PCB June trip

[poolecw]

Guys, my family and I will be at Panama beach this summer for a week. Five of us are certified and would like to do a two tank dive while there.

Can you recommend a charter as well as some wreck suggestions? My wife will be newly certified by then and this will be her first dive beyond her check out dives (probably will be done in a quarry) So I want this to be a really neat experience for her.

I've talked to the guys at Panama City Diving (not to be confused with Panama City Dive Center!) a couple years ago. They seemed really nice. However, it appears they tend to focus on spear fishing trips. While my dad, brother, and I would love that, there are several in the group that are very inexperienced. So probably not a good idea there.

 

[txgoose]

We had a pretty decent experience with PCDC Aug of ‘17. Older rental gear but well maintained. The boats and crew were wonderful. Bigger boats were fairly stable. We dove weekdays and did not have to fight any crowds.

If your wife wants fish and wildlife, I think the bridge spans are a bit better than the wrecks. If she wants to see a wreck, the inshore sunken boats are fun. If depth is an issue she can subtract 15-20ft by staying at the tops of the structures. Depths below were at the sand.

All have sand floors. No fear of a descent into the abyss.
Hathaway Bridge Span 12 was 69ft
H B Span 14 was 74ft
Red Sea was 75ft
Black Bart was 76ft
USS Strength (a non-cleaned wreck) was 77ft

 

[Saniflush]

PCDC is who our shop uses when we go as a group.
I have also used PCD and The Dive Locker as a single or pair and had no issue with any of them.
We all had our own gear so I'm not sure how their rental gear is.

 

[Billy Northrup]

My experience is limited to Dive Locker but Jeff Garrett treated me great. Enjoy!

 

[sportxlh]

I've been out with Panama City Divers several times (which is different than Panama City Dive Center) and had really good experiences. I like the staff and the boat which is a Newton.

http://www.panamacitydiving.com

Also been out with Divers Den. This operator also has a great staff. The boat has a narrow beam so is a bit bouncy in rough marine conditions. That's the only negative

Welcome to The Den Panama City Beach's Premier Dive Shop

I've also been out with Panama City Dive Center. They were decent but I liked the other two shops a bit better. I didn't find the staff to be as helpful and they didn't have very many DIN valves on their tanks so they gave me some grief over that. I use them as a back up if the other two are not going out

 

[flyingDiver75]

I've had good experiences with Panama City Dive Center. I'm not as partial to the bridge spans as some, but they are easy dives. The Red Sea / Strength combo is a good one for a beginner diver. The Red Sea is a very easy, small wreck. The Strength is more like a reef since it is very broken up, but has a lot of life. They are close together with the Red Sea a bit further from the pass - so often dove 1st.

 

[poolecw]

Great information everyone. I appreciate everyone's input.

 

[txgoose]

To agree a bit with flyingDiver75, all of the sites had wildlife. For your wife, if the conditions are decent, they should all be amazing. And the Strength was absolutely like a reef. We'll be back again in August. Now you all have me thinking about trying out the other shops just for fun. At least PCD with the Newton.

A visual reference to locations mentioned including the pass:
View media item 205079