Florida
By Auvie Kincer
For the past 2 months I have been attending what the students affectionately call “Scuba Boot Camp.” It is not really as strenuous as, oh, say, real boot camp, but it kind of has that air about it. I am talking about the Professional Dive Schools of Florida, or ProDive. It’s located right across the street from the beach in sunny Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Bikini’s and suntan’s abound as you walk down A1A, the strip of highway running north and south along the beach. I know you are saying to yourself, “Yeah, okay. So how was the diving?” Well, that’s all dependent on your definition of fun. Some days the water can be as smooth as glass; others there could be 5 to 6 foot waves. I like to think the waves make it more interesting. However, ProDive doesn’t usually dive on days like that. Depending on the day of the week, you can dive any number of wrecks that have been sunk off the coast of Fort Lauderdale, or if you are diving on Tuesday or Saturday, you will be diving a shallow reef on both tanks. The wrecks range in depths from about 60 feet to 130 feet. All of them are great dives. However, of all the wreck dives I did, my favorite one was called “The 6 Wreck Special”. As the name implies, it is in fact 6 wrecks, running in a straight line, north and south, with one of them being about 15 kick cycles to the west. These wrecks are not bow to stern. You actually have to drift or swim from wreck to wreck, and know where they are. You also have to be very good on air to make all 6. I was fortunate enough to have an instructor that likes to push his “boys” to the limit. Cheers to the “Commander”! A word of warning, though. Visibility is not always that great and there can be some interesting currents. However, if you are in the Fort Lauderdale area, I would definitely check out ProDive if you are wanting to dive. The staff are wonderful and will make you feel very welcome, no matter if you’re there for 2 months or 2 days.
By Auvie Kincer II
For questions or comments, you can email me at a2k_313@yahoo.com
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