Safe / Easy Panhandle Shore dives for Newbie?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

LollyO

Registered
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Location
SouthEast
# of dives
0 - 24
Destin Jetties? Ft. Pickens Jetties? Old Bridge at Pensacola?
We are a bunch of newbies thinking about doing a shore dive labor day weekend.

We recently did the Jetties at Panama City (where we stayed mostly in the safety of the pool area).


I have heard such conflicting reports on the safety and easiness of shores dives off the Panhandle.

If anyone has experience on the Destin or Ft. Pickens Jetties or even the Old Bridge and would share how Newbies might fare there, I would appreciate it very much.

Thanks,
Lolly
 
MBT Divers in Pensacola has groups of student divers going out every weekend, and any certified divers that want to go along are welcome. You won't be diving "with" the students, but there will be other divers around, and you're welcome to sit in on the brief. It's a great way to learn which sites will be best on any given day based on conditions, and the best way to dive each site. It's also a great way to meet new dive buddies! There's never a charge to go along.

MBT Divers (850) 455-7702
 
That sounds wonderful! Thanks for that hint.

I am still a little uncomfortable and this makes a nice week end trip for us.

I have heard that there are some very "easy" dives for newbies in this area, so I am really excited about hearing folks opinions on this matter.
 
There are also jetties in Orange Beach(ALabama Point Jetties), the Whiskey Wreck in Gulf Shores, plus a few others within the Alabama state lines. Fort Pickens has been one of my favorite beach dives since I was certified, check the tides and dive during high slack for best conditions, but its doable even when timed otherwise on most days... just quite a bit rougher.
 
Welcome to the Community!

Make arrangements to participate in Vortoberfest 2009

and consider joining (or at least attending a meeting) of West Florida Dive Club - ScubaBoard

Both great ways to meet other active divers in the area. It will be easy for you to find a group to tag along with for a variety of dive types (springs, shore, boat) at Vortoberfest and you'll get a chance to know lots of divers, and sample some yummy grub.
 
Yeah, all the cool kids will be at Vortoberfest :p
 
If anyone has experience on the Destin or Ft. Pickens Jetties or even the Old Bridge and would share how Newbies might fare there, I would appreciate it very much.

Ft. Pickens is a safe and easy dive for newbies. This is why most dive shops in the area use Ft. Pickens as an open water check-out dive for their open water students. The only thing about Ft. Pickens is diving at high tide. I like to get my tide info from www.saltwatertides.com the tides for Ft Pickens on labor day weekend:

F 4 High 10:30 AM 1.0 6:28 AM Set 6:23 AM 99
4 Low 7:10 PM 0.6 7:08 PM Rise 7:01 PM

Sa 5 High 12:19 AM 0.7 6:28 AM Set 7:18 AM 99
5 Low 5:58 AM 0.6 7:07 PM Rise 7:30 PM
5 High 11:46 AM 0.9
5 Low 6:35 PM 0.7
5 High 11:36 PM 0.9

Su 6 Low 7:34 AM 0.6 6:29 AM Set 8:15 AM 98
6 High 1:50 PM 0.8 7:06 PM Rise 7:59 PM
6 Low 5:12 PM 0.7
6 High 11:27 PM 1.0

During the weekend it is a neap tide, which means there will not be alot of clear water running through the pass. Even though that means that visibility most likely wont be stellar, I dove there last wekend during a neap tide and had a great time. If you can make it out there on Friday about 8:30 am you will most likely have very nice conditions. Here is an old map of the dive site:

FtPickensMap.jpg
 
Thanks for the map, it is fantasitic!!!!

As for Friday ....Are you suggesting 8:30, because its 2 hrs before the high tide?

Also you said that during Neap tide the water may not be so clear....but are the conditions calmer ????

Does a neap tide always mean calmer conditions? .... I am looking for calm conditions.

The only thing about Ft. Pickens is diving at high tide. www.saltwatertides.com

During the weekend it is a neap tide, which means there will not be alot of clear water running through the pass. Even though that means that visibility most likely wont be stellar, I dove there last wekend during a neap tide and had a great time. If you can make it out there on Friday about 8:30 am you will most likely have very nice conditions.
 
Diving high slack will yield calm conditions(atleast in terms of current), but not for as long of a time as neap tide. You'll have a bigger window with a neap tide, at the expense of visibility as less clean gulf water is flushed into the pass.
 

Back
Top Bottom