Panama City Diving recommendation needed

[gadgetgrrll]

Thanks for all the thumbs ups for Dive Locker. I gave them a call and they mentioned they had an inshore dive to a sunken bridge span that would be good for new divers and that the same dive is used often for certifications. I'm kind of worried about diving somewhere that might be packed with folks doing check-out dives on a 3-day weekend. Any recommendations on locations that they take you to that would be good for newbies, but might not be as crowded?

 

[Wayward Son]

bride spans make good dives, it's just that 12 & 14 are close to the pass & get hammered. Ditto the Black Bart.

If you want offshore, Stage 1 is usually a good dive. 70 FSW to the top of the structure, 102 or so to the sand. Not far from it is an intact wreck, The Akokee. Also about 70/102 split. Both sites do get dove, but you won't have near as much competition on them & Stage 1 is big enough to easily do 2 dives on it if you like.

 

[chefchris]

Thanks for all the thumbs ups for Dive Locker. I gave them a call and they mentioned they had an inshore dive to a sunken bridge span that would be good for new divers and that the same dive is used often for certifications. I'm kind of worried about diving somewhere that might be packed with folks doing check-out dives on a 3-day weekend. Any recommendations on locations that they take you to that would be good for newbies, but might not be as crowded?

bridge span was really cool. lots of life. definately good for new divers. We also dove the St. Andrews Jettis and it was amazing ... and free! Check with Dive Locker to get the tides the day before you head out there.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

You can check tides at www.saltwatertides.com Don't need a diveshop for that. St. Andrews Jetties really are fun!

 

[SharkyJillian]

Try Panama City Dive Center. Ask for Capt. Ron. They are a great operation. Mike and Heather are awesome instructors!!!

 

[PatMyGreen]

Maybe I can help you make up your mind. The Dive Locker owns 1 boat the Fintastic (36' Newton rated to 20 passengers) and also books for 2 six pack operators Downtime (27' Sportcraft) and Sea Hunter (24' C-hawk). Trips are basically divided into Inshore and offshore. Inshore trips on the Fintastic will likely be 75-85 feet in depth max. he main spots are The Black Bart, Bridge Span 14, and the Hovercraft if you go inshore West or The USS Strength and spans 1, 2, or 12 if you go East. All of these structures come up off the bottom around 30' or so.

Offshore is deeper plan on 105fsw to the sand. Offshore usually has better fish, vis, and less boat traffic. Usual trips will be some combination of the wrecks Chippewa, Accokeek, Twin tugs, BJ Putnam or again some of the offshore Bridge Spans 13, 3, or 4.
The 6 pack operators can put you on a wider variety of sites since they don't need to limit themselves to places where they can put 10+ divers on a site without overcrowding it.

Whatever you decide to do make sure you are very clear about inshore or off and if you have a preference for 6 pack or not. There have been a few people that were put on the Fintastic when they requested 6-pack boats due to shop error.

FYI there is now a functional head on the Fintastic but I would recommend the unisex bathroom on the tag line unless you absolutely have to have have a head.

 

[PatMyGreen]

Alittle more info...

Bridge Spans are 110' long 25' across and 30' high, they are the old steel superstructure from the original Hathaway Bridge (2 bridges ago). There are 14 of them offshore Panama City. These are excellent training dives due to the rectangular structure making them pretty easy to navigate, even in low vis. We like these for our night dives alot. The offshore spans are great places to go to find anchors from fishermen who made the mistake of dropping anchor too close to the structure and had to cut their lines. Bridge spans also hold an amazing array of sea life from seafood lovers favorites; shovelnose lobsters to groupers, snappers and amberjacks to pretty tropicals and angelfish.

Span 14 has a pretty decent school of barracuda take up residence every summer, although most of the divers never see them until they come back to the boat as they tend to sit on the surface. At one point this Summer there were 20 but they seem to have been dispersed or caught and only a few are still regularly seen each trip.

Anyway, have fun and dive safe, if you choose to go out on the Fintastic I'll see you then!