Dive Report Panama City Jetties - 6-21-08

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Tom Smedley

Tommy
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It’s been almost forty years since I started diving at the jetties in St Andrews State Park. During that time some stuff has changed but then other stuff hasn’t. High tide came at 10:30 am last Saturday and I couldn’t resist the urge to get in a couple of dives. After all this was my birthday weekend and I wanted to play it for all I could get.

It cost me three dollars admission and I arrived just after eight. The parking lot and picnic tables were already full so I just dressed at the car and carried my equipment across steps and into the kiddy pool. I wore only a swimsuit and a low-pressure steel tank so my load was light and the walk easy. Classes and other divers seemed to be on the northern end of the pool so I crossed the rocks and headed south. My first dive began at 8:49 and lasted 40 minutes. The water temperature was a constant 77 degrees and the current slack with about 20 feet of visibility.

I looked along the rocks and out in the sand. Boat traffic in the channel sounded like an interstate highway. I saw the usual complement of blue crab, stone crab, arrow crab, hermit crab, sheep head, grouper, and angel fish. Amusement came when I ran into a juvenile jewfish about two feet long and very cute. She squared off and gave me three thumps. I just laughed and told her to grow a while then I might be intimidated by her throaty expressions. At 68 feet I turned and headed back, ran into the jewfish again and this time she gave me a wide berth. All the time her big goggle eyes checked me out.

Back at the shallows I started running into other divers. One buddy team appeared to be collecting small fish. Over the years I trained my eyes to spot shapes that do not normally appear in nature. My radar locked and there in the silt I found a gold bracelet.

I went around the north end and back along inside the rocks looking at colorful fish and crabs. Then I followed a compass heading into shallow water. The beach was crowded with folks and curious kids questioned me on what I saw and how deep I went. “No, I didn’t see any sharks but let me tell you what I did see.” The fresh water shower felt really good.

By this time Kevin had arrived and was ready to dive a new site for him. A thunderstorm rumbled and flashed far away to the north. After a short surface interval we headed back and basically repeated the same profile. We left the surface at 10:06 and stayed 34 minutes. Our maximum depth was 69 feet. Visibility wasn’t as good and the outgoing water felt warmer.

The current picked up during our dive and we had to pull ourselves along. We started back across the rocks and found a yellow line where someone had marked an exit point. As we crossed the kiddy pool an instructor briefed her class of about 12 students for their upcoming dive. I wish I could have hung around to watch, Chinese fire drills are always fun.

The showers and warm sunshine felt really good and we took a long time packing the car. The day was still young so we did the dive shop shuffle and said hello to all our friends. Then we visited the Navy Exchange to shop for cool tee-shirts.

The final stop was Winn-Dixie for boat food. To our delight they now have a wing bar. You pick out your own wings and pay by the pound. The hardest thing was to stop piling them on. Chicken wings on a boat trip – the ultimate snack.

After all these years the jetties are still a great dive and the price is right. Let’s go back soon!

 
Tom,

I have a question about the route you took. I have only dove the PC Jetties once, and that was a VERY low viz dive. When you enter the kiddy pool, I "assume" you cross over the rocks to the channel side of the jetty? With the depths you hit are you going South, out towards the Gulf? Just wondering which direction and route you find the best. Thanks
 
It was a great dive. Amazing at all the interesting life you see there. Glenn we headed south towards the gulf and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I am glad to have finally been on this site, 3 previous tries and the weather did not permit. Must do it again soon!!!
 
I also have a question about the route you took. Me and my wife are going down towards the end of July for a weekend and wanted to get a quick 2 tank dive in. When you headed south you said you turned around at 68-69 feet, how far is this and is that as far as you recommend to go? The reason I ask is because I have never been down there and I looked at a map of the jetties and kiddie pool and it looks like you could go south from the kiddie pool and go around the southern most jettie and surface on the other side where the beach is? This may be to far into the channel or just flat out to far to go? Is there much on the north part of the dive it seems short? Thanks for the input. Chuck
 
I will be interested to hear what others have to say. The only route I can speak to is going through the break at the rocks at the kiddy pool and heading NORTH. The only time I dove there the surf was ripping and the viz was about 3-5 ft. Even with all that, we followed the rocks north and then turned around the north end and came back in the kiddy pool. Even that was enjoyable. Plenty of critters to see in the rocks.

I also have a question about the route you took. Me and my wife are going down towards the end of July for a weekend and wanted to get a quick 2 tank dive in. When you headed south you said you turned around at 68-69 feet, how far is this and is that as far as you recommend to go? The reason I ask is because I have never been down there and I looked at a map of the jetties and kiddie pool and it looks like you could go south from the kiddie pool and go around the southern most jettie and surface on the other side where the beach is? This may be to far into the channel or just flat out to far to go? Is there much on the north part of the dive it seems short? Thanks for the input. Chuck
 
If you go south toward the Gulf the dive gets down to around 70 feet. I have heard of folks going all the way around the south end. It would be a long swim but doable. The fishermen usually congregate on the gulf end so there may be some conflict there. I just turned the dive when I was at half the time I alloted myself to dive.

If you go to the north it gets shallow quickly. If you are there on a weekday with little boat traffic you can also go straight out into the channel. It also bottoms out about 70 feet. There used to be nice sand dollars and shells out there until it was dredged and now stuff is covered with a black coating.

All it all it is always a great dive if you can catch it with the current slack.
 
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