Best wrecks in SE Florida to watch Grouper aggregations now?

[Biotech Diver]

Corridor Wrecks in Palm Beach, Wreck Trek & MG111 in Jupiter and the Castor. Those are the ones to hit for the aggregation. Any (or all) of those!

Also the speed you do The Corridor all depends upon the current. You easily hit 4-5 wrecks in 45-50 min. This is drift diving at its best. Castor is the only wreck that is dived moored and it can have a killer current too. I’ve seen the current so strong you literally could not get down to the wreck. I’ve also been on it with no current at all. That’s how it goes in South FL.

For the Castor you can use Loggerhead, Starfish, Underwater Explorers or Splashdown. All out of the Boynton (Two George’s as Pete calls it) Marina.

What Jim said ^.
Boats going out to the Castor book up fast but a lot of times you can get on a wait list and still get on at the last minute. What Jim said about the current on the Castor is true. I've dove there with almost no current and dove there with the current so strong it's impossible to get vertical and you need to hold onto something to stay on the wreck. But it is an amazing dive if you can get on it. The Goliath Groopers like to hang out on the south end of the wreck just forward of the super structure which is at about 70 feet at the top and the sand is 105 to 115, but no reason to really go to the sand because the best views are between 70-90 feet. You really need to dive Nitrox if you want to have any bottom time on the Castor.

 

[tarponchik]

We did dive on Castor and counted 16 Goliath Groupers there. The current at the surface was brutal, but down at the wreck it wasn't too bad. I had trouble with my flash so I didn't take too many pictures. Still, we like it a lot. The highlight of the other dive, along the reef, was an encounter with a Great Hammerhead.

We also tried to dive the 111 wreck off Jupiter but the boat crew claimed the current was too strong and took us to the reefs instead. Still, these were good dives too (several reef sharks and 1 GG).

Thanks everyone!

 

[scubadada]

Hi @tarponchik Yuri,

When did you dive the Castor and with what operator? I dived the Castor on the 11th with Starfish, the 17th with Loggerhead, and the 19th with Starfish. With your description of the current, seems like you probably dived the 17th, Loggerhead set the Starfish ball and they followed later. I heard about some divers seeing the Great Hammerhead. My wife and I saw a large Great Hammerhead on the Boynton inside reef in August 2019, spectacular .

Best, Craig

 

[tarponchik]

Hi @tarponchik Yuri,

When did you dive the Castor and with what operator? I dived the Castor on the 11th with Starfish, the 17th with Loggerhead, and the 19th with Starfish. With your description of the current, seems like you probably dived the 17th, Loggerhead set the Starfish ball and they followed later. I heard about some divers seeing the Great Hammerhead. My wife and I saw a large Great Hammerhead on the Boynton inside reef in August 2019, spectacular .

Best, Craig

We did Castor with Starfish on the 17th. You are correct, this was our 2nd dive cause Castor was occupied in the morning, by you, I presume
Cheers,
Yuri

 

[Divin'Papaw]

We also tried to dive the 111 wreck off Jupiter but the boat crew claimed the current was too strong and took us to the reefs instead. Still, these were good dives too (several reef sharks and 1 GG).

The MG111 is brutal if not undivable in a big current. It's not a typical wreck and there is no place to shelter. It is really just concrete pilings that jut up from the bottom about 20' or so each. Here is a photo a buddy took of me watching a hawksbill grazing on one. On this dive there was zero current. You can tell there is really no place to shelter from the current. If the dive op said it wasn't diveable I'd believe them. They know the site. You most likely would have been miserable and probably blown right off of the site.

 

[tarponchik]

The MG111 is brutal if not undivable in a big current. It's not a typical wreck and there is no place to shelter. It is really just concrete pilings that jut up from the bottom about 20' or so each. Here is a photo a buddy took of me watching a hawksbill grazing on one. On this dive there was zero current. You can tell there is really no place to shelter from the current. If the dive op said it wasn't diveable I'd believe them. They know the site. You most likely would have been miserable and probably blown right off of the site.

View attachment 613730

Sure, I trust them. No grudge hold