Panama City Dive Charters
SCUBA gear, dive classes and diving vacations too!
Panama City Dive Charters
5512 Thomas Drive
Panama City, Florida 32408
850-588-8077
Attention Spearfishermen and women The Federal Reef Fish/Pelagic permits for the Steel Slinger have
finally transferred and Red Snapper will re-open every Friday, Saturday
and Sunday in October and November. If you missed out on diving due to
the oil shenanigans this Summer you still have a chance to enjoy some
dives and get your favorite dinner this fall!
Recent Panama City Diving Conditions
8-15-10 Gray Ghost and Stage 1- Temp 85*F, 75*F and 70*F across 3 thermoclines! Vis 40'. Sharks, Turtles and Dolphins! An excellent dive trip.
7-11-10 Red Sea
and Span 12- Temp 82*F Vis 50' Divers encountered a strong current
through out the column.
6-8-10 USS Strength, Red
Sea, Span 12- Temp 73*F bottom 82*F surface, Vis 35-50'
5-16-10 Black Bart and
Hovercraft- Temp 78 *F Surface 73*F Bottom, Vis 40+', Max
Depth 80'
4-17-10 Spearfishing
Charter Tarpon area reefs. Temp 64-68*F Vis 15' Max Depth 97'
3-20-10 Lobster dive ReduxVis 50', Temp 62*F, max depth 146'. Nearly 40#s of lobster, we need more garlic and butter!!
2-20-10 Lobster diving- Vis 40' surface temp 55*F bottom temp 61*F Max Depth 103'. Our 4 divers got 28 shovelnose lobster!
About Panama City Beach Diving
The vast majority of Panama City
diving is done via dive boat to shipwrecks or artificial reefs. PCB
does not have the warm tropical water temperatures year round to
support the large coral formations prominent in the Keys. Local
visibility is about 30' on average and there is seldom any current to
speak of. The shore based diving opportunities are limited to the
several springs north of town and the jetties at St Andrews State Park.
It is very important to catch the tide correctly at the jetties or low
visibility in high current may be in store for you!
Local dive shops and dive charters expect divers to be
able to dive without needing assistance beyond a site and conditions
briefing. They also offer escorted dives with a Divemaster for divers
who may be a little rusty.... provided they are notified ahead of time.
This a marked contrast with many dive operations in the Caribbean where
divers are led in a single file line by a Divemaster and everyone
surfaces when the first person gets low on breathing gas. This has
caught some divers from out of town off guard so a self evaluation of
your dive skills should be done to decide if you want a divemaster to
accompany you or if a refresher course may be in order. It is also
worth notingthat the vast majority of
Panama City Dive industry employees are fun loving and love a good
prank as much a good dive. Divemasters from different boats have been known to enjoy a chance to "help secure" other boat's tie-in chains with combination locks, as a way of saying "Hey, we love you guys."
If you have local diving questions like what conditions will be like
while you are here, feel free to call or email Capt Pat Green at CaptPat@PanamaCityDiveCharters.com. Pat
has logged over 2000 scuba dives in local waters and is always happy to
get more people to see what he loves about diving out of Panama City.
Summertime bait fish evading (mostly) hungry spade fish over Bridge Span #14.
This Site is Maintained by an Illiterate Dive Boat
Captain, Please Pardon the Mess!