HALF MOON (shipwreck) National Register of Historic Places Listing

It started as a Kaiser's plaything. Built in Krupp's German shipyard in 1908, the steel-hulled racing yacht Germania won the Kaiser's Cup and wowed European high society. Then came World War I. British forces seized her as a prize of war. Eventually, she crossed the Atlantic, acquired the name Half Moon, and got caught up in Miami's shady Prohibition scene. Locals didn't use her for racing, though. Instead, they anchored her off the coast as a floating cabaret and gambling den, letting patrons drink liquor away from the reach of US federal agents.

A fierce 1930 gale ended the floating party. The storm tore the yacht from her moorings and slammed her onto the shallow shoals near Key Biscayne. She sank in just ten feet of water. Today, the wreck lies near Bear Cut, designated as Florida's seventh State Underwater Archaeological Preserve. Divers can easily swim right through her collapsed, barnacle-covered metal ribs. National Register listing 01000531 cements her status. This site isn't just a pile of submerged scrap, but a physical link to elite German yachting, wartime seizure, and the illicit booze-soaked history of Miami.