Park's Hours and Fees | Florida State Parks
$4 for car and single occupant, $8 for car and multiple occupants.
My point was that Ft. Pickens has a higher base rate but it's for a week, making it pretty cheap if you revisit multiple days.
Pensacola Shore Dive trip: a new diver seeks advice
- Thread starter Michael Gtr
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Park's Hours and Fees | Florida State Parks
$4 for car and single occupant, $8 for car and multiple occupants.
My point was that Ft. Pickens has a higher base rate but it's for a week, making it pretty cheap if you revisit multiple days.
So, my wife and I experienced our first visit to St. Andrews jetty on Sunday. We were able to park near the shelters with the picnic tables where divers gear up. It was a bit of a trudge up and down the stairs over the dunes, and then across the beach, but at least this was a pleasant 72-degree day in March and not in the sweltering summer. There were a surprising number of hardy beach-goers, considering the air temp and that the water temp in the so-called "kiddie pool" (a sandy-bottomed lagoon off the beach) was 69. To me, that's chilly. My wife and I wore drysuits. Water temp dropped to 65 at 55-60 feet. Visibility was maybe 30 feet, lots of particulate matter. After making our way across the kiddie pool, we passed through the opening in the jetty rocks into the channel and turned right (seaward). We timed it so that we entered the channel about 30 minutes before slack high tide and went with the flow, but the flow was really swift next to the jetty. We got to the end of the jetty too soon and struggled against the current to return. The tide reverses surprisingly fast--not a lot of "slack" time. We saw a lot of sheepshead, some gobies, a few angelfish, perhaps some other fish, and a lot of rocks. There's also a lot of old fishing line to be careful of. Not to mention the fact that there are fisherman casting from the jetty. Being only occasional visitors to Florida, we are not very accustomed to towing a dive flag, so that was a bit of task loading. All in all, this dive seemed like a lot of work for not much reward. I feel that for a visitor like me, it was worth doing once, and I suppose for a local it's worth doing every once in a while. The helpful guys at the dive shop we used for a fill, Diver's Den, said you never know what will show up--they have even seen dolphins.
On our way back north, we stopped by Morrison Spring just to take a look, having seen reports that the visibility was very poor. It was indeed a murky green-brown and not diveable at all. Looked like it would be a lot of fun in good vis. Much larger area to swim around than other springs.
Then we hit Vortex Spring, figuring that at the very least it was a way to wash the salt off our gear. The water was nice, and a good place for practicing skills. It was blissfully uncrowded compared with Blue Grotto, where we often go to do that. I would imagine it could be a zoo in the summer with partying youths--reminded me of Ginnie Springs in that respect.
All in all, a fine 3-day weekend for us. Ate lots of oysters in Panama City.
Pensacola is something like 100 miles from Panama City, so not exactly a short hop. We decided Panama City and the spring was enough for one trip.
On our way back north, we stopped by Morrison Spring just to take a look, having seen reports that the visibility was very poor. It was indeed a murky green-brown and not diveable at all. Looked like it would be a lot of fun in good vis. Much larger area to swim around than other springs.
Then we hit Vortex Spring, figuring that at the very least it was a way to wash the salt off our gear. The water was nice, and a good place for practicing skills. It was blissfully uncrowded compared with Blue Grotto, where we often go to do that. I would imagine it could be a zoo in the summer with partying youths--reminded me of Ginnie Springs in that respect.
All in all, a fine 3-day weekend for us. Ate lots of oysters in Panama City.
Pensacola is something like 100 miles from Panama City, so not exactly a short hop. We decided Panama City and the spring was enough for one trip.
@Lorenzoid you said you entered the channel about 30 min before high tide, turned seaward and went with the flow. Sounds like you might have missed the tide if the flow was already out to sea?
With cooler waters some of the usual tropical fish might not have been as present as during the summer. The walk at St. Andrews is short compared to the Destin Jetty and the dive better IMO; you'll have to give it another shot in the Aug-Sept time frame!
Was this your first time diving the panhandle?
With cooler waters some of the usual tropical fish might not have been as present as during the summer. The walk at St. Andrews is short compared to the Destin Jetty and the dive better IMO; you'll have to give it another shot in the Aug-Sept time frame!
Was this your first time diving the panhandle?
I don't get it, either. When we filled our tanks in the morning at Diver's Den, the guys there confirmed that the prediction for slack high tide that day (3/19) was 2:09 pm. We entered the channel at about 1:45 pm and turned seaward, but the tide was going out what we felt was pretty fast. When the time on our computers hit 2:09 pm, we were still flying along with the outgoing tide and about to pass the end of the jetty. At that time, my buddy and I pointed to our computers and gave each other a "what the heck?" look, and we turned the dive. We struggled against the current going back, though it did start easing up. It wasn't until about 2:20 pm that we felt like the tide was truly slack. By that time, we were almost back where we started. What did we do wrong? Shouldn't the tide have been coming IN until 2:09 pm, then gone slack, then started going out again?
First shore dive. We did a boat dive out of Destin something like 7 years ago.
Sometimes the tide tables can be off a little, maybe that's what happened. We typically plan to enter the water an hour before high tide so that if we "miss it" we are early vs late and at the turn the tide is still coming in or pretty slack vs having to fight it.
If you get a chance, you'll have to give St. Andrews another go, it can be a nice shore dive, especially for this area. But, the best diving is definitely from a boat in the panhandle.
If you get a chance, you'll have to give St. Andrews another go, it can be a nice shore dive, especially for this area. But, the best diving is definitely from a boat in the panhandle.
Entering extra-early sounds like a good plan. Sure, I'd give it another go. Our real goal with the St. Andrews and Vortex dives was just to get in some drysuit practice while the air and water temps were still spring-like. The panhandle will soon be too hot for that.
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Michael Gtr
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@Lorenzoid thank you for that write up! It means a lot to me to get an idea of what conditions are like there right now.
Last time I was trying to dive in Florida I tried to dive the Blue Herring Bridge and it was pea soup. I couldn't see my hand 1ft in front of my face! (I really wish the dive shop there warned me about the water visibility 500yards from their door! I couldn't dive! AND they wouldn't give me a refund!!! Said that was standard practice everywhere.) Compared to that 30ft vis sounds amazing! Best I've ever dived was Jenny Spring. I know what you mean about the traffic there.
Let me ask some more questions please. I looked at the forcast and saw a lot of rain for the week I planned on vacationing to the pan handle. There is a 90-40% chance of rain Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Friday according to the weather channel website.
I've read lots on this thread already about checking tide tables, run off effecting clarity, recent divers experiences, etc... THANK YOU EVERYONE !!!!
Q) if you had family comming into town wanting to dive and the forecast looked like that, what would your expectations be and where might you dive? Would you change the previous suggestions? Would you go to inland springs? Would you maybe try to roadtrip several hours somewhere else? Would you still suspect it would be divable?
I certainly plan on asking lots of questions to the dive masters at the local shops, i just want to get a feel for how this unexpected turn of events may change my plans.
Also, I booked a dive with a charter for monday. Does anyone want to place odds that it will still be on?
Last time I was trying to dive in Florida I tried to dive the Blue Herring Bridge and it was pea soup. I couldn't see my hand 1ft in front of my face! (I really wish the dive shop there warned me about the water visibility 500yards from their door! I couldn't dive! AND they wouldn't give me a refund!!! Said that was standard practice everywhere.) Compared to that 30ft vis sounds amazing! Best I've ever dived was Jenny Spring. I know what you mean about the traffic there.
Let me ask some more questions please. I looked at the forcast and saw a lot of rain for the week I planned on vacationing to the pan handle. There is a 90-40% chance of rain Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Friday according to the weather channel website.
I've read lots on this thread already about checking tide tables, run off effecting clarity, recent divers experiences, etc... THANK YOU EVERYONE !!!!
Q) if you had family comming into town wanting to dive and the forecast looked like that, what would your expectations be and where might you dive? Would you change the previous suggestions? Would you go to inland springs? Would you maybe try to roadtrip several hours somewhere else? Would you still suspect it would be divable?
I certainly plan on asking lots of questions to the dive masters at the local shops, i just want to get a feel for how this unexpected turn of events may change my plans.
Also, I booked a dive with a charter for monday. Does anyone want to place odds that it will still be on?
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Lorenzoid, Glad you had better viz than the 0 we had Feb. 16 (well, 0 below 40' anyway). I may have mentioned that some divers elect to come back in on the Gulf side after rounding the jetty, though I have not done that yet. I agree fully about the (NOAA) tide predictions not being 100% dependable. At the Destin Jetties I have been there at "exactly" high tide and still seen the buoys tilted way inward. The East Gulf's diurnal tides are very irregular--sometimes 12 hours between high and low, sometimes considerably more or less than that. I did find some nice shells at St. Andrews in 2008, and again in 8' of water on the Kiddie Pool side last month when viz prevented the channel dive. If you are in the area next Jan. through March and want to do it again give me a P.M. I was diving that day with a good diver from Miss. and will contact him again, hopefully with better viz next winter.
Tom, the guys at the dive shop mentioned several options, including rounding the jetty. We chose what seemed simplest for first-timers.
I had done a bit of reading on SB, dive shop websites, and other sites before I went, and I still didn't know all I could have known. Who ever does? Shore diving--any diving--can be a crapshoot. The best you can do is watch the weather and the tides and show up at the dive shop the day you plan to dive or a day or two before and ask for advice. Ask about the vis, the entry and exit options, timing, etc. The locals know best. Sounds like @Michael Gtr learned what to ask after his Blue Heron Bridge zero-vis dive. The great thing about shore diving as opposed to boat diving is that if you decide not to dive that day, you haven't lost any money (unless of course you have traveled there from afar, intent on diving that day).
As to your question, Michael, if the vis/tides/moods of the gods/etc. just are not in your favor, and you're desperate to get wet, I suggest considering Vortex Spring. It's similar to Ginnie Springs in the style of diving, but a larger open-water area to dive in. I had set my expectations low, and Vortex exceeded them by a surprising amount. I kind of liked Vortex.
I had done a bit of reading on SB, dive shop websites, and other sites before I went, and I still didn't know all I could have known. Who ever does? Shore diving--any diving--can be a crapshoot. The best you can do is watch the weather and the tides and show up at the dive shop the day you plan to dive or a day or two before and ask for advice. Ask about the vis, the entry and exit options, timing, etc. The locals know best. Sounds like @Michael Gtr learned what to ask after his Blue Heron Bridge zero-vis dive. The great thing about shore diving as opposed to boat diving is that if you decide not to dive that day, you haven't lost any money (unless of course you have traveled there from afar, intent on diving that day).
As to your question, Michael, if the vis/tides/moods of the gods/etc. just are not in your favor, and you're desperate to get wet, I suggest considering Vortex Spring. It's similar to Ginnie Springs in the style of diving, but a larger open-water area to dive in. I had set my expectations low, and Vortex exceeded them by a surprising amount. I kind of liked Vortex.
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