Questions about Diving near Saint Andrews State Park

Hey SBG or other familiar with the Panama city area. What is the diving like in the area near the St Andrews State Park?

I am taking the family down in that area to meet some friends that are staying there and I read on the website they have decent diving there. The pics looked decent however I was wondering who all has dove there and how was your experience? My trip is not until May so I am just doing Recon right now. Either way I am bringing my scuba gear and I plan to hit the water.

thanks for any info you all can provide.

By the way what would be the nearest hotel from the St Andrews State Park? The website is not very useful in my opinion.

No ideas on the hotel, I never use em

St. Andrews Jetties are actually quite nice, but its important to dive them at high tide, the currents get pretty wicked. I've been there on slack tides with vis in the 5' range, but also in the 30-50' ranges. Lots of life, especially sponge and small soft corals, to observe.

St. Andrew's State Park has some great shore diving. I like to go to the pavilion at the top of the steps and setup. Then I walk down to the "kiddy pool (the area inside the rocks). I go though a break in the rocks that is now surrounded by a swim rope. Generally you can get down to about 65 feet. If you get deeper you are probably getting a bit to far into the pass...

It might be good to mention two good things to have: A dive flag and a knife. There are a lot of fishermen (particularly in the summer) and they like to set the hook rather quickly...

It is important to go at slack tide. I prefer high tide. Here is a website with some tide information: Tides.INFO: Tide predictions from around the globe: Panama City Beach, Florida If you go when tide is changing it is almost impossible to swim against and visibility is very little.

Sometimes, when I really want to go diving, and it's not slack tide, I'll enter on the beach side and dive out to the point of the jetties. It's really not changed by the tide much. When you get out to the point you'll be able to tell as the water gets murky. It'll be around 37 feet. If you go much further than that you'll be able to feel it as well... Out at the point there are thousands of shells, if that's your bag...

As far as hotels... If you want to stay waterfront they charge you. If you don't care because you’re going to be on the water all day, I'd suggest staying off the water. It is a little cheaper if you stay in PC, not PCB. Usually it is actually closer when you stay in town. There is one place just across the bridge and just a few miles from the state park. It is by some major roads (the draw back), but it is very nice and clean: Hotels, Rooms, Reservations, Hotel Lodging, Motels - Choice Hotels 5126 West Hwy 98 ~$60 a night. Also, this time a year is great for camping at the state park (a little toasty in the summer). You can't beat the price. You can book 11 months out, so, things are usually full. However, because you can book 11 months out there are usually a lot of cancellations. Here is the booking website: Campground Details - St. Andrews SP, Florida - ReserveAmerica

I have dove the Jetties when the tide is changing. Not a pleasant experience. Strong tide plus very low viz. I only have two ocean dives under my belt so Capt. Chris can you explain what you mean by slack tide? Is that when the high tide is ending??

Slack tide is just that. It is when the tidal change has reduced considerably, at high and low tide. Because there are large bodies of water on either side of the pass, where the jetties are, it acts like a venturi and there is a strong current.

It is a little before the actual minute of high tide and a little after... In some areas, where tidal change is enormous it is a very short, or long..., period of time. However, here the change is nominal and so I'd say it has a very useful 45 minute break on most days... Here is a website with a little more info: Learning to Read Tide Tables and Charts

Thanks Capt. Chris, that info cleared it up for me. Are you a boat captain in the PCB area? I'm planning a trip the week of 4/7/08 to 4/11/08 and would love to log my first boat dives.

There are three main operators in Panama City... 1)Diver's Den (their website is down 3120 Thomas Dr, Panama City - (850) 234-8717 They run a 10-12 boat called the better bottom time. It's ok. 2) Dive Locker Dive Locker - Panama City Beach Florida Dive Store featuring Henderson Wet Suits and Brownie's Hookah Systems, Panama City Beach Florida Dive Charters, Florida Scuba Information, PADI They operate a new Newton and are looking to get another. Pretty nice operation. 3) PCDC Panama City Dive Center They have three large aluminum boats. Pretty nice operation.

All these guys will put you on a privately owned 6 pack if they do not have their larger boat going out.

My family and I (8 of us) went diving for the first time last summer at the St. Andrews jetties and had a blast. I agree with everything posted above. Slack High tide is the best. We got suited up at the pavilion mentioned above about 30 minutes before high tide and swam thru the kiddie pool just in time to have the current gently move us into the bay. Once the the rock jetties end entering into the bay; an old wood pier appears and has a lot of nice shells below it. We saw barracuda, stingrays, octopus, flounder, many different crabs and types of fish. We found a huge hermit-crab that was the size of our fist (the crab not the shell) the shell was about the size of a softball.
Of course we let him go, as you can not take live shells. There are plenty of empty ones around that old wood pier about 35 feet down.

We also went snorkeling after dark in the kiddie pool. Saw more octopus during that time and the fish that are out are slower to swim away from the dive light. Good viewing. Next time we go, I want to scuba the beach side like suggested above. High tide was Very early for us (around 6am) when we were there, but that changes.

We went to all three dive shops listed and found the Diver's Den (3120 Thomas Dr) to be the friendliest and for the most part better prices. All of them were pretty close though in price. The friendly and informative staff at Diver's Den is what kept us going back to them for Air and other needs like dive lights.

I live in Missouri and plan to go back to St. Andrews next year (or maybe this if we get longing for the Gulf too bad <grin>). By the way, camping there is really nice.

Welcome to ScubaBoard JDMClark

Thanks everyone for the good info. I was hoping to get good intel we have not locked down dates in May yet but when we do i will be sure to post and anyone is welcome to come join the diving. My son will start the JR Openwater class in march so it should be our first real diving experience together (outside of Vortex) so I hope for a good time. LOL