Diving Panhandle Wrecks without a Charter

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vinsanity

Contributor
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Location
Portland, Oregon
# of dives
100 - 199
I'm going to be on vacation in PCB and a buddy of mine has access to an appropriate size boat. We are thinking about diving a few of the local wrecks. Currently thinking about at least the USS Strength, Black Bart, and the FAMI Tubs sounds unique.

Anyone know how good the GPS Coords on Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail are? Do these wrecks have mooring lines? Do they have buoys on the surface? I know in HI, some wrecks have mooring buoys that are 10' underwater. Wondered if that was the dive shops trying to keep them secret from people with boats that are not a dive shop.

Any valuable warnings or unexpected reasons this is a poor choice compared to chartering from a dive shop?
 
Oh, and if there are mooring lines, are we allowed to use them or are they privately maintained or something? Any important non-obvious etiquette we should know about?
 
Oh, and if there are mooring lines, are we allowed to use them or are they privately maintained or something? Any important non-obvious etiquette we should know about?

As bamafan said, no mooring lines. I can give you the GPS coordinates I took, but I think that without a sonar/fish finder of some sort, GPS won't be nearly good enough to get you on the wrecks. Do like the DMs do, jump overboard with about 30lbs of chain on a long rope. :) The commercial boats chain to parts of the railings in general. I do not know of the etiquette, although I suspect that there is some.

Black Bart: 30°03'36.997"N 85°49'25.997"W
USS Strength: 30°01'55.999"N 85°42'29.999"W
We did not dive the FAMI Tubs
 
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