Pensacola Beach Dive Charters

[ScubyDoo]

Hey Everyone.
I'm vacationing on Pensacola Beach the week of Aug. 30 -Sept. 6, and plan to charter 2-3 days of 2-tank boat diving. We want to get out where the vis is optimal and hopefully do some decent wreck dives. I would like to get advice as to which dive charters are recommended. My first inclination is to go with MBT Divers, but I understand that Scuba Shack and GottaGo Divers are good outfits as well. We are staying on Santa Rosa Island, and proximity to our resort is important, but certainly not the most important. Most important is qaulity service, friendly service, knowledgable operators, predisposition for safety, qaulity dive boats, and a fair price. I have read a lot about MBT so know they have a top notched operation. I know very very little......well....nothing about the Scuba Shack or GottaGo Divers. Our trip is just 3 weeks out so I need to call ahead and reserve seats on the boat.

Thanks!

 

[chickdiver]

Gotta Go is (to my knowledge) no loner in business. SCUBA Shack runs a cattle boat. I don't like MBT- I would recommend Dive Pros. Destin has shorter boat rides to the same wrecks- Emerald Coast SCUBA runs a nice boat.

 

[mapman]

I am in Mississippi working this week, but when I get home to Pensacola, I will get some phone numbers for you of different dive boats in the area. You don't have to go through a dive shop, but can if you like. Dive Pros is a good operation if you want to use a shop. They have one in Gulf Breeze which is on the way to the beach. Ask for Lisa, tell her I gave you her name(maybe she won't charge you much more for that) (lol)
Destin offers some good diving as does Pensacola. The boat ride is a little longer out of Pensacola, but if it's a nice day who cares. The vis off Pensacola has been better than average lately(60-70 ft reported by some divers the last couple week) this is not normal for us and if you have 40-50 ft it's a good day. Jellies are present but light off shore so if you want to dive Ft. Pickens, bring some rubber.

 

[ScubyDoo]

Thanks Diverchick and Mapman.

I did contact Dive Pros via email today. He did indicate that they themselves do not own a dive boat, but would hook us up with someone who does, and would make sure we dove all we wanted. I emailed MBT as well, but have not heard back from them yet. Dive Pros is certainly closer (Gulf Breeze Dive Pros) to Santa Rosa Island than MBT is, but as previously stated.....thats not where the dive boats are. You both mentioned that the boat ride out of Pensacola is longer than if you got to Destin. I thought there were lots of good dive sites right off Pensacola Beach?? Is that not the case. The gentleman from Dive Pros said that the best charters in the area are about a 45 minute drive from where we're staying. Based on your comments, Im assuming he's talking about going east down towards Ft. Walton Beach or Destin? There was a dive shop just across the bridge in Destin which name escapes me, but who many people suggested to me a couple of years ago.....oh.....it just came to me...ScubaTech.
We hope to do all our dives well offshore, so hopefully jellies wont be a problem, but I plan to wear a 3mil full anyway. I chill pretty easy. Just have to get it off pretty quick for those surface intervals
Diverchick, you mentioned you didnt like MBT. Is there a reason for that? Ive looked at thier webpage extensively, and it seems they are geared towards very experienced/ tech divers. Is that a fair assumption? We dont really want that. We're all fairly new divers, but good ones. We're all well trained. We dont really want a cattle boat experience either, but I guess nobody does. Our experiences in the past have been very good. We've never been on boat with more than 10 divers (including ourselves and divemasters).

Our last salt water dive was on Grand Bahama Island. We dove with Grand Bahama Scuba which operated right out the small secluded resort we stayed at. The dive boat "A Good Start" was literally a 2 minute walk from our Condo. Fred Riger was a great Captain. He was laid back and easy going, and very witty. He was great entertainment during surface intervals. As I said earlier, we never had a crowded boat, and everyone we dove with was staying at the resort with us. I guess we're spoiled as all get out now!!

 

[chickdiver]

You can (and will) access the same sites from Pensacola and Destin. Pensacola Pass is on the West side, and Destin Pass on the east. Destin Pass is simply a shorter ride through the intercoastal waterway than Pensacola Pass is (thus a shorter boat ride over all). Scubatech does run a nice operation as well, I have been out on their boat, Seacobra, once, and it is well run. It's also a larger boat than I (personally) prefer. Emerald Coast runs 2 smaller (6 and 10) diver charters.

I am "local," I've worked in the dive industry here in Pensacola for almost 10 years. I have watched MBT grow, and they are very focused on the "tech" market. Being a "tech" diver myself, I strongly disagree with many of their philosophies. PM me if you would like me to be more blunt. Dive Pros (with whom I am affiliated) runs an excellent operation and is strongly focused on customer service. We run full service shops at all 3 of our locations (Gulf Breeze, Pensacola, and NAS). Lisa at Gulf Breeze, Merrick in Pensacola (or anyof our other outstanding employees) would be more than willing to help you out.

Enjoy your vacation here on the Gulf Coast.

 

[FredT]

G K Lough runs the "LOW BABY" out of Pensacola.
He chartered for both SCUBA and fishing, and offered a combined trip several years ago that was awesome. Drops on "out of the way" stuff that holds significant life but is too small for the cattle boats to dump divers on, and trolling and bottom fishing during the SIs.

The old number I have for him is 904-455-4892. No bets on the area code as I'm sure ma bell has changed it several times. He was in the phome book too so information should find him.

He's retired USAF and a real card.

FT

 

[mapman]

Just to throw some more info out there, you can also do some diving out of Orange Beach, Al. We did a couple dives last week on a gas drilling platform with H2O Below. We had about 40 ft and they were very professional and accommodating. I highly reccomend them. All these choices are close to Pensacola (within an hour east or west). In short, you will have plenty of choices when you get here.
Hope your trip is great
Alan