Fort Lauderdale

Diving here is day-boat work out of Fort Lauderdale. Sea Experience on Seabreeze Boulevard and American Dream Dive Charters run boat trips, and Lauderdale Diver books divers onto local charter boats. The first reef line lies up to 275 m (300 yards) offshore and the third about 1.6 km (a mile) out. The Gulf Stream passes close enough that many reef dives, and some wreck dives, are run as drifts.

Three natural reef systems run parallel to the coast, the first in 5–8 m (15–25 ft) and the third further offshore. Broward County has placed more than 112 offshore artificial reefs, from the Wreck Trek chain that ends at the tug Jay Scutti to the Captain Dan on Rodeo Reef and the Rebel, lying on sand and coral rubble. Several goliath groupers are often found inside the barge of the Jungle Gym, and the area holds lobsters, barracuda, nurse sharks and hard and soft corals.

The Gulf Stream makes its closest approach to the coast along this stretch and averages about one knot, and the drifts ride on it. On the Wreck Trek, which bottoms out around 24 m (80 ft), the current is generally mild, while the third reef line can run stronger. The SS Copenhagen, one of eleven Florida underwater archaeological preserves, lies in 8 m (25 ft) off Lauderdale-By-The-Sea.

Fort Lauderdale suits divers who want wrecks at every depth. The SS Copenhagen lies in 8 m (25 ft), within reach of new divers; the Tracy and the Ebenezer II sit upright or listing at 21 m (70 ft); and the Jim Atria reaches 41 m (135 ft). Drift divers get the Gulf Stream over the reefs, and the wreck list spans every certification level.