters -- a half-acre network of concrete and bronze columns and statues that doubles as a haven for fish and a graveyard for people.
Deployed about a month ago, this artistic re-creation of the lost city of Atlantis -- thinly coated with marine growth and guarded by lions -- already has attracted numerous species of fish: amberjack, mutton and gray snapper, angelfish, grunt and even a scorpionfish pretending to be a statue of itself. The ornate arches and balustrades also serve as final resting places for the cremated remains of several people.
"This is about creating a reef; it's not about a box full of ashes," said Jerry Norman, president of the Neptune Society, whose headquarters is in Fort Lauderdale.
The Neptune Society, a cremation services company, has invested $2 million to construct the reef, based on a concept created by Fort Lauderdale entrepreneur Gary Levine and designed by sculptor Kim Brandell. To pay for the project, the society is selling what it calls "placements" -- columns and statues containing cremated remains priced at an average of $2,600. So far, Norman says, the company has sold about a dozen placements. When the reef is completed, he said it will cover more than 16 acres and accommodate more than 125,000 remains.
"From the sky, it will look like spokes on a bicycle wheel," Norman said.
The first phase represents the gated north entrance to Atlantis, with a welcome plaque thanking the various public agencies and officials who granted the permits required. A central podium holds a bronze sketch of the completed reef. A gray snapper hovers over the drawing, guarding it until confronted by a diver.
Some of the columns are intentionally tilted and cracked -- evidence of Atlantis' crumbling demise. But the structures are not as fragile as they look. Made of concrete reinforced with steel and fiberglass, they weigh "many tons," according to Norman. They are anchored by eight-inch steel pipes.
The components are assembled in a construction yard on the Miami River, then taken by barge to the site about 3 1/4 miles off Key Biscayne. Once there, they are sunk to the bottom and then arranged by divers using lift bags. Officials from the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) are on hand to monitor matters.
Norman said there's no exact timetable for completion because of weather and the public's response to an underwater burial site.
"We want to get the public's reaction to phase one," Norman said, adding that people can help design the mold and plaque for a loved one's remains and then charter a boat to watch the deployment.
"Each Memorial Day, I don't envision this as being any different from the cemetery," he said. "People will scatter flowers, do their own observance, then maybe dive or just go fishing."
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Source: The Miami Herald
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