Guided shore dives in Destin area?

[DallasNewbie]

We're going to be in the Destin area (Miramar Beach) for a week and I'd like to do some diving. It would be my son's first ocean diving since earning his JOW, so I was thinking a nice calm shore dive might do it, but not knowing the area was hoping to go with a DM or guide. Are there any shops in the area that offer guided shore dives? TIA.

 

[Skeptic14]

@DallasNewbie My suggestion would be to contact ScubaTech in Destin, they take divers to the Destin Jetty, it's a shore dive but it's a pretty good trek across sand in gear so they use a pontoon boat to get the divers there. You can ask for a guide too, the entry area is quite calm as it's protected by an out crop of the jetty. It can be a pretty interesting dive, max depth around 45, but if you wanted to stay shallower you probably could. They'll time it for slack high tide, so you'll have to find out what days they're taking divers to it.

Outside of that... there are a couple artificial reefs now off the beaches along the Panhandle. I believe there's one off Grayton Beach now, when I lived in the area I enjoyed occasionally doing the one at Navarre. They're dive/snorkel reefs max depth around 12 feet, at Navarre octopus, turtle and a couple ray species are fairly common. You might be able to find a shop that'd provide a dive guide, although they probably aren't necessary. They are about 100 yards off shore, well marked, swim north if you get lost.

 

[DallasNewbie]

@DallasNewbie My suggestion would be to contact ScubaTech in Destin, they take divers to the Destin Jetty, it's a shore dive but it's a pretty good trek across sand in gear so they use a pontoon boat to get the divers there. You can ask for a guide too, the entry area is quite calm as it's protected by an out crop of the jetty. It can be a pretty interesting dive, max depth around 45, but if you wanted to stay shallower you probably could. They'll time it for slack high tide, so you'll have to find out what days they're taking divers to it.

Outside of that... there are a couple artificial reefs now off the beaches along the Panhandle. I believe there's one off Grayton Beach now, when I lived in the area I enjoyed occasionally doing the one at Navarre. They're dive/snorkel reefs max depth around 12 feet, at Navarre octopus, turtle and a couple ray species are fairly common. You might be able to find a shop that'd provide a dive guide, although they probably aren't necessary. They are about 100 yards off shore, well marked, swim north if you get lost.

That's so much for the pointers. Searching for the artificial reefs you mentioned, I see that there's one right off Miramar beach now as well. The website mentions that a kayak or paddle board in mentioned for getting out to the reefs. Is there means to anchor them once out there?

 

[ReefHound]

Don't even consider diving so far from shore you need a kayak. If anything goes wrong, you're a long way from help and completely on your own. And what if the kayak gets away?

 

[Kupu]

We're going to be in the Destin area (Miramar Beach) for a week and I'd like to do some diving. It would be my son's first ocean diving since earning his JOW, so I was thinking a nice calm shore dive might do it, but not knowing the area was hoping to go with a DM or guide. Are there any shops in the area that offer guided shore dives? TIA.

A few years ago, my wife and I were in Destin on vacation and looking to do a shore dive or two. We had been out of the water for some time and wanted something nice and easy to get back into it. After looking at the options and not being familiar with the area, we decided to go with ScubaTech to the Destin Jetty rather than do it as a shore dive as that seemed like the simplest solution. I think it would be a good choice to consider for a new diver, our experience with ScubaTech was positive.

 

[Skeptic14]

That's so much for the pointers. Searching for the artificial reefs you mentioned, I see that there's one right off Miramar beach now as well. The website mentions that a kayak or paddle board in mentioned for getting out to the reefs. Is there means to anchor them once out there?

If the information online is correct, it sounds like the reef pods along the Mirramar Beach were put 300 yards from shore vs 100 yards from shore at Navarre. The swim out to Navarre was super easy. Three times that distance for newer divers seems a bit sporty unless it's a completely calm day.

I'd opt for the Destin Jetty with ScubaTech based on that info. ScubaTech was my go-to op when I lived there, always had a good time.

 

[DallasNewbie]

Don't even consider diving so far from shore you need a kayak. If anything goes wrong, you're a long way from help and completely on your own. And what if the kayak gets away?

Was thinking of snorkeling at those since they're very shallow.

 

[DallasNewbie]

If the information online is correct, it sounds like the reef pods along the Mirramar Beach were put 300 yards from shore vs 100 yards from shore at Navarre. The swim out to Navarre was super easy. Three times that distance for newer divers seems a bit sporty unless it's a completely calm day.

I'd opt for the Destin Jetty with ScubaTech based on that info. ScubaTech was my go-to op when I lived there, always had a good time.

Thanks, I've emailed them.

 

[Islanderkd]

Scuba Tech is good dive business. Satisfied with them

 

[DallasNewbie]

I realized I never updated the thread after our trip, so here it is:

We wound up not diving at all. I did contact scuba tech about the jetty, but because of the tides, the best option would have been very early in the morning.

Instead, four of us took paddleboards out to the dolphin reef off Miramar beach and snorkeled. It was very cool. I did visit SCUBA Tech first to get a diver down flag as one of the lifeguards on my reconnaissance trip said they're highly recommended as sometimes jetskis and small boats pass between there and shore. Even though I didn't dive with Scuba Tech, they were very friendly and helpful.

There were several buoys marking the reef, and I had a line to tie off the paddleboards. It worked out great. There we other snorklers out there, both on paddleboards and not. The swim out wouldn't have been terrible, but I would have wanted some sort of buoyancy device in case. In talking to the lifeguard, he pointed out that even though they're there, if you get in trouble that far out, it's going to take them a minute. Nevertheless, there were some swimmers.

On the way home, I made the family stop at Navarre. The reef there is very reachable from shore for a confident swimmer, and the facilities at the beach are nice too. The reef is probably 10-20' deep, so important that you're comfortable on the surface and diving in surging water well over your head because what's visible from the surface is limited.

At both sites, the reefs were ok, with small reef fauna and fish. Definitely worth the effort in both cases.