St. Andrews State Park offers the best beach diving along the Emerald Coast. The channel side of the west jetties has a depth of 70 feet. In spots, the rocks also attract and keep a variety of sea creatures, such as octopus and red snapper. The best part about diving is when you catch an incoming tide.
The El Dorado is Panama City Beach’s newest wreck. Hurricane Michael blew the ship ashore in October of 2018. She sat derelict off the Hathaway Bridge as a constant reminder of the storm’s deadly wrath through winter and spring. In May of 2019, she started her life as a premier dive site.
Panama City Beach was directly hit by Hurricane Michael in October 2018. It is a Category 4 storm. It was the most powerful storm ever to hit the Panhandle, with sustained winds of 154 mph. Hurricane-force winds affected over 650 artificial reefs.
The site's structure is extraordinary. Divers are able to explore the wheelhouse 40 feet down. The deck is located at approximately 66' below sea level and contains accesses to cargo holds. The ship's toilet (head) rests on the sand outside the wreck. It has a smiley skull. The Warsaw Reef, which is nearby, has plenty of marine life.
The SS Tarpon is a historical shipwreck. In 1937, she sank and claimed the lives of 18 crewmembers, including Willis G. Barrow (captain). Adley Baker, one of the crew members, was able to swim 9 miles in gale-force wind to reach shore. It was a 25-hour marathon, but Adley Baker lived to tell it all.
With water temperatures between the 60s and 80s in winter, visibility can be expected to range from 30'-50'. To protect yourself from sharp edges and to prevent you getting into fishing lines, gloves are a must. A safety sausage is also a good idea since you will be on a boat trip.
Scuba Dive Panama City Beach keeps dive trips to 14 divers. This is to ensure everyone's comfort and safety. If we have space, any of our charters will be open to the public. We generally run 2 trips per week during the season.
Never hold your breath
As every good entry-level dive student knows, this is the most important rule of scuba. And for good reason — breath holding underwater can result in serious injury and even death. In accordance with Boyle's law, the air in a diver's lungs expands during ascent and contracts during descent.
As you become a qualified scuba diver, you learn the basics of an essential scuba system. A cylinder, weights, an exposure suit, regulators, BCD gauge and timing device, mask and fins are the bare essentials.