south florida dive sites

Does anyone know where I can find a GOOD list of south florida dive
sites? I have my own boat docked in Pompano Beach and go down there at
least twice a month. I purchased Ned Deloach's guide to Underwater
Florida, but I haven't had much luck with it and it doesn't even cover
half of the sites that I know are out there. At 4-6 dives per weekend
I'm sure I'll run out of sites fairly quickly. I'm looking mainly for
sites around the Hillsboro Inlet, but I may make the occaisonal trip up
to around the boca or down around port everglades. If anyone also has
any recommendations other than the below sites, I'm interested. Mostly
looking for spearfishing/lobstering, but a good wreck dive or two would
be nice. I've been on several of the local charters multiple times,
I've dove the Sea Emperor/Caribbean/Ancient mariner/Berry patch,
Nursery/Copenhangen(aka the balls) more times than I care to
remember(at least 20) I've also dove the Tennacos, Hog Heaven, Jay
Scutti, Rodeo 25, and Mercedes a few times.

A few of the sites I am looking for coordinates for are:
Abbey too
Boca Artificial
Capt Dan(I know this is listed in the book, but I had no luck finding
the wreck at the listed coordinates)
Crab Cove
Finks Grouper Hole
Horseshoe Reef
Hillsboro Ledge(This is also in the book, but has the same printed
coordinates as Opal Towers, typo?)
Hydro Atlantic
Jim Atria
Miller Lite
Moray Bend
Pompano Trench
Quallman Tugs
Rebel
RSB-1

These are just ones I can think of, my book in on the boat, some may be
already listed in the book.

daniel@uwcorp.net wrote:
> Does anyone know where I can find a GOOD list of south florida dive
> sites? I have my own boat docked in Pompano Beach and go down there at
> least twice a month. I purchased Ned Deloach's guide to Underwater
> Florida, but I haven't had much luck with it and it doesn't even cover
> half of the sites that I know are out there. At 4-6 dives per weekend
> I'm sure I'll run out of sites fairly quickly. I'm looking mainly for
> sites around the Hillsboro Inlet, but I may make the occaisonal trip up
> to around the boca or down around port everglades. If anyone also has
> any recommendations other than the below sites, I'm interested. Mostly
> looking for spearfishing/lobstering, but a good wreck dive or two would
> be nice. I've been on several of the local charters multiple times,
> I've dove the Sea Emperor/Caribbean/Ancient mariner/Berry patch,
> Nursery/Copenhangen(aka the balls) more times than I care to
> remember(at least 20) I've also dove the Tennacos, Hog Heaven, Jay
> Scutti, Rodeo 25, and Mercedes a few times.
>
> A few of the sites I am looking for coordinates for are:
> Abbey too
> Boca Artificial
> Capt Dan(I know this is listed in the book, but I had no luck finding
> the wreck at the listed coordinates)
> Crab Cove
> Finks Grouper Hole
> Horseshoe Reef
> Hillsboro Ledge(This is also in the book, but has the same printed
> coordinates as Opal Towers, typo?)
> Hydro Atlantic
> Jim Atria
> Miller Lite
> Moray Bend
> Pompano Trench
> Quallman Tugs
> Rebel
> RSB-1
>
> These are just ones I can think of, my book in on the boat, some may be
> already listed in the book.
>

The other compiled listing of sites is the McAllister book,
available at any local dive shop.

There are also CDs by county that have recently hit the market.
These are public domain maps cluttered by names of what the
author thinks are great dive sites.

Most of the wrecks were put down for the anglers, and the
coordinates can be found at any fishing shop.

Note that the names around here are "local usage" and there is
no consistancy between divers, dive operators, and published
guides. There are prolly 30 "Grouper Hole" (OK, only three or
four are "Fink's Grouper Hole"). The term ledge is used both for
a particular spot and for a stretch of reef several miles long.
And no one knows where the Throne Room is except me and a few of
my friends - we have our own names for the good stuff. And the
dive boats lie.

You won't run out of dive sites, as the good ones run cheek to
jowl on up to about Lantana, and in spots to above Palm Beach. I
have about 1300 dives on these local reefs, and I'm not bored
yet, and haven't seen it all.

m

In article <1108399730.343323.121530@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups .com>,
daniel@uwcorp.net says...
> Does anyone know where I can find a GOOD list of south florida dive
> sites?

For wrecks, get the book "Shipwrecks of the Sunshine State: Florida's
Submerged History" by Mike Barnett. It lists real verified GPS locations
(not converted TD's).
http://uwex.us/shipwreckbook.htm

Thanks for the information, I'll check with a couple of the local dive
shops for the other book and to see if they have any information.

I know one of the local dive boat Captains fairly well, I could
probably get some coordinates from him, but I'm not sure how he would
feel about it, I used to go on his boat, until I bought mine. I'd feel
a little awkward asking him for the coordinates.

On a side note, what's the best method for locating a wreck once you
have the coordinates? My inability to locate the Capt. Dan may have
been my own fault and not the book's. I know GPS alone won't get you
close enough to find the wreck. I have an el-cheapo humminbird 300tx,
is this sufficient to find anything? Do I really need to go out and
spend $1500+ on a sidescan sonar to reliably find wrecks(after I have
the coordinates)? I haven't had any trouble loacating reefs, just
cruise along until I see a drastic change in depth, and I know that's
it.

Thanks again for your help
Daniel

"JOF" wrote ...
> Shouldn't the GPS place you right over the target if the coordinates
> are right and the operator knows what he's doing?

I would expect that it would depend upon when the GPS coordinates were
determined... Back in the days of SA (Selective Availability), the DoD
introduced errors into the GPS signal that could make you off by up to 50
meters, I think... These days that has been turned off, so you should get a
lot better accuracy, but if you are still using the old coordinates, you've
still working with the error...

> When we used the GPS in Mexico I was quite
> impressed with how they'd find the target, then
> drive upcurrent a bit and tell us when and how
> to hit the water. In a stiff current we went in with
> empty bcd's and got down fast. They positioned
> us perfectly for the current, depth and distance.
> All we had to do was drop and flare when we hit
> the wreck. It was pretty neat stuff.

Works great when you have a crew aboard to keep the boat on site or can
reliably put the anchor down (and have it catch) at the correct
coordinates... Diving solo from a boat can be a bit trickier in some
situations though... If you allow the boat to drift, you definitely want to
keep a line between you and the boat... If you anchor the boat, it might
even be advisable to keep a line between you and the anchor line just in
case it slips... Of course, if the anchor line detaches from the boat,
you're probablly screwed if you don't notice it quick enough... Having
someone manning the boat, keeping it on station makes things a lot easier...

On 15 Feb 2005 05:49:22 -0800, "daniel" <daniel@uwcorp.net> wrote:

>Thanks for the information, I'll check with a couple of the local dive
>shops for the other book and to see if they have any information.
>
>I know one of the local dive boat Captains fairly well, I could
>probably get some coordinates from him, but I'm not sure how he would
>feel about it, I used to go on his boat, until I bought mine. I'd feel
>a little awkward asking him for the coordinates.
>
>On a side note, what's the best method for locating a wreck once you
>have the coordinates? My inability to locate the Capt. Dan may have
>been my own fault and not the book's. I know GPS alone won't get you
>close enough to find the wreck. I have an el-cheapo humminbird 300tx,
>is this sufficient to find anything? Do I really need to go out and
>spend $1500+ on a sidescan sonar to reliably find wrecks(after I have
>the coordinates)? I haven't had any trouble loacating reefs, just
>cruise along until I see a drastic change in depth, and I know that's
>it.
>
Shouldn't the GPS place you right over the target if the coordinates
are right and the operator knows what he's doing? When we used the GPS
in Mexico I was quite impressed with how they'd find the target, then
drive upcurrent a bit and tell us when and how to hit the water. In a
stiff current we went in with empty bcd's and got down fast. They
positioned us perfectly for the current, depth and distance. All we
had to do was drop and flare when we hit the wreck. It was pretty neat
stuff.

JF

On Tue, 15 Feb 2005 14:34:09 -0600, "Grumman-581"
<grumman581-YYYY-MM@charter.net> wrote:

>"JOF" wrote ...
>> Shouldn't the GPS place you right over the target if the coordinates
>> are right and the operator knows what he's doing?
>
>I would expect that it would depend upon when the GPS coordinates were
>determined... Back in the days of SA (Selective Availability), the DoD
>introduced errors into the GPS signal that could make you off by up to 50
>meters, I think... These days that has been turned off, so you should get a
>lot better accuracy, but if you are still using the old coordinates, you've
>still working with the error...
>
>> When we used the GPS in Mexico I was quite
>> impressed with how they'd find the target, then
>> drive upcurrent a bit and tell us when and how
>> to hit the water. In a stiff current we went in with
>> empty bcd's and got down fast. They positioned
>> us perfectly for the current, depth and distance.
>> All we had to do was drop and flare when we hit
>> the wreck. It was pretty neat stuff.
>
>Works great when you have a crew aboard to keep the boat on site or can
>reliably put the anchor down (and have it catch) at the correct
>coordinates... Diving solo from a boat can be a bit trickier in some
>situations though... If you allow the boat to drift, you definitely want to
>keep a line between you and the boat... If you anchor the boat, it might
>even be advisable to keep a line between you and the anchor line just in
>case it slips... Of course, if the anchor line detaches from the boat,
>you're probablly screwed if you don't notice it quick enough... Having
>someone manning the boat, keeping it on station makes things a lot easier...
>
In my limited experience in SE Fla there's usually some current
running and drift diving is the order of the day. Frankly, solo diving
issues aside, I'd want someone remaining at the helm to keep the boat
handy for whenever I decide to thumb the dive. But then I'm not the
most adventurous soul, kind of a coward in fact. I'll leave that dead
boat solo diving to the hairy chested amongst us.

JF

I was under the impression that standard gps was still only accurate to
within 300'. If this is not the case, then the book is definately to
blame for it, even the reefs I've found have been 100'-500' from the
coordinates given. I even towed a diver a short ways trying to find the
Capt. Dan with no luck. I would never ever leave my boat unattended,
diving alone or not). I always leave someone on board that can at least
call for help on the radio. If I'm drift diving, I of course leave
someone on board competent enough to pick us up when we're done. As
long as I have a competent enough bubble watcher and it's not a wreck,
it's always a drift dive for me.

"JOF" wrote ...
> I'll leave that dead boat solo diving to the hairy chested amongst us.

I've done it... I haven't perfected it yet though... Don't always hit the
dive site, but the boat's always been there when I came back up -- I like to
keep a line to the boat or to the anchor line...

On 15 Feb 2005 13:47:15 -0800, "daniel" <daniel@uwcorp.net> wrote:

>I was under the impression that standard gps was still only accurate to
>within 300'. If this is not the case, then the book is definately to
>blame for it, even the reefs I've found have been 100'-500' from the
>coordinates given. I even towed a diver a short ways trying to find the
>Capt. Dan with no luck. I would never ever leave my boat unattended,
>diving alone or not). I always leave someone on board that can at least
>call for help on the radio. If I'm drift diving, I of course leave
>someone on board competent enough to pick us up when we're done. As
>long as I have a competent enough bubble watcher and it's not a wreck,
>it's always a drift dive for me.

I just got a GPS for Christmas.

When introduced, the US military scrambled the signal a bit and
accuracy was about 100 m (300'), but this improved to 10-20 m (30-60')
in 2000 when the scrambling was removed.

WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) was introduced in 2003 to get
more accuracy for GPS. It was designed to provide accuracy to within
7.6 m horizontally and vertically, but actually delivers within 1-2 m
horizontally and 2-3 m vertically, which should be more than adequate
to put you over this wreck.

Maybe you have an old GPS that can't receive WAAS signals.

---
Mike from Ottawa