I"m sure you guys are tired of this...

[brutus_scuba]

I'm going to be in Fl. July 15-22 on the Siesta Key. I know that diving off boats is where all the excitment is at on the gulf coast or so I've heard. However I'm a pretty new diver so was consiering doing some shore dives with my brother (the only other diver in the family) in shallow water just to get some salt water dives under my belt. I've been told if I do that all I'll see is sand. (I'm okay with that. I just like being wet.) Are there any good shore dives around Sarasota that I could check out?? I can probably only do one day of diving off a boat as apparently I'm supposed to spend time with my family and I'm a poor college student so 80 dollars a day is a bit over my head :-( for more then a day....where are the best dives in that area? I would like to dive wrecks, which wrecks do I just need to see?

 

[Walter]

There is great diving in the Gulf, but it's not well suited for beginners. There is a cool wreck at Bradenton Beach (the Regina AKA the Sugar Barge) in about 15 feet of water. Sometimes the viz is OK, but sometimes you find the wreck by bumping into it.

 

[Matteo]

if you want to drive south about 30 minutes, Venice Beach has all the sand you could possibly want to see, as well as millions of shark teeth and other fossils

 

[Misplaced Priority]

Dude,
Did you see the size of that Hammerhead they took down off the southern gulf coast? I don't think I would be interested in blowing bubbles in the shallows with no vis. Go on a boat and see if the DM will do an escort dive with you. Thats safer I think.

 

[Matteo]

Dude,
Did you see the size of that Hammerhead they took down off the southern gulf coast? I don't think I would be interested in blowing bubbles in the shallows with no vis. Go on a boat and see if the DM will do an escort dive with you. Thats safer I think.

actually, there were two large hammers taken down here recently, one about 750lbs and the other about 1280lbs, if I remember correctly...and be sure that there are plenty more where they came from...it's all part of the exciting low-vis SW Florida diving adventure

no seriously, those sharks were taken in Boca Grande Pass(well south of Sarasota/Venice/Siesta Key), which this time of the year is a huge gathering/spawning ground for tarpon and the sharks are there as well to take advantage of the smorgasboard

 

[Misplaced Priority]

1280 lbs!

 

[Buckeye698]

If your up for a couple hour drive go to lauderdale by the sea. If you have been diving the quarries in ohio you will love the change. 15 to 20 feet deep and a easy shore dive. reef few hundred feet off shore. Go BUCKEYES

 

[knives]

I am on Siesta Key as well , and I head out to venice beach for shark tooth diving and sometimes take a boat from http://www.floridawestscuba.com/ ,
they are great .....:11doh:

 

[brutus_scuba]

If your up for a couple hour drive go to lauderdale by the sea. If you have been diving the quarries in ohio you will love the change. 15 to 20 feet deep and a easy shore dive. reef few hundred feet off shore. Go BUCKEYES

I have been diving the quarries of Ohio. I know when these Fl guys talk about low viz I can take it with a grain of salt. Last week I was at the bottom after a class sat on the bottom (Kudos to whatever instructor ruined that for me.) but I couldn't see more then the outline of my dive buddy, and I was close enough to reach out and touch him.

I love the Buckeyes I'm a student at OSU. I tried to get the family to go to Lauderdale by the Sea actually I read about some pretty decent diving there. I mapquested it and mapquest told me it was a bout a 3.5 hour drive to get down to Lauderdale by the sea. Is that pretty accurate?

To give you an idea of my diving expierence I only have 15 dives in now, but will probably have 25-30 in by the time I come to flordia possibly more as I plan on diving every weekend between now and then in the quarries.

did you live down there during the 02 NC game? I bet that was awesome.

 

[brutus_scuba]

Dude,
Did you see the size of that Hammerhead they took down off the southern gulf coast? I don't think I would be interested in blowing bubbles in the shallows with no vis. Go on a boat and see if the DM will do an escort dive with you. Thats safer I think.

So there is really no safe way to shore dive without having to worry about Hammerheads huh?

I am on Siesta Key as well , and I head out to venice beach for shark tooth diving

Do you just shore dive off venice beach there?