Snorkeling Alligator ReefSnorkeling Alligator Reef was simply mind blowing. We took lots of great pictures and share them below. When we went out it was super calm and sunny, a nice change from the clouds and rain we had been having. 
And unlike the patch reefs closer to the keys that had green water, Alligator Reef sits on the barrier reef edge, and we had very clear blue water.
There are the very shallow areas around the tower, one of which is a small mound of ships ballast stones that came from the ship that this reef was named after, the Alligator, sunk in the 1800s. All that is left is a mount of stones. See the picture below.
The second area is underneath the lighthouse itself. A mess of steel supports and thousands of fish await you. See the picture below.
And then a short little boat ride east brings you to a much deeper third area that has bigger fish and a rock wall that fish schools tuck under for protection. (See below).
The first area we snorkeled around was the ballast stone pile from the Alligator shipwreck. These stones where covered in a Medusa's hair of moving fish. It was crystal clear and like a aquarium. All around the tower there were many purple sea fans, and some sponges, but little to no hard corals. Below you can see some of the fish and other sights we noticed in this area.
The area closer to and underneath the lighthouse was also very shallow. And what a treat that was. There were literally thousands of fish schooling in the shade underneath the tower. Big schools of Grey Snappers, a barracuda, and just about every other type of small reef fish.
To get to the reef wall area we took a short boat ride. This is a much deeper area, around 20 feet. It is not really a great snorkeling site because of the depth, but we both enjoyed this area anyways. It offers an interesting mini wall with a ledge that ran north to south. There were tons of Sergeant Majors, Yellowtail Snapper and Bar Jacks. Big schools of grunts hang out under the ledge. We also encountered the largest school of barracuda we have ever seen. There must have been twenty five huge barracuda hanging in the current flow off the ledge. It was kind of unnerving. But I still swam into them a bit to get a picture.
Farther down around 15 feet there were huge Midnight Parrotfish, grouper, Amber Jack, a Nurse Shark, Rock Beauty and some monster French Angelfish.
It was at this point snorkeling Alligator Reef that I had a very rare and amazing encounter with a Hammerhead Shark. I saw movement off to one side and suddenly I saw a huge body swimming my way. It was a Hammerhead Shark about 11 feet long moving with great speed and incredible ease. He noticed me and swam my way a little bit, passed underneath me and was swiftly gone. I only had a moment to get one poor quality picture.
It was an unnerving and kind of stunning experience. My heart was going quick. It was just weird how fast he was traveling, without doing much. Later our boat captain said that after five years of doing tours in that area mine was only the second sighting of a Hammerhead Shark. Check out our page of Alligator Reef snorkeling videos here.
See our videos from Alligator Reef
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