Lat 26 18.110 Lon 80 03.700
It was a scary ride out to the site that June day in 1991 when the Ancient Mariner was being towed to her final resting place. The 165’ retired Coast Guard Cutter had fallen on hard times and already having sunk at her dock twice before, it was a coin toss to see if the old ship would weather the four foot seas that threatened to build as she went her last few miles. Commissioned in 1934 as the "Nemesis" the cutter performed coastal watch and lifesaving duties from her home port of St. Petersburg FL her entire career, save the war years when he was a sub hunter in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic. After being decommissioned in the 60’s she languished until her purchase and conversion to a floating restaurant and bar along Fort Lauderdale’s trendy new river district, eventually being renamed the Ancient Mariner. Before the renamed vessel could roll out her gangplank to serve her first drink, she sunk at the dock. Finally opening in late 1981, many months and nearly $100,000 later she gained international attention as a popular eatery and night spot.

Her glory days were short lived though, when in 1986 over 100 diners were caught up in the largest single outbreak of 'Hepatitis A' in Florida history, courtesy of an infected salad chef. The Ancient Mariner closed its doors forever. Left to her own, she eventually sunk at the dock a second time. The old boat showed she still had a fighting heart as she managed to stay afloat until she reached her final destination. The unusually blustery June day kept many local boats is port that day who would have customarily been out to wish the latest artificial reef a last farewell. In less than ideal weather, and mostly unseen by the rest of the world, she gave up and sunk obediently beneath the waves. Still with one last surprise to her, when the Ancient

Mariner struck the bottom, the planking that had been laid over her steel deck for the comfort of the patrons, shook loose and floated to the surface. It took several boats and many hours before the authorities collected the flotsam, during which time the crews jokingly referred to it as their "portable dance floor" Now covered with a nice carpet of hard and soft corals, you can still see places on her hull where she was riveted together. The Nemesis was built before the era of welded steel ships and, as the Ancient Mariner, is a piece of history in many ways yet today.