Chickasaw

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Fast Facts:

Avg Rating:

Avg Depth: 75 ft. / 23m

Max Depth: 77 ft. / 23m

Skill Level: Intermediate

Features:

• Artificial Reef

• Wreck Site

The Chickasaw was a 107-foot, twin engine steam tug with a steel hull. She was built in Pensacola in 1908 for the Army Corps of Engineers who used the tug for various projects including the building of the St. Andrews jetties. After World War II, the tug was retired and sold at auction to the Sherman Towing Company of Panama City, Florida. The steam engines were replaced with diesel and by the 1960s most of the wooden superstructure had been removed.

In the 1970s, the Chickasaw sank while at dock. She was raised and sold a few times. Her final owner had the tug stripped and prepared to be deployed as a deep water fish haven. Fortunately for divers, the bilge pumps failed and the Chickasaw sank closer to shore in only 70-80 feet of water. The ship now lies about three miles east of the St. Andrews entrance channel, just off the SAB buoy.

The superstructure is completely gone leaving an open framework that is usually covered by large schools of baitfish. The inner engine compartment can be explored. Visibility ranges from 20-40 feet but can sometimes be zero when clouds of baitfish congregate on the wreck.