Don't keep it private: SHARE!!!
I just moved to O'Brien Florida and would love to hear more about what's available over there. I'm a whole lot closer than when I was in the Keys. Just saying.
Sorry Pete--I just didn't want to type it all again. In a nutshell East to West:
--PCB--St. Andrews Jetty (and gulf side)-considered best shore dive whole area. 70' in channel. Viz varies a lot, could be bad. Several shops --charters to wrecks, etc. I used Dive Locker, very good.
--Destin--2 shops Emerald Coast & Scuba Tech. Both do charters. I did a lot of courses with ECS and highly recommend them. Shore dives: Destin "Thumb Jetty"-50'. Destin Bridge--different depths. Bay dives, gulf beach dives: a few, but not really good (especially bay).
P'cola--Several shops. Dive Pros very good. Charters: several. Shore dives: same as Destin but not as many.
Perdido Key (really W. end P'cola): I often chartered with Niuhi Diving--very good.
Alabama: Charter out of gulf Shores (Down Under Diving, I thing), also Gary's -- haven't used them but hear good things.
AL shore: Perdido Pass--right over the FL line. Gulf shores (Whiskey Wreck--haven't done it and hear it sometimes gets buried). My one dive there zero viz, but I'm sure it varies. Pay to park (even in "winter"...)
Dauphin Island, AL--like Miss.--forget it unless you like 10' of nothing.
West of that and MS through to La.-- You can get wet somewhere of you want and maybe get 10'. Problem West of say Gulf Shores is you're into both all the rivers, Mississippi Sound, Mobile Bay and Miss. River, all which combine to mess things up. You can find maybe one shore dive in L. Pontchartrain near Nola, get 9' and look at oyster shells.Best to hit the bars or casinos.
Miss. charter I took out of Gautier--outstanding, but very costly, as you pay gas to get way out and away from Miss. Sound, East to off AL.
I know there are oil rig dives out of La., but know little about them--assume very costly as well.
Assume everybody knows about the Oriskany (The Big 0) off Pensacola....Too deep for me as the bottom is well below rec. depths for my shell collecting. It's an advanced dive and rec. divers can chose a shallower depth and swim around the upper portions of this 888 foot wreck.
Of course, all inlet dives very dependent on slack tide due to ripping currents. Diurnal tides, which at times don't at all follow the 12 hour cycle. At times can vary from the tide predictions NOAA tables. Tides only range 1-2'. VERY few high tides during the day in Jan.-March for some reason.
Gulf temps. range from a mid winter low of usually 55 (though I have seen 43 once) to about 65 in Mid March. Later than that and through mid Fall quite like South FL (so I read). You are on the "Tundra" as they say (not the real tundra in my country....).
