Drive-In Diving: South Florida's Urban Nudis

Gabriel Jensen · Issue 137, Mar/Apr 2024 · pp. 66–68

Products mentioned: Sony a6500, Sony A7RIII, Nauticam Housing, Sony 90mm Macro, Nauticam CMC-2, Nauticam SMC-1, Backscatter MF-2, INON Z330, Caribbean Reef Life by Micky Charteris

South Florida is known for its glitzy nightlife, endless condos, engineered canals, and sordid history- but it should also be known as a world-class dive destination for Sea slug enthusiasts. Stretching between Jupiter in the North all the way to the world- famous South Beach, The South Florida metropolitan area is bordered by the nutrient-rich Everglades to the West and the 3rd largest reef tract in the world to the East. Well known to local divers, much of the regionís best wildlife can be found in the urban canals and under roadway bridges. There are endless viral videos of sharks, dolphins, crocodiles, manatees, and goliath groupers taken from dazzled passersby as they jog across bridges or peek into canals, but sea slugs seem to get lost in the cast of underwater characters. Having taken a particular interest in Nudibranchs, I was delighted to find that nearly every interesting genu…