Pensacola in March

[jgaryclark]

I’ll be in Pensacola for a few days in mid-March. Never gone diving the wrecks off the coast in the area. Is March a good time to dive the Oriskany or other sites? What water temp and visibility should I expect? Any LDS recommendations? Any advice greatly appreciated.
TIA

 

[TMHeimer]

I've dived several times with Niuhi Divers (Capt. Andy Ross) to various wrecks. Excellent time. They are actually close to Perdido Key on the far West end of P'Cola. I believe they are associated with Dive Pros shop on U.S. 98, where I had some good repair work done.
My dives were in Feb. and March with water temps. in the low 60s. Of course, the only problem this time of year could be weather. I believe Andy requires 4 divers to go out.

 

[sportxlh]

You can dive year round in the Gulf, but watch the marine conditions. Like anywhere else in Florida, winter conditions are usually worse than summer.

http://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/data/forecasts/marine/coastal/gm/gmz750.txt

 

[Midwesterndvr]

I’ve wanted to check out the uss Massachusetts for a while it’s a shallow dive but the location is challenging. If if you don’t get to dive it the history is interesting. Heard many good things about dive pros.

 

[TMHeimer]

One Feb. a few years ago I got 43F on my dive in Destin. Beach that week was frozen (like punching your boots through icy snow). Rare, but do check NOAA water temps. for March in deciding which wetsuit.

 

[bamafan]

Your problem that time of year will be the weather. It is a long ride out to the Oriskany and the diving can be blown out for days at a time especially that time of year. The water temperature isn't really the issue it is the air temperature to me. If you can't warm up between dives it can be brutal. It is really just hit and miss at that time of the year.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Note there is no Northern Panhandle Florida Recompression Chamber coverage if you have DCI symptoms after a dive on USS Oriskany. Use the link below for contingency planning:

Need a Chamber in Florida?

 

[T.C.]

I’ll be in Pensacola for a few days in mid-March. Never gone diving the wrecks off the coast in the area. Is March a good time to dive the Oriskany or other sites? What water temp and visibility should I expect? Any LDS recommendations? Any advice greatly appreciated.
TIA

Sure. It's as good a time as any. You'll want a Drysuit, however, it does get very cold then. Visibility is slightly better than in the summer, about 50-70 feet.

LDS recommendations: Viking Diving. Can't go wrong in my opinion.

And try to run to the "O" from day one. You'll get blown out quite often. I made four trips there, but only once dropped on the Big O.

Note there is no Northern Panhandle Florida Recompression Chamber coverage if you have DCI symptoms after a dive on USS Oriskany. Use the link below for contingency planning:

Need a Chamber in Florida?

If you need recompression treatment, the Navy Dive Center is just down the road in Panama City. Don't see any reason they wouldn't save your life.

As far as the Coast Guard not treating DCS as an emergency, I know that USCG Station Panama City does. Seen them send their 45 foot RBM out to a possibly bent diver. Those suckers can fly.

 

[Kevrumbo]

. . .
If you need recompression treatment, the Navy Dive Center is just down the road in Panama City. Don't see any reason they wouldn't save your life.

As far as the Coast Guard not treating DCS as an emergency, I know that USCG Station Panama City does. Seen them send their 45 foot RBM out to a possibly bent diver. Those suckers can fly.

The Navy Experimental Dive Unit at Panama City may take a civilian emergency case if they aren't running any Dept of Defense stand-by ops or studies at their particular facility, and appropriate hyperbaric physician and staff happen to be available. There is no guarantee they will always treat a civilian dive casualty 24/7 & 365 days a year. . .

 

[bamafan]

Note there is no Northern Panhandle Florida Recompression Chamber coverage if you have DCI symptoms after a dive on USS Oriskany. Use the link below for contingency planning:

Need a Chamber in Florida?

There is a chamber in Mobile as of about 1-2 years ago. A buddy of mine had to take a ride in it. Ended up having an undiagnosed PFO which he has had repaired.