North Florida - Jacksonville or Panama City Worth It?

[ValkyrieDesigns]

I'm traveling to the middle of north Florida here shortly, pretty much smack in between Panama City and Jacksonville. It's going to be a quick trip, but could fly into either airport and squeeze in a day or so of diving. But, I really don't know much about diving in north FL, only ever done Islamorada/Key Largo. Are there dives on either side that would be worth trying to squeeze into the trip? Or are those areas OK at best?

 

[tursiops]

I would not bother with the Panama City side, unless you want to go out and dive the tower (84+ ft deep) of the Oriskany. Long trip out and back, short dive.
The premier diving in that area are the springs: Vortex, Morrison, etc. Are you cavern or cave certified?
Check with Cave Adventurers in Marianna and see what they can do for you.

 

[divinginn]

There is plenty of good diving around the panhandle of Florida.
Jacksonville not so much.
Try the dive locker in Panama city,always had great dives there,the jetty's at Saint Andrews state park is a great shore dive,be sure to be there at or right before high tide.

 

[divinginn]

I also usually hit Morrison springs on the way back.get another dive or 2 in and wash the salt off my gear.

 

[NothingClever]

Amplifying on a comment from @tursiops - I’ve found suitable weather conditions for the Oriskany are more unpredictable than other dives. The Oriskany will call your name (habitually makes the list of top wreck dives of the world) but chances of the weather window lining up with your window of availability make it a real gamble. I still haven’t dived it and I’ve tried three times to pull together a trip with divers who live in Florida.

Lots of other trips from h2obelow. Captain Doug can be reached at h2obelow@cox.net or FL Panhandle Shipwreck Trail - H2O Below

No affiliation other than he passed my test for being focused, proficient and well-networked in the area (USCG, civilian and military chambers, etc).

 

[Plungee]

There aren’t reefs in Panama City but there’s a lot of sunken ships for diving that are all 50-95 ft. We go there a lot from Atlanta. Check out Panama City diving

The oriskany is in Pensacola so about another 2 hours away. It’s debatably worth it if if diving a single tank as depth will limit your dive

I’m actually researching Jax dives now since I’ll be there but it’s not going to be as warm or have as good vis as the Emerald coast

 

[Robert H. Diver]

Go with Panama City Diving. I’ve had great experiences with them. Some decent artificial reef “(wrecks)” and sunken bridge spans with tons of wildlife on them.

 

[tomfcrist]

The Oriskany will call your name (habitually makes the list of top wreck dives of the world)

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but for anyone staying above 150’, the Oriskany is a below average wreck dive…unless you are there to spear big snapper/grouper, and have the luck to get them past the sharks.

 

[NothingClever]

I trust your appraisal.

I’ve been shooting for a mixed gas technical dive with scooter. Planning math is six minutes from stem to stern. That’s a lot of wreck to explore so have anticipated the sheer immensity of the wreck would be the attraction.

 

[Rob9876]

First, as @Plungee mentioned The Oriskany is actually nearer to Pensacola, which is another 2+ hours west of Panama City Beach. An aircraft carrier, it is the largest artifical reef in the world, and on good days it is far enough out that you can have blue water and nice viz (neither common closer to shore in the Gulf). I'll respectfully disagree with some comments above -- although the flight deck is beyond recreational limits (around 140+ feet), the ship is huge and to me there is plenty to see within recreational limits (most shallow is around 85 feet I believe), and there are really colorful sponges and corals encrusted on her, and a lot of creatures on and around her. Nitrox is really a must, and we were able to request 27% from our dive op, which gave us a good MOD. It's a long ride out and back, but a cool dive if the weather cooperates. For me, it was good diving, bit of a bucket list item, but I'm unlikely to go back often because of the long boat rides, somewhat short dive times, and it's a bit pricey.

Panama City Beach will be a good bit closer for you. Unless the stars align you will likely have green water and somewhat lower viz. Though I laughed the first time I heard it said, it is true: if you can get past the viz, it's good diving. There are a good number of wrecks/structures (bridge spans, navy towers, etc.) and there is a lot of life around them -- from some cool macro critters to sharks, to Goliath Groupers (not rare to see). Most dives are descending down a mooring line to the wreck/structure and returning up the line -- no drifting. We've had good dives both with Dive Locker and Panama City Diving. Last I checked Panama City Diving was the only boat dive op who also provided guided shore dives at the St. Andrews Jetties, which can also be a good dive. Diving in PCB can be fun, you just have to be clear going in that this is not going to be the kind of blue water, great viz diving you have had in the Keys. I have not been diving near Jacksonville, but my research makes me think I would rather go to PCB. My son's pic from one of our PCB dives: