William Matthew Gillen, Jr.’s legacy will be remembered by many generations to come, the Billy Gillen Memorial Reef was commissioned by his loving wife, Kay Wilson-Gillen, and Billy’s four children. An entrepreneur from Gainesville, Georgia, Billy fell in love with this small fishing camp called Mexico Beach, Florida in 1991. As a large supporter of the MBARA, Billy brought his passion of fishing to his family and friends. Our wish is to preserve our cherished husband, father, grandfather and lifetime friend in this treasured memorial reef as Billy’s legend will never die. Billy Gillen will be forever missed, forever loved, and live forever in our hearts. 2 Florida Limestone Artificial Reefs and 1 Ecosystems on Piling deployed 7 Apr 2015. 4 Florida Limestone Artificial Reefs measuring 8 feet tall added on 10 Nov 2016. . This reef addition was constructed under FWC Grant 15158 with funds from the Natural Resources Damage Assessment Phase III. Two piling mounted Ecosystems added on 2 May 2017. Verified 3 Jan 2021.
Location:
Bell Shoal
REEF ID: 170
Latitude: 29° 54.137 N
Longitude: 85° 27.333 W
Range: 3.2 nm
Bearing: 204
Depth: 23 feet
Range and Bearing is taken from mouth of Mexico Beach Canal.