Pensacola area diving for Newbie

[SuPrBuGmAn]

The shore dives on the panhandle may not give you the 30-100' of visibility that you can get a few miles off-shore, but they can still be incredibly fun dives bringing you into contact with a plethera of different species of fish, invertebrates, and corals.

I wouldn't discount the panhandle shore dives, as they are cheap, easy way to have quite a bit of fun. I do beach dives atleast once a week in the area and you'll never hear me complain.

Average vis for a shore dive in Gulf Shores is 10-20', about the same for Ft Pickens(Pensacola), last few trips to the Destin jeddies blessed us with 25-45' of vis(yes, right off the beach! ), Panama City is comparable, and don't discount the springs we have in the area with excellent visibility as well.

 

[chickdiver]

The shore dives on the panhandle may not give you the 30-100' of visibility that you can get a few miles off-shore, but they can still be incredibly fun dives bringing you into contact with a plethera of different species of fish, invertebrates, and corals.

I wouldn't discount the panhandle shore dives, as they are cheap, easy way to have quite a bit of fun. I do beach dives atleast once a week in the area and you'll never hear me complain.

Average vis for a shore dive in Gulf Shores is 10-20', about the same for Ft Pickens(Pensacola), last few trips to the Destin jeddies blessed us with 25-45' of vis(yes, right off the beach! ), Panama City is comparable, and don't discount the springs we have in the area with excellent visibility as well.

I'm well acquainted with Panhandle diving. I learned to dive here 18 years ago and have been teaching in this environment for over 10 years as well. At one time I probably knew every fish at the Pickins jetties by name. I would still highly recommend the charter. If traveling to dive, why not get the best experience possible rather than a mediocre one?

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Some people don't consider a beach-dive mediocre, even at the expense of visibility and different fish. I can honestly say that I've had dives off the beach that were quite a bit more enjoyable than some I've been on offshore. Its nice to save $60-100 too

Everyone has their own tastes in whats good and whats 'mediocre' I suppose. I'm not saying don't look into charters, I'm just saying that they aren't the only option for potential great dives. As for me, I'll stick with my normal routine of 1 or 2 beach dives a week and 1 or 2 boat dives a month

 

[jstuart1]

For now I think shore diving sounds just fine for me. I am a bit concerned about charters that are going greater than 60ft until I get some bottom time in. Since I am a maried single diver (will be after sunday I hope) I want to feel confident in my skills before I try deeper waters. This is also the reason I decided to get some more time diving the local area before trying Cozumel. Seem like most of the charters are running >60 ft and I'm just not willing to go that deep yet. It's a real bummer about the night dive being a requirement as there are other things in the advanced class I am very interested in and feel would help build my confidence. I have enough concern about what is going to try to eat me in water that I can see them in much less being fish bait at night where I can't see them.

I did email the dive shop mentioned above for info on finding a buddy if SuPrBuGmAn is not available that week. Thanks again for all the replys.

 

[fun2chase]

Judy,

I just earned my OW, Nitrox, and AOW. The night dive I did was incredible. We started at sunset, so there was enough light to see what was around. That gave anyone who wanted to bail the opportunity. It was well worth the stay. Once you saw what was around it just got darker and your flashlight gave you enough visibilty to see what was around. The night dive I did had better visibility after dark than several of my other certification dives. Depends on where you are.

As far as your visit, contact me and if we are going out you can hitch a ride if you want to go out of Niceville/Destin. All we ask is you chip in for fuel. My boyfriend has a boat (not a charter), and we are always looking for other divers to share the fun. There are usually several divers on board with varying levels of experience. If you send me e-mail I can send you specifics when the time gets closer. fun2chaseme@yahoo.com.

Good luck either way and enjoy your trip and diving.

It is fun going down, down, down, down.....

 

[jstuart1]

I had decided to go to vortex springs as it looked like a dive spot that would be my speed (slow and easy) and even made reservations yesterday. I didn't know that hubby and mommy-in-law had planned to come to. Hubby doesn't like vortex springs so looks like we are going to Pensacola so he can surf fish. Last time we were there we stayed at the hotel just across from the fishing pier so I think we'll stay there again.