Aquatic Adventures: Beach Diving Off Broward's Shoreline
LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA (CBS4) -- In this week's Aquatic Adventures, it's scuba diving season in South Florida now that the water has warmed up. This week, CBS4's Jeff Berardelli takes us to Broward County for a unique kind of dive, a beach dive in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea where you don't have to go far to see the underwater sights located just a few hundred yards off the beach.
Gold Coast Scuba instructor Tom Carpenter meets often with other divers who share a passion for the underwater world.
"Most of the diving that most people enjoy, what there is to see on the reefs, is right offshore, so within a little swimming distance, usually a pier length, you're out there on a beautiful reef, there's plenty of life around," explained Carpenter.
Tom says the biggest challenge is lugging the equipment across the beach, but if the seas are calm, it's just a 10-minute swim out to the reef in about 15-feet of water.
Once you're there, it's not uncommon to see big tarpon, turtles, and even sharks. Of course, there are also lots of interesting coral structures and plenty of colorful tropical fish.
Up and down the Broward coastline there are several nice beach dives. They're a great option for folks who don't want to spend the money or time on a dive boat. Assuming the weather is nice, there's always plenty of willing dive buddies like David Novack.
"This is as close to paradise as one can get and still be in the continental U.S., just 50 yards out that way," said Novack.
Beach dives are less expensive and less time consuming than traditional beach dives.
For more information, check out the Gold Coast Scuba web site.
