Panhandle dives (ocean) for OW divers?

What dives are available in the pan handle area, in the ocean, for OW divers?

All of them, but technically it's not an ocean, it's the Gulf of Mexico, which isn't technically a gulf, but a mediterranean sea (little "m").

There are literally thousands of "things" to dive in the panhandle, from Sherman tanks to spare tires, and numbers are published for many of them. If you're a stickler to the 60ft rule your choices will be limited, but you can find lots of stuff to dive in the 70-80ft range. From a boat:

YDT-14 (80ft-95ft)
YDT-15 (75ft-85ft)
Pete Tide II (70ft-100ft)
Russian Freighter (SS San Pablo) (75ft)
Soule Barge
PC Barge (80ft)
Navy Barge (75ft)
USS Massachusetts (20ft)

*** Depths are by recollection, so please check with your boat captain to confirm ***

From shore you have:

Ft. Pickens (12ft-60ft)
Whiskey Wreck (15ft max)
Destin Jetties (20ft-50ft???)
St. Andrews Jetties (15ft-70ft)

yep, plenty of them. most inshore sights are bridge spans, about 40 FSW to the top, 73 FSW to the sand. Work it in between. Shallower is possible depending on conditions.

Check out the site in this link: Scuba diving sites and GPS destinations: Wrecks, Coral Reefs, Reviews, Trip Charters. - Dive Spots and click the Pensacola and Panama City buttons. It list's several sites in the area.

Remember that dives below 60 FSW are considered advanced (AOW) and are above your certification. Here is a pretty big list of sites to look at:


1. FT. PICKENS JETTIES Beach Dive
Location: On the western tip of Santa Rosa Island National Seashore
The Ft. Pickens Jetties is a good beach dive with easy access. A drive approximately six miles west on Santa Rosa Island will bring you to the park. Here you are only minutes away from the hotels, restaurants and clubs. The park's excellent facilities include camping grounds. The rock jetties are located at the very end of the island. Start your dive at the beach and follow the gradual slope to a 50-foot depth. The rocky bottom is alive with marine life. The site is often used by instructors for check-out dives. Because of strong currents that accompany each tidal change, it is extremely important to dive on a slack tide. Check with the local dive shops or the park rangers for tide information. Remember to always tow a diver's flag on a surface float.

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2. SPORT Beach Dive
Location: West end of Santa Rosa Island on the bay side.
This wreck is located in the bay just past the entrance to the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It is accessible by beach or boat. The Sport is an old tug that was sunk during the 1906 hurricane. It is located in shallow water on a sand bottom. Check with local dive shops or park rangers for the exact location.

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3. CATHERINE Beach Dive
Location: West end of Santa Rosa Island on the Gulf side, inside the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It is just off the beach near the Old Coast Guard Station.
The Catherine was a Norwegian bark that ran aground on August 7, 1894. The broken remains lie in approximately 15 feet of water. A dive from the beach will require a strong kick to make it through the surge. Remember to float a diver's flag behind.
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4. UNKNOWN WRECK Beach Dive
Location: Just off Pensacola Beach. Swim east toward the second water tower.
This old, unidentified wreck is just beginning to uncover itself. It lies just off the beach in 15 feet of water. Already uncovered are ballast stones, a steering station and a large metal tank.
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5. USS MASSACHUSETTS Lat 30 17.740 Lon 87 18.722
Location: A little over a mile off the rock jetties, this wreck is found easily.
This is one of the best small boat dives in the Pensacola area. The site is listed as a Florida Archaeological Preserve. The 500-foot battleship of WWI vintage was built in 1893 and sunk by the Navy in 1927 to be used as target practice. Lying in 25 feet of water, part of the ship is still exposed. Though it is mainly intact, some sections of the USS Massachusetts are covered by sand. In winter diving can be hampered by rough surge. 13215.0 47108.9
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6. THREE COAL BARGES Lat 30 17.490 Lon 87 13.290
Location: l.8 miles off the beach, in 50 feet of water.
Three barges rest end to end on a white sand bottom forming a wonderful area for safe, easy diving. The top decks of the 200-foot barges are 15 feet off the bottom. The area has developed into an outstanding fish habitat. The clean sand surrounding the ships is covered with large sand dollars and shells. 13270.6 47107.6
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7. CASINO RUBBLE 13326.3 47116.0

Location: 1 mile off Pensacola Beach.
The rubble from an old casino (the first building constructed on Pensacola Beach) was dumped in 60 feet of water to form an atificial reef. Large concrete bricks and other construction materials provide habitat for flounder and red snapper.
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8. JACOBI REEF Beach Dive
Location: Just off Pensacola Beach near the main swimming beach on the Gulf side.
These are rows of concrete pilings in about 10 feet of water. A good snorkel dive. Shifting sands periodically cover and uncover the pilings.
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10.TEX EDWARDS BARGE 13300.3 47101.8
Location: 6-1/2 miles east-southeast of the pass leading to Pensacola Bay.
This large, intact deck barge is considered by charter boat captains to be one of Pensacola's safest dives. Blue angelfish and other tropicals hide in the many compartments. The top of the barge is at a depth of 60 feet.
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11. BRIDGE RUBBLE 13277.8 47091.9
Location: 7 miles from Pensacola Beach
Twelve barge loads of rubble from the old Pensacola toll bridge were dumped in 75 feet of water to form an artificial reef. The large, complete bridge spans an area nearly 300 feet in diameter, forming an exceptional fish haven. Snapper, grouper and flounder are common at the site. The remains of a 100-foot barge lie at the western end of the area.
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12. RUSSIAN FREIGHTER/SAN PABLO Lat 30 11.305 Lon 87 13.095
Location: 9 miles off Pensacola Beach
The San Pablo was torpedoed in the Florida Straits during WWII. She went down nine miles off Pensacola Beach while being towed to Mobile for repairs. She was later dynamited to clear shipping lanes. Her stern section and boilers remain intact in 75 feel of water. Her remains form an excellent fish habitat with many barracuda, grouper and snapper. 13263.6 47077.1
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13. MONSANTO BOXES Lat 30 11.972 Lon 87 14.753
Location: 8 miles south-southeast of Pensacola Pass.
Over two hundred 4x4-foot fiberglass shipping containers with metal edges were welded together in units of eight or ten each and placed down in 70 feet of water as a fish haven. They have worked so successfully that the area is known by local divers as the Grouper Condos. 13248.6 47081.2
A second Monsanto site is just southwest of the first. Lat 30 11.681 Lon 87 14.900
l3246.7 47079.7
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14. P.C. BARGE Lat 30 11.024 Lon 87 14.126
Location: 8 miles south-southeast of Pensacola Pass. Just east of the Sylvia.
A 110-foot barge was sunk in 75 feet of water in 1990 as part of Escambia County's ongoing artificial reef building project. The barge is part of a cluster in this one-square mile area that includes the Monsanto Boxes, the tugs Sylvia, Deliverance and Tessie. 13253.6 47076.3
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15. SYLVIA Lat 30 11.005 Lon 87 13.718
Location: 8 miles south-southeast of Pensacola Pass.
This intact 65 foot tug rests on a sand bottom in 82 feet of water. There is a lot of fish activity around the vessel and her surrounding sands are littered with sand dollars, starfish, and shells. An excellent dive. 13252.5 47075.5
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16. DELIVERANCE Lat 30 10.905 Lon 87 14.618
Location: 8 miles south-southeast of Pensacola Pass. Just south of the Sylvia.
This is another intact 65-foot steel tug in the artificial reef site. 13247.7 47074.7
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18. TESSIE Lat 30 11.637 Lon 87 14.452
Location: 8 miles south-southeast of Pensacola Pass.
A 40-foot cabin cruiser, with her superstructure removed and filled with four auto bodies, was sunk in 75 feet of water as an artificial reef. The wreck is surrounded by large concrete culverts. Flounder are common in the area. l3250.0 47078.5
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19. GULF POWER TOWERS Lat 30 12.358 Lon 87 14.246
Location: Situated in artificial reef site #l5, which is 5.3 miles on a 150 degree course from sea buoy.
Four modules, each made up of six 10-foot long sections of power line tower sections were placed in 77 feet of water. The entire configuration rises 12 feet off the sea floor. Open type structures, such as the Gulf Power Towers, seem to attract a larger variety of fish life than traditional closed-hull wrecks. 13253.2 47082.6
Second site: 13253.2 47082.6 Lat 30 12.358 Lon 87 14.452
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20. NAVY BARGE/CAMEL Lat 30 11.042 Lon 87 14.820
Location: Just east of the Soule Barge in artificial reef site #15
A 110-by-23 foot navy barge was put down in 75 feet of water in January 1994. The barge has an eight foot profile. 13246.6 47076.1
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26. RAILROAD BRIDGE RUBBLE Lat 30 09.036 Lon 87 13.690
Location: 11 miles southeast of Pensacola Pass.
This is within one of the many one-mile square artificial reef sites permitted and developed by the Escambia County Marine Recreation Committee as an ongoing marine habitat project. Five huge concrete railroad bridge sections were put down in 1987. 13255.1 47065.9
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38. KINGRY BARGE WITH TANKS Lat 30 09.434 Lon 87 13.976
Location: Inside artificial Reef Site #7, approximately 8 miles on a 157-degree course from the sea buoy.
A 75-foot barge with open-ended cylindrical fuel tanks welded to the deck was sunk as an artificial reef in November 1993. Some of the large tanks are over ten feet long and eight feet in diameter. She settled upside down, resting on the tanks in 84 feet of water creating an excellent hiding place for fish. Plenty of snapper and amberjacks frequest the site. 13252.8 47068.0
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43. FISH HAVEN PYRAMIDS Lat 30 05.983 Lon 87 07.960
Location: 18 miles southeast of Pensacola Pass.
Fifty-three pyramid shaped concrete fish havens were deployed by the Escambia County Artificial Reef Program in June 1999. The structures rest in a 180-degree semicircle in 80 feet of water. Thirty-five modules rise six feet off the seafloor with ten-foot bases. The remaining 18 havens stand five feet tall with 8-foot bases. 13307.8 47048.9
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44. U.S. NAVY DIVING SHIPS Lat 30 05.309 Lon 87 09.634
Location: 15.8 miles on a 149-degree heading from Pensacola Pass.
Two 132-foot Navy ships built in the 1950s for Navy Diving Operations were sunk 300 feet apart in April 2000. The vessels, known as YDT 14 and YDT 15, rest 90 feet below the surface on a hard sand bottom within an area known for good visibility. Because the ships rise 30 feet off the bottom, they make a good second dive after visiting the nearby Tenneco Oil Rig or the Antares. The second vessel rests at Lat 30 05.267 Lon 87 09.517
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45. OOPS BARGE Lat 30 13.227 Lon 87 13.985
Location: Approximately 7 miles from Pensacola Pass.
Accidents happen. While being towed to another site for deployment, this 65x20x7-foot steel barge inadvertently sank in 71 feet of water. 13258.7 47086.6
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46. BLACKWATER BRIDGE RUBBLE Lat 30 11.800 Lon 87 14.170
Location: Approximately 8 miles from Pensacola Pass.
Concrete rubble from an I-10 bridge was placed down as a fish haven. 13251.7 47079.4
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I bet there's over a 100 inshore sites in less than 60' of water from Tally to Dauphin Island.

Destin and Panama City also seem to frequent more shallow sites than in P-cola. You might want to try calling:


Panama City

Panama City Dive Center

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

Destin

Scuba Tech Northwest Florida > Home

Great info here. I think I'd have just said something smart!

LOL Mr Xray!

Thanks everyone. I will review the information with the wife and make our decision.

LOL Mr Xray!

Thanks everyone. I will review the information with the wife and make our decision.