Panama City info please

[Couv]

Hello There,

I'm in the process of manipulating my wife and kids to agree to take our family vacation in the Panama City area this year. However, it's been years since I last dove there, so I will need some recommendations on dive shops, charter ops, places to stay etc. I used to dive with Chuck Gigli's Diver's Den. Chuck had one hell of a personality, and whenever I was working in the area around Tyndall I used to grab a few beers after work and head over to his converted gas station/shop to swap sea stories. Through Newfldiver I learned that Chuck is no longer with us, so please give me some pointers on where and with whom to dive. Also, stuff for the wife and kids to do while I'm under and places of interest we might go as a family.

If any of you would like to buddy up while I'm there, I would really like and appreciate that. Currently, I plan to visit St. Andrews, Morrison (and maybe Vortex) and would like to make a few excursions out into the Gulf. If any of you have a boat and need someone to help with the expenses etc, that would be icing on the cake.

If I can convince the wife, we should get there around 13 JUL and stay through the 23rd.

Thank you,

Couv

 

[Dive-aholic]

There are only a couple of charters running out of PCB right now. The others are all contracting with BP to help with the oil clean up efforts. I can't tell you which ones, but there's a thread here on it.

 

[Mopar]

I always have had good experience with the Dive Locker. If they are not running I always hear good things about The Divers Den as well.


www.divelocker.net

 

[Surface Interval]

My father was stationed at Tyndall and my parents (and grandparents) retired that way. I have only been diving out there 1x since I wasn't certified until after moving far far away, and I don't remember the name of the shop we used. They were fine, though.

They recently built a new shopping center called Pier Park. There are cool resturants, a movie theater, and the shopping center has brand name places with that "boardwalk shopping" kind of setup.

There is a new amusement park open (since they tore down Miracle Strip).

There is also:

Gulf World
Coconut Creek/the Gran Maze/Putt Putt
Go Cart Places and SkeeBall (front beach I think)

These were always our fave things to do when we were stationed in IL and back to visit my Grandparents.

 

[pamawi]

One thing to do with the family or they could do it on their own is a snorkel/dolphin trip. We went out with Island Time Panama City Beach Florida Sunset, Dolphin Sailboat Charters: Island Time Sailing and really enjoyed it. We are divers and went snorkeling with our non-diving friends. They took us snorkeling in the shallow grass flats behind shell island where we found lots of scallops and starfish and saw some small rays, conch and schools of fish. Also the kiddie pool at St. Andrews can be enjoyable beach day with safe sheltered swimming and snorkeling for the whole family. Of course, I don't know if the oil has affected these things.

Another dive op that you could try is Capt Pat (PatMyGreen on Scubaboard) with Panama City Dive Charters (different than PC Dive Center but same initials). If his own boat is tied up with oil work, he'll likely have smaller 6 pack boats he can set you up with.

 

[Kicker1866]

I dove with The Dive Locker this weekend...2 great trips

 

[EuphoriaII]

I dove with Dive Locker last week and they are still running their boats. No sign of oil while I was there.
My son was doing his AOW cert and we also dove at Vortex springs so in the event oil hits, you always have a freshwater option to the north.

 

[NAUIwowee]

Hi Couv,
As other's have stated, Dive Locker is still running charters and I'm pretty sure Diver's Den is also. The owner of Dive Locker, Tony Snow, worked for Chuck at Diver's Den for years before moving on to open his own shop. He runs a pretty good shop with two very nice boats and a great staff! I'm not sure who's running Diver's Den now that Chuck has passed. I worked part-time for Chuck for about five years at his Dothan, AL shop back in the 90's. Like you said, he had a unique personality. He could seem very gruff and course and then do a 180 on you and give you the shirt off his back. I liked him and got along well with him. He even offered me the manager's position of the Tyndall shop on a couple of ocassions. Unfortunately, due to family considerations, I couldn't relocate at the time and had to decline. I was very sorry to hear of his passing back in '06. The Panama City diving community definitely lost one of it's more unique characters when he left.

My wife and I have a condo reserved in PC for the week of Aug. 14-21 if anyone's going to be in the area and wants to dive. I'm just hoping the oil stays away till then.

 

[Wayward Son]

Click on the link in my signature. If Pat is running you won't find a better charter.

 

[Dave C]

Regarding family activities in PCB: see my recent post here about snorkeling off Shell Island:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/de...belated-destin-panama-city-report-w-pics.html
I highly recommend renting a pontoon boat for the day to go snorkeling/swimming and perhaps going ashore on Shell Island (a rarity in Florida - an uninhabited barrier island). It's a little pricey (about $250), but it would be a great family experience. The boat are roomy and very easy to run, even for a novice. I've rented from Shell Island Boat Rentals twice, and found their boats clean and dependable.