Just moved to Panama City Beach and it's time!

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Sooners

Registered
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
64
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0
Location
Panama City Beach
# of dives
I just don't log dives
Heyllo Folks!

Well like the title says, I just moved to Panama City Beach and its time to go diving! I'm posting this to see if anyone would like to get out there sometime soon. Im getting anxious and need to try out some gear I got, because Santa was good to me this year :idk:.

Warning: Im a new diver and I have never done ocean dives. Just good ol' muddy lakes :D

Any takers? Doesnt have to be asap. Ill be living here for the next 2 years, so let me know!
 
Welcome to Panama City but you picked a heck of a season - water temp is 52 degrees right now.
 
Sooners, Head on over to vortex springs, water is warmer and very clear. it is a very nice training area.
 
got to agree that Vortex is a good starting point. It's 68f, which means it's warmer than the ocean right now, and "gin clear" water.

Then hit some of the other springs while you're waiting on the ocean to warm back up.
 
Don't forget Morrisons if it is open.
 
Well alrighty I'll have to go check out those springs! I hope to get some dives in next weekend!

For the PCB/PC ppl. I know yall mentioned some shops in the area that are great. I think Dive locker was one. My certs are through NAUI and that shop is PADI. Do ya think there will be any issue crossing over? Or, should I go to another shop here that is SSI/NAUI.

Does it really matter?

Thanks for the info!
 
I like the Divers Den but that is a personal oppinion. The Dive Locker has always done me good as well. I don't like PCDC as much because they try to put to many divers on one boat. But I guess that is how they make money. Don't get me wrong I would go out with them again if Divers Den or Dive Locker was booked. They seem to try to keep the numbers alittle smaller.
 
I have some friend that run Beach City Scuba in Ft Walton beach. Mike and Dawn, Dawn is always up at Vortex or one of the Bayoo's she is in the water almost every weekend.
 
For the PCB/PC ppl. I know yall mentioned some shops in the area that are great. I think Dive locker was one. My certs are through NAUI and that shop is PADI. Do ya think there will be any issue crossing over? Or, should I go to another shop here that is SSI/NAUI.

Does it really matter?

In my opinion, it's the quality of the instruction received that matters a lot more than the name of the agency.

If you get poor instruction, then you get screwed, regardless of the agency.

I suggest you ask around and find out who the best instructors and get the most out of the course that you can. The name/agency/logo on the card is worthless otherwise.



I like the Divers Den but that is a personal oppinion. The Dive Locker has always done me good as well. I don't like PCDC as much because they try to put to many divers on one boat. But I guess that is how they make money. Don't get me wrong I would go out with them again if Divers Den or Dive Locker was booked. They seem to try to keep the numbers alittle smaller.

All the shops in PCB have their pluses and negatives.

yeah PCDC puts many divers on their boats, but that's becuase they have the biggest boats. Bigger boats cost more to operate and have more seats on them... so naturally they have more divers.

However, if you've got a big party and you need a big boat for something and want to charter the entire boat, it's nice to have them available. (putting 20 people on Diver Lockers Newton(35') is a worse cattle-boat-situation than being on PCDC's 65' Island Diver with the same number of people. It makes a big difference).
 
Then hit some of the other springs while you're waiting on the ocean to warm back up.

Make sure you stay in the OW areas of the springs until you get cavern trained.

Mopar:
Don't forget Morrisons if it is open.

Morrison is blown right now and probably will be for another few months.

Sooners:
Do ya think there will be any issue crossing over? Or, should I go to another shop here that is SSI/NAUI.

Does it really matter?

There is no point in crossing over. Like has been mentioned, find an instructor you like and continue your training. Your NAUI OW card is good. If you choose to do AOW through PADI, that's okay. And then you can do Rescue through SDI and cavern through IANTD. But there's no point in getting a PADI OW card if you already have a NAUI OW card.

You may also want to check out Merritt's Mill Pond in Marianna, about an hour north of you. It's on the shallow side, but there is a lot to be seen in the pond. Unfortunately, the water temp away from the head spring is in the 50s right now.
 
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