(The most famous of Ft. Lauderdale's wrecks is the 198-foot freighter Mercedes I. She received national attention, when on Thanksgiving Day in 1984 during a storm, she lost her anchorage and ran aground against a seawall of an exclusive Palm Beach mansion. The bow of the ship partially rests on a coral reef. Typically in the Ft. Lauderdale area this dive is done as a drift dive while towing a marker dive flag buoy. She was stripped and cleaned, and holes were cut in her sides and bulkheads. She was loaded with 350 pounds of TNT, floated out to the chosen spot and spectacularly sent to the depths with brilliant pyrotechnics, explosions, and festivities. She now lies even keel in 97 feet of water just offshore of Fort Lauderdale.

The deck is at 60 feet and her tower can be reached at 45 feet. On August 24, 1992, Florida's infamous Hurricane Andrew swept through the area with massive devastation and almost tore her in two. The wreck was partly broken mid-ship and has since separated even more. However, she's still a beautiful dive - the still intact bow now faces north on the outside of the third reef system. Average visibility ranges from 50 to 60 feet and the current can sometimes be strong so the wreck is for more advanced divers

(The Hollyhock was a 175-foot U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender built in March of 1937 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1959, she was moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she was used as an ice breaker in Lake Michigan. She later served in Miami, Florida -- also as a buoy tender -- and in the Bahamas for refueling seaplanes for the U.S. Air Force.

In February of 1990, the ship was renamed and reefed in memory of Captain Dan Garnsey, a well-known Pompano Beach drift fishing boat owner. Today, the ship lies upright in 110 feet with her bow pointing south. The wheelhouse is 70 feet below the surface and her deck is at 90 feet below the surface..)