Panama City Diving
Panama City's newest dive shop is on the way! Look for an opening in April and keep checking back to see our updates on the shop's progress.
Panama City Dive Charters
5512 Thomas Drive
Panama City, Florida 32408
850-588-8077
Panama City Dive Charters
5512 Thomas Drive
Panama City, Florida 32408
850-588-8077
Recent Panama City Diving Conditions
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!
Last year's Diving Conditions
6-06-09 Night Dive on the Black Bart- Vis 20', Temp 77*F, Max Depth 78'. Jim "shoots" a red snapper... with a camera.
6-01-09 Red Snapper Open for Spearing!- Vis 30', Temp 78*F, Max Depth 146'. Snapper for everyone!
5-17-09 Black Bart and Span 14- Visibility 40-50' Minimum Temp 72*F, Max Depth 78' Goliath Grouper Everywhere!
5-09-09 Twin Tugs, Accokeek, Black Bart- Visibility 40-80'!! Minimum Temp 70*F, Max Depth 102'
4-18-09 Spearing Trip Pyramids Reef- Visibility 20', Minimum Temp 66*F, Max Depth 80'. Strong Current, Big Bull Shark!
4-04-09 Stage 1, Commander and several limestone reefs- Visibility 40+', Minimum Temp 65*F, Max Depth 110'
600# Goliath Grouper on Stage 1!
3-16-09 St Andrew's Jetties- Visibility 15' Minimum Temp 66*F, Max Depth 61'
Portuguese Man-O-Wars in the kiddy pool!
3-13-09 Deep Reef Dives- Visibility 15-60'+, Minimum Temp 68*F, Max Depth 149'
We saw a massive 11'-14' shark (mako?) just before the first dive and turtles all day long.
3-07-09 Tarpon and Black Bart- Visibility 45', Minimum Temp 60*F, Max Depth 95'
3-06-09 USS Strength and Span 12- Visibility 30', Minimum Temp 60*F, Max Depth 71'
2-16-09 Spearfishing Sea Grove Reef- Visibility 30', Minimum Temp 57*F Max Depth 79'
Reports Courtesy of Panama City Dive Charters
6-06-09 Night Dive on the Black Bart- Vis 20', Temp 77*F, Max Depth 78'. Jim "shoots" a red snapper... with a camera.
6-01-09 Red Snapper Open for Spearing!- Vis 30', Temp 78*F, Max Depth 146'. Snapper for everyone!
5-17-09 Black Bart and Span 14- Visibility 40-50' Minimum Temp 72*F, Max Depth 78' Goliath Grouper Everywhere!
5-09-09 Twin Tugs, Accokeek, Black Bart- Visibility 40-80'!! Minimum Temp 70*F, Max Depth 102'
4-18-09 Spearing Trip Pyramids Reef- Visibility 20', Minimum Temp 66*F, Max Depth 80'. Strong Current, Big Bull Shark!
4-04-09 Stage 1, Commander and several limestone reefs- Visibility 40+', Minimum Temp 65*F, Max Depth 110'
600# Goliath Grouper on Stage 1!
3-16-09 St Andrew's Jetties- Visibility 15' Minimum Temp 66*F, Max Depth 61'
Portuguese Man-O-Wars in the kiddy pool!
3-13-09 Deep Reef Dives- Visibility 15-60'+, Minimum Temp 68*F, Max Depth 149'
We saw a massive 11'-14' shark (mako?) just before the first dive and turtles all day long.
3-07-09 Tarpon and Black Bart- Visibility 45', Minimum Temp 60*F, Max Depth 95'
3-06-09 USS Strength and Span 12- Visibility 30', Minimum Temp 60*F, Max Depth 71'
2-16-09 Spearfishing Sea Grove Reef- Visibility 30', Minimum Temp 57*F Max Depth 79'
Reports Courtesy of Panama City Dive Charters
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 noting that 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 1000 scuba dives in local waters and is always happy to get more people to see what he loves about diving out of Panama City.
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 noting that 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 1000 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.
