Beneath the surface - Florida Weekly

Dane Kelly still remembers how his father disappeared beneath the waves while intentionally sinking barges to create artificial reefs in Lee County. Around age 12, Dane watched from a tugboat as his father, a marine contractor, worked to scuttle one barge after punching holes into its side. A wave shifted the vessel, it listed, and a steel plate ultimately pushed him underwater. Dane recalled his family fearing the worst until, moments later, his father surfaced saying he’d lost his glasses. For nearly 50 years, Dane and his brother Travis have run Kelly Brothers in Fort Myers, building reefs and other waterfront structures across Southwest Florida.