Lauderdale by the Sea

After several years of boat/quarry/spring diving, this site was a welcome change. Park your car right by the beach, set up your gear on the wide, concrete wall at the edge of the beach, walk 10 yards across smooth, flat sand, and you're diving.<br>I've only been to the first two out of three reef lines, but I've seen nurse sharks and lobsters on every trip, seen golden and spotted morays, seen cuttlefish, barracuda, and the usual reef fish (butterflies, sergeant majors, groupers, grunts and the occasional trumpet fish).<br>One other real positive aspect of this site is the number of divers who frequent it. We joke about getting together a "pick up" dive trip, because there are always people there who will let you buddy with them.<br>Surface swim is roughly 75 yards to the buoy that signals the start of the reef. Drop down along the line and expect to see thee reef just beyond the crossed cannon on the bottom.<br>One of the earlier review was accurate about the parking situation. Lots of beachgoers will covet your space as the day wears on. Be courteous and they'll leave you alone. The crowd does make an early arrival desirable. When I went at 0800, it was empty; when I arrived at 0930, I had to park two blocks away.