shore diving in the panhandle?

[kaeleynay]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone knew of any good shore diving anywhere in the panhandle. I've been the jetties at Ft. Pickens in Pensacola is pretty decent, but haven't heard much other than that.

Thanks!

 

[aue-mike]

There are a couple beach dives in Pensacola Bay and farther west. Some nice wrecks that most people don't know about.

 

[Aqua Angel]

It has been a while, so forgive me if this is not good info, but I was told there was a site you could dive in Panama City from the shore. If I remember right, it was a healthy walk.

There is a site in Destin people use. A lot of snorkle swimmers. It is used for one of the open water skills when getting certified.

We have gone off the beach in Navarre, but there isn't much to see and not worth the work of cleaning the sand out of your gear!

I'm spoiled, born in Miami, and grew up between Key West and Vero Beach. I grew up going out with my Dad on the Keys. The reefs were beautiful, sea fans, sponges, sea urchins, tropical fish so full of color!

 

[jviehe]

Yes, you can dive the Jetties at St Andrews Park in Panama City. Its a bit of a walk through sand to the water. RIght now, though, they are dredging the channel, so I dont know what conditions are.

 

[aihfl]

Last week it looked as if you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face at the jetties. But that's just the impression I got from cruising past on a diveboat.

 

[kaeleynay]

Yeah, I talked to a dive shop in the panama area and they said the visibility was really bad in that area. I did, however, hear back from someone in Pensacola (I think) who claims there is a decent site at Ft. Pickens. We are driving from AL to Gainesville, FL, so we figured we'd go a little out of the way along the coast of the panhandle to find some shore diving. We try not to use boats often (we don't even like to drive a car). Eventually, we'll get a diveyak.

Again, thanks for the info!

 

[aue-mike]

Someone asked me in a PM about information on P-cola Bay dive information. Somehow I lost the message. In any case, there is a publication by DHR that includes lots of information on area wrecks, and sites you could possibly do from the beach. Some of them may be a long hike and swimming around to find stuff, but it might be worth the effort. A couple of the wrecks are in real shallow water and are exposed at low tide.

The wreck of the barque CATHRINE (30° 18.680N, 87° 15.920W -- 30° 18.710N, 87° 15.940W) off Santa Rosa Island is a nice wreck; artifacts from this site can be seen at UWF.

"Pensacola Beach Wreck" (30° 20.003N, 87° 07.378W) might also be worth checking out.

Then there is the "Whiskey Wreck" off Gulf Shores, Alabama.

If you want more information such as this, I highly recommend a new book on Florida shipwrecks that goes into extensive detail on some of these sites. <G>