destin

[scuber steve]

Hello once agian. My family is going to Destin this Thursday and we are taking our 21 foot Cape Horn to go diving. I was wondering if anyone could tell me or give me any information about any dive sits near Destin. I myself don't feel compfortable going past 80 feet so any dives within that range would be great. Thank you for your help

 

[rdougmatthews]

Here's a link for local artificial reefs.

http://www.fishingdestinflorida.com/local/okaloosacountyreefs.htm

Keep in mind that any of the numbers for sites deployed before 1995 are suspect, because Hurricane Opel dragged a lot of stuff around when it hit.

I dove "County Site #2" aka "Bridge Rubble" and had great viz, saw lots of tropicals and game fish. The attached pictures are from that dive. I don't have the numbers for the "Tanker Barge," another site that I dove last year and enjoyed. "Brown Barge" is also often mentioned as a good dive site.

Also, here are some newer artificial reefs not listed in the links above. I haven't been to any of these.

April 20 2004 (Deployed by City of Niceville) Starfish Complex, Patch Reef #5 Depth - 103' "Florida Specials" concrete modules
30.08.625N x 86 37.670W - Center Point
30.08.643N x 86.37.689W
30.08.653N x 86.37.682W
30.08 637N x 86 37.700W
30.08.647N x 86 37.706W
30.08.626N x 86 37.644W
30.08.614N x 86 37.655W
30.08.637N x 86 37.657W
30.08.600N x 86.37.683W
30.08.607N x 86 37.678W
30.08.611N x 86 37.692W
30.08.607N x 86.37.698W
30.08.643N x 86.37.674W
30.08.630N x 86.37.680W
30.08.600N x 86.37.669W
30.08.642N x 86.37.647W
30.08.621N x 86.37.691W

Starfish Complex, Patch Reef #6 Depth - 103'
"Florida Specials" concrete modules
30 08.674N x 86.37.807W - Center Point
30.08.693N x 86.37.815W
30.08.690N x 86.37.819W
30.08.680N x 86.37.828W
30.08.676N x 86.37.824W
30.08.662N x 86.37.831W
30.08.674N x 86.37.843W
30.08.669N x 86.37.836W
30.08.656N x 86.37.824W
30.08.666N x 86.37.816W
30.08.668N x 86.37.816W
30.08.675N x 86.37.800W
30.08.675N x 86.37.814W
30.08.694N x 86.37.799W
30.08.704N x 86.37.804W
30.08.668N x 86.37.799W

April 20 2004 (Deployed by City of Valparaiso) Starfish Complex, Patch Reef #7 Depth - 100' "Florida Specials" concrete modules
30.08.795N x 86.37.867W - Center Point
30.08.809N x 86.37.877W
30.08.805N x 86.37.876W
30.08.813N x 86.37.876W
30.08.790N x 86.37.893W
30.08.797N x 86.37.890W
30.08.784N x 86.37.891W
30.08.782N x 86.37.890W
30.08.784N x 86.37.880W
30.08.783N x 86.37.862W
30.08.776N x 86.37.848W
30.08.801N x 86.37.856W
30.08.801N x 86.37.847W
30.08.808N x 86.37.853W
30.08.810N x 86.37.857W
30.08.825N x 86.37.870W
30.08.795N x 86.37.873W



Starfish Complex, Patch Reef #8 Depth - 98'
"Florida Specials" concrete modules
30.08.920N x 86.37.807W - Center Point
30.08.940N x 86.37.810W
30.08.939N x 86.37.815W
30.08.932N x 86.37.824W
30.08.929N x 86.37.840W
30.08.920N x 86.37.836W
30.08.906N x 86.37.830W
30.08.904N x 86.37.824W
30.08.903N x 86.37.814W
30.08.898N x 86.37.801W
30.08.894N x 86.37.806W
30.08.909N x 86.37.787W
30.08.926N x 86.37.786W
30.08.925N x 86.37.781W
30.08.922N x 86.37.793W
30.08.936N x 86.37.796W

June 23, 2003 (Deployed by Okaloosa County & TDC)
Sand Dollar Reef Complex #7 93' Tugboat - Mohawk Chief Depth - 124'
30 08.797N x 86.43.005W or 13559.4 x 47059.2

June 11, 2003 (Deployed by Okaloosa County)
Sand Dollar Reef Complex #1 Depth - 126' 30 prefabricated fish havens
30.08.845N x 86.43.117W or 13558.5 x 47059.5
30.08.791N x 86 43.195W or 13557.5 x 47059.2
30.08.809N x 86 43.149W or 13558.0 x 47059.4
30.08.767N x 86 43.070W or 13558.7 x 47059.1
30.08.756N x 86 43.106W or 13558.3 x 47059.0
Sand Dollar Reef Complex #2 Depth - 124'-127' 30 prefabricated fish havens
30.08.851N x 86.43.130W or 13558.4 x 47059.7
30.08.842N x 86 43.040W or 13559.1 x 47059.5
30.08.872N x 86 43.083W or 13558.8 x 47059.7
30.08.898N x 86 43.148W
30.08.872N x 86 43.092W

June 16, 2003 (Deployed by City of Valparaiso)
Sand Dollar Reef Complex #5 Depth - 124' 154 tons of concrete culvert
30.08.98N x 86.43.010W
Sand Dollar Reef Complex #6 Depth - 124' 154 tons of concrete culvert
30.08.87N x 86.42.87W

June 9, 2003 (Deployed by City of Destin)
Sand Dollar Reef Complex #3 30 prefabricated fish havens
30.08.685N x 86 42.943W
30.08.609N x 86 43.055W
30.08.639N x 86 43.016W
30.08.615N x 86 43.007W
30.08.667N x 86 42.996W
30.08.693N x 86 42.960W

Sand Dollar Reef Complex #4 30 prefabricated fish havens
30.08.678N x 86.42.880W
30.08.763N x 86 42.904W
30.08.745N x 86 42.935W
30.08.777N x 86 42.988W
30.08.730N x 86 43.026W

 

[SeaYoda]

I am not usually a boat guy but I have been to a few of the spots near Destin. The Miss Louise tugboat is pretty shallow - about 60' to the bottom. The bridge rubble is about 65'-70'. The top of the air force barge is about 60'. There is a hopper barge near by - we didn't get to dive on it but we dove a "reef" near it and that was 84'.

Out of all the boat dives I've done, the bridge rubble was my favorite. The second best was the Miss Louise because the viz is usually the better there.

You can always pull your boat up to the jetties in the East Pass and dive to 54'. I beach dive there all the time.

I would call the Local dive shops - ScubaTech of Northwest Florida and Emerald Coast Scuba. They are friendly and helpful. They both have websites. Good luck on yor dives.

 

[tripntx]

SeaYoda, dove the jetties last year using Scuba Tech. My daughter loves it, plan on doing as many beach dives on the jetties as possible next week (june 20-26) during vacation. Will be staying in Niceville at the Maxwell/Gunter Rec Area. I have a report on parking and such (walk between two condo's, 100yards or so to jetty).
I know when High tide is next week.
What is High Slack tide?
Do we have to put up a dive flag, or will snorkel/scuba boats already have them up?

thanks,
ken

 

[SeaYoda]

SeaYoda, dove the jetties last year using Scuba Tech. My daughter loves it, plan on doing as many beach dives on the jetties as possible next week (june 20-26) during vacation. Will be staying in Niceville at the Maxwell/Gunter Rec Area. I have a report on parking and such (walk between two condo's, 100yards or so to jetty).
I know when High tide is next week.
What is High Slack tide?
Do we have to put up a dive flag, or will snorkel/scuba boats already have them up?

thanks,
ken

From all that I can gather, the term slack tide refers to the time between the inward flow of the water and outward flow of the water - if so, I've been told that the water in the pass pushes in at different rates (how strong the high tide is) and returns back out at different rates. I think no one knows the exact formula and they want to sound important so they just say something . I find that the current pushes in for about half an hour past high tide and you get a pretty good dive from the time of high tide until about 2 hours after. Currents at the jetties are not very predictable. I've been there at high tide and it be completely calm and at other times I had to crawl along the bottom to make progress.

There are usually snorkle tour boats in the area and they will put a flag on their boat and one near the end of the jetty. I rarely take my own flag out but have been left flagless when the boats left while I was finishing my dive.

When you go to the entrance by the condos, it is very small and hard to find. Look for the beginning of the parallel parking by the marina on the right and directly across from where it begins will be a shower head. Just beyond the shower head there is a public access sign, placed so that it is very hard to see if you go by too fast. The entrance has a house on the left and a taller condo building on the right.

I tried to get a dive in today and the weather stopped me :mad1: . I'm going to try again the next couple days. If my crazy work schedule permits I may be joining you next week too.

Hope this info helps, good luck on your dives!

 

[H2Andy]

holy molly, talk about the motherload

 

[tripntx]

Thank you for the information. Did a two week TDY to Eglin 5 yrs ago, and knew I'd found the area to take my family for vacation. Dove with Emerald Coast during the TDY, nice people. This will be my 3rd yr for family vacation in the area. Couldn't afford it without the MWR facilities around. 1st yr, my daughter had just learned (b'day present), we did 3 days/2 tank dives with Scuba Tech offshore. Seas were calm, she loved it. Last year, she became seasick (3' chops) between the 1st and 2nd dive on day one, missed the 2nd dive, and refused to go offshore anymore. Had to use Scuba Tech to dive the jetties for two days. She loved hunting the shells. Doubt I'll get her off shore this year, so hoping to dive as many days as possible, Monday thru Friday, at the jetties. It'll only cost us air fills. If she decides to skip a day, then I'll book with Scuba Tech or Emerald Coast. Only picked ST with my daughter because they had a divemaster in the water.

 

[Aucilla]

What's the deal right now with water clarity/visability off Destin? A buddy, who really doesn't know, cautioned me that with all the hard rain they've had over there that the water would likely be clouded up. Anybody see lately?

 

[scuber steve]

I haven't any idea what it is like right now but I hope it turns out good.

Karl denninger I thank you greatly for offering to go with us and i hope to see you there!

 

[SeaYoda]

What's the deal right now with water clarity/visability off Destin? A buddy, who really doesn't know, cautioned me that with all the hard rain they've had over there that the water would likely be clouded up. Anybody see lately?

I've been put off from diving the last 2 days due to thunderstorms so I don't know what the viz is. You could call one of the LDS and they will tell you what they had if they went out. I've asked them before and they have even had a customer answer me so I think they are pretty trustworthy. I may try for a jettie dive Thursday 10 am if weather permits. I give a report if I get to go.