Any good dive charter companies at Mexico Beach, FL

[mcf57]

We are going to Port St. Joe this summer for the family vacation. I have a bout 50 dives recorded & have dived here before with the local shop (Dalys Dock) and all went good. I plan to probably use them one time and it looks like Panama City is about 50mins away so I could possibly do a day there too. I see a place in between these two called Mexico Beach that seems could be a possible place as well.

Are there any dive charter companies that go out of Mexico Beach that I could give a shot and/or my business to? Or is it really just Panama City and Port St. Joe to choose from?

 

[scubadada]

Diving - Mexico Beach
?operators

 

[diversteve]

Besides Daly's the only other shops PADI lists for Mexico Beach are three in Panama City:
Welcome to The Den Panama City Beach's Premier Dive Shop
http://www.divelocker.net/
Panama City Diving - Panama City's Favorite Dive Shop

SSI lists one in PC also:
PCDC Website

 

[sportxlh]

I've been out with two of those, Panama City Diving and Divers Den. Personnel at both shops are top notch though I like PCD's boat better, it's a Newton.

I also went out with Panama City Dive Center two weekends ago. They use these big crew boats that are probably very stable in rough seas: I liked the people but feel the opertation probably caters towards classes of OW students a bit more than experienced divers. They kept the dive times pretty short which worked for the newbies but not so well with my 120 steel tank, 35% nitrox mix on the Red Sea wreck. I came back with 2000+ psi in the tank and quite a bit of NDL time after a 40 minute dive. I'd use them again if I was going with a club or group that could dictate a bit more about bottom time, but doubt I'd use them when diving by myself.

 

[mcf57]

Ok, I see a charter company out of Mexico beach that says diving. However, I need to rent ALL my equipment and buddy up with someone (since i am solo) so thinking it might be easier to go with these others. I have used some of those in PC so will probably go that route if needed outside port st. Joe.

I also keep wanting to do some of the FL springs. Almost did Ginnie back in Oct, but plans fell through. Looks like it's two hrs away from st. Port Joe so not really an option for me. I think there are some in n. Central FL that are closer, right? If so, what are some good ones. Again, I will be solo so need to buddy up AND rent all my equipment.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[WetRocks]

Ginnie is almost 4 hrs from Mexico Beach.

Morrison and Vortex are less than 2 hrs. You would have to bring all your gear to Morrison, but can rent at Vortex.

Jackson Blue is also an option, about 1.5 hrs north of Mexico Beach. You can rent gear from Cave Adventurers. Better yet, take the family and rent a boat to explore the Millpond.

 

[dkramer]

We dived with Panama City Beach Divers this summer. My Niece lives in Mexico Beach. There is a Charter that goes out of Port St Joe's but we had some concerns & Chose to go with PCB instead. We were the most experienced divers on the boat & when I asked about a time limit I was told "there isn't one", which surprised me because in the Keys you are usually told 1 hour. Just make sure you get your directions to the shop & the boat. We were using a GPS that hadn't been updated & got horribly lost.

 

[sportxlh]

Jackson Blue is also an option, about 1.5 hrs north of Mexico Beach. You can rent gear from Cave Adventurers. Better yet, take the family and rent a boat to explore the Millpond.

What's Jackson Blue like? Similar to Morrison?

 

[geogator]

What's Jackson Blue like? Similar to Morrison?

To dive Jackson Blue you need to have a minimum of a cavern cert but nearly all of the divers who dive there are cave certified as it's a premier cave diving site. All of the other springs on Merritt's Mill Pond (which is ~4 miles long) are cave dives as well. PLEASE DO NOT enter these sites without proper cave diving training!! There have been several fatalities in Merritt's Mill Pond over the years due to untrained divers going into these cave environments. The pond is, however, also a beautiful place to paddle and is fairly shallow in most spots (avg 10ft) and you can snorkel at all of the springs there. Beware though, water temps in the springs of the Florida panhandle are chillier than the springs in north Florida and average around 66-68 degrees vs. 72-ish outside of the panhandle. Furthermore, MMP water temps also vary by season and can drop to 60 or so in the winter so dress accordingly. Merritt's Mill pond is also lined and filled with huge cypress trees and the grasses on the bottom make for some of the best freshwater fishing in the southeast US. Here's a good link to some other info on Merritt's Mill Pond:

Paddle, swim, fish or cave dive at Merritt’s Mill Pond in Marianna

Morrison Springs is a Walton County-operated park located about 10 miles south of the Town of Ponce De Leon off of I-10. Since Morrison discharges down a somewhat short run to the Choctawhatchee River, it's greatly affected by the river level and can brown out very easily if there's been significant rain in the area causing the river level rise. It's best to call ahead to inquire whether or not it's open to diving before venturing a trip there. The park is free to enter and dive. It has nice amenities (bathrooms, rinse and picnics areas) and is a popular location for OW checkout classes, as well as for just snorkeling, freediving and swimming due to exceptional water clarity when it's not browned-out by the river. The spring pool is enormous (~250' across) and also ringed with huge, picturesque cypress trees, while the sandy bottom has a very gradual slope from the shoreline towards a funnel shaped vent area in the center of the pool. The vent opening has a large log across the mouth at about 20-25ft deep that's frequently used as a safety stop. The non-overhead area of the vent drops to around 40-45ft, at which point there is a small, cavern-like overhead area to one side that's fun to peek into. This is also the point where new and OW divers should not venture past. If you continue to descend further, you'll proceed down a chimney-like chute which eventually drops into a large cavern that bottoms out around 90ft. The flow coming up the chute from the cavern is quite strong and since it's a true cavern environment, you obviously need a light (and a backup), excellent buoyancy skills and ideally should have cavern training to explore. The vent area is also home to fresh water eels in the cavern portions so you may get lucky and see one while you're there. Here's a link to the Walton County Parks Department website for Morrison Springs:

Morrison Springs | Walton County, FL - Home Page

 

[WetRocks]

I guess I took for granted and didn't mention the fact that no one should be diving an overhead situation who does not overhead training. As geogator said, you should not enter any if the caves, on the Millpond (or Morrison) without at least a cavern cert. That said, open water diving along with snorkeling are allowed at Jackson Blue Spring (not IN...) and in the rest of the Millpond.

The water is a little low right now, but clear with practically unlimited vis the entire 4 mile length so maybe something to check out.