Finch and Damian on Narcosis, the good old days for us, oldtimers
I have 116 dives on the Castor since 2009, and look to increase that significantly, starting on Friday. After being seized by US customs in 1999 with more than 10,000 lbs. of cocaine aboard, it was sunk in 2001. It has been beat up over the years. The stern was knocked off to the starboard in 2012 by Hurricane Sandy. The bow was knocked off to the starboard in 2016 by Hurricane Matthew. The cargo deck has been broken up and moved over the years. I have been on the Castor in all kinds of conditions, absolutely ripping current to completely still, near zero visibility to greater than 100 feet. and mid-60s water temp to the mid-80s
The Castor has a year around Goliath Grouper population of something like 20 individuals, including a very friendly guy named Wilbur. During aggregation there are up to hundreds of Goliath Grouper on the wreck and in the vicinity. When you are lucky and there is little current, you can often find large groups off the bow and/or the stern, more often on the port side. There are a few Bull Sharks that make the Castor their home. If you are one of the first down, you can catch them skittering away, as they are not interested in the company. During aggregation, you can sometimes catch them swimming around the wreck. If there are successful spearos on the dive, they will sometime become bolder. During summer and aggregation, there are frequently large schools of Horse Eye Jacks and other larger Jack hunters along with bait balls, often surrounding the Goliath Grouper.
If anyone wants to give the Castor a try, there are some spots open on Loggerhead, out of Boynton Harbor Marina, for Thursday morning the 17th and Saturday morning the 20th. You never know what you'll see, you have to go look.