Stone
Contributor
Pompano Beach, Florida. Saturday, June 1 to Thursday, June 6, 2002.
Operator: Mike Halprins Seahorse
Six 2-tank morning dives
Sites: Different wreck and reef each day
Viz: 30 to 50 ft on the reefs; 50 to 80 ft on the wrecks
Depth: 45 to 70 ft on the reefs. 70 to 110 ft on the wrecks
Water Temp: 79 to 83 F
Seas: Calm to 2 feet every day
Weather: Partly to mostly sunny, air temp in the high 80s
Mike Halprins Seahorse: What a great operation! The Seahorse is a 38 Delta that can carry 22 divers, but we never had more than 8. Mike is not affiliated with a dive shop and it is unlikely you will share the boat with classes or snorkelers. The boat is parked behind the Ocean Beach Resort and there are lodging package deals available. Mikes mate/divemaster, Chris, is also a captain and has been with Mike for 6 years. Both Mike and Chris really know the reefs and wrecks. The 2-tank trip is $45 and air is $9.50 a tank. I rented Nitrox tanks from the Force-E dive shop, but I think Mike can supply them if you make arrangements.
Diving: A typical 2-tank dive starts with a wreck and ends on a reef. The wrecks included the Captain Dan and RSB-1 (110 fsw), Ancient Mariner and Copenhagen (70 fsw), and a dive called the 5 Wreck Trek (70 fsw) which has 5 wrecks that can be seen on a single dive (we only saw 3 due to current). All the wrecks mentioned can be safely entered. The wrecks have been down long enough to be covered with sea life, and there are barracuda everywhere. We dove EAN32 on the deeper wrecks and air on everything else, but we could have gotten more bottom time on the second dives if all of the wrecks were done on Nitrox. Although the tops of the reefs we dove were generally 45 fsw, the ledges went down to 60 or 70 fsw, so its not hard to reach your NDL well before you reach your air or time limit. All of the second dives were drift dives. Mike would tell us the pick-up time and drop us in the water with a dive flag buoy when we were ready. The second dive could last up to one and a half hours if your NDL allowed it. Pompano/Fort Lauderdale has very long ledges, so we never ran out of reef. There were tons of hard and soft corals, and the usual tropical fish. Always a favorite is the Sea Emperor. This barge and its spilled contents of large concrete pipes is the home of stingrays, huge morays, loggerhead turtles, at least one goliath grouper, and a number of nurse sharks. . . all of which can be seen on a single dive. Although you cant feed the residents any more, they are still conditioned to divers and unafraid. This small dive site may be the best photo op in Florida because of its variety of big critters.
Operator: Mike Halprins Seahorse
Six 2-tank morning dives
Sites: Different wreck and reef each day
Viz: 30 to 50 ft on the reefs; 50 to 80 ft on the wrecks
Depth: 45 to 70 ft on the reefs. 70 to 110 ft on the wrecks
Water Temp: 79 to 83 F
Seas: Calm to 2 feet every day
Weather: Partly to mostly sunny, air temp in the high 80s
Mike Halprins Seahorse: What a great operation! The Seahorse is a 38 Delta that can carry 22 divers, but we never had more than 8. Mike is not affiliated with a dive shop and it is unlikely you will share the boat with classes or snorkelers. The boat is parked behind the Ocean Beach Resort and there are lodging package deals available. Mikes mate/divemaster, Chris, is also a captain and has been with Mike for 6 years. Both Mike and Chris really know the reefs and wrecks. The 2-tank trip is $45 and air is $9.50 a tank. I rented Nitrox tanks from the Force-E dive shop, but I think Mike can supply them if you make arrangements.
Diving: A typical 2-tank dive starts with a wreck and ends on a reef. The wrecks included the Captain Dan and RSB-1 (110 fsw), Ancient Mariner and Copenhagen (70 fsw), and a dive called the 5 Wreck Trek (70 fsw) which has 5 wrecks that can be seen on a single dive (we only saw 3 due to current). All the wrecks mentioned can be safely entered. The wrecks have been down long enough to be covered with sea life, and there are barracuda everywhere. We dove EAN32 on the deeper wrecks and air on everything else, but we could have gotten more bottom time on the second dives if all of the wrecks were done on Nitrox. Although the tops of the reefs we dove were generally 45 fsw, the ledges went down to 60 or 70 fsw, so its not hard to reach your NDL well before you reach your air or time limit. All of the second dives were drift dives. Mike would tell us the pick-up time and drop us in the water with a dive flag buoy when we were ready. The second dive could last up to one and a half hours if your NDL allowed it. Pompano/Fort Lauderdale has very long ledges, so we never ran out of reef. There were tons of hard and soft corals, and the usual tropical fish. Always a favorite is the Sea Emperor. This barge and its spilled contents of large concrete pipes is the home of stingrays, huge morays, loggerhead turtles, at least one goliath grouper, and a number of nurse sharks. . . all of which can be seen on a single dive. Although you cant feed the residents any more, they are still conditioned to divers and unafraid. This small dive site may be the best photo op in Florida because of its variety of big critters.
