Snorkeling in Ft. Lauderdale

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Bosch

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Messages
17
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Location
Nebraska
# of dives
50 - 99
I have some non-diving friends who are going to be in Ft. Lauderdale at the end of this month. They'd asked me about snorkeling conditions, but having never been there myself, wasn't sure what to tell them.

1. Water temps/wetsuit requirements?
2. Visibility?
3. Locations/places to snorkel?

Thanks for any input.
 
Water's around 84 right now. At least in my area and that is at depth, so it shouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't necessarily wear a wetsuit snorkeling, but would probably opt for a rashguard. Lauderdale by the Sea has descent vis for snorkeling, they can even watch the divers beneath them. And the last question - Lauderdale by the Sea. Take Commercial east until you run into beach.
 
Anyone ever dive the euro jacks east of the Yankee Clipper hotel? Should be in 15-20 feet of water. How far out are they from shore and are they hard to find?

I'll try to find them tomorrow after work with snorkle gear if the waves arent choppy
 
I always stop on my way down to the Keys! Grab breakfast at the little restaurant on the pier at Lauderdale by the sea and they can tell you all the good spots, or just pick up a nautical fish/dive chart at the dive shop two blocks (I think) from the beach right off Commercial. I have been there and had 10-15m vis but I have also beeh there and had 5m vis so it just depends on the wind. I have never gone to the deeper set of reefs because I am not familiar with the local currents (maybe waterbearer can inform us both) but the first set you come to (100-150m offshore) has some nice coral heads and a decent fish species diversity for newbies. Last time I had a juvy bar jack think I was a large fish and it stayed right in my pressure wave infront of my mask almost the whole time. Kinda cool!! Hope that helps and have fun!!
 
You really cannot beat Lauderdale by the Sea. There are reefs everywhere and lots of lobsters. The public beach access is marked with a metal sign (painted to look like a dive flag). The reef starts in 10-15 feet. If you want to go deeper then just swim east. You will go across some sand and eventually run into another reef. The reefs run North-South so when you find a reef you like just swim N-S to follow it.

There is ALOT of boat traffic in the area so be sure you carry your dive flag with you. I do a 360 degree careless boater check every time I surface :)

Have fun
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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