Capt. Dan Wreck and Sunkist Reef

Seven Active Divers set out for a double dip on the Capt. Dan, a 175' long wreck with lots of interesting areas to explore. The wreck sits upright at 110' to the sand, with the top of the wheelhouse around 80'. Originally commissioned the Hollyhock, a US Coast Guard Tender, the Captain Dan was sunk in February 1990 off Pompano Beach to become an artificial reef. Having been down for 35 years, there is significant coral encrustation on this interesting wreck. 

Dive 1: Capt. Dan Wreck - even though the seas weren't particularly rough at around 2-3 feet, there was a strong current on the surface which made getting down to the wreck a challenge for many, and it required a bit of luck and some strength. Divers had to aim carefully for the line with their high giant stride off the Black Pearl pontoon boat and grab it immediately, then muster up some arm strength to pull through the current down to the 60 foot level where the current slacked off. The divers who made it down were rewarded with 84 degree water, 40-foot visibility and abundant marine life. In spite of the strong surface current, the current on the actual wreck was quite mild. 

We were greeted by a large green moray eel on the wreck and a huge Goliath grouper off to the side. There were stunning schools of Atlantic spadefish hanging around the wreck along with numerous other fish. This wreck is great fun to explore through many passageways and swimthroughs. 

Dive 2: Sunkist Reef - This trip was planned as a double dip on the Capt. Dan, but due to the difficulty so many had making it down through the current to the wreck, Capt. Matt wisely choose to drop us on Pompano's second reef line over Sunkist Reef drifting into Razzle Dazzle. Here we saw many dense schools of yellowtails and grunts along the ledges, large maroon vase sponges of all shapes and sizes including some with multiple chimneys. We also saw pufferfish and many large queen angelfish. It was a beautiful day of diving! 

Underwater photos by Active Divers Safety Office Rodolfo Lopez. 

Capt. Dan divers (from left) John Davis, Rachel Davis, Jessica Bochenek, Angelica Cookson, Sam Bochenek, Rudy Lopez, John Lutkehaus.