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Panama City Beach 2010 August 18-22
Diver Package Includes:
EXTRAS...
Travel Plans By Car Panama City Beach on Florida’s panhandle is an easy day’s drive from the Midwest. An early morning departure at 6 am should put you on Panama City’s gorgeous beach sipping a drink by 7 pm that same evening. Carpool with other divers on this trip and split the gas to save even more $$$! Tanks and weights are included in this package, so all you need to bring is your dive gear, sun block and flip flops! By Air You can fly directly into Panama City, but there are also flights into Pensacola, just 80 miles away. Flights are usually very reasonable, and you can rent a vehicle right at the airport. (You’ll need a vehicle for this trip to get to the dive shop, the boat dock, restaurants, etc.) Carpool with other divers on this trip to save some $$$! Be sure to schedule your flight home late enough in the morning to give you at least 18 hours between your last dive and the flight, normally any flight after 8 am on the day of departure will suffice. Dive Computers Mandatory on This Trip
Popular Panama City Dive Sites Inshore Sites USS Strength After being decommissioned in 1967, the Strength was assigned to the Navy's Salvage Diver School who sank and re-floated the ship several times for training. In 1987 the Strength was sunk for the last time in an explosive test conducted by the Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center at Panama City. The ship is 184 feet in length with a 33-foot beam. At her sinking, she came to rest on her side in about 76 feet of water. The ship was pushed upright by Hurricane Opal in 1995. The profile rises to within 40 feet of the surface. Often covered with large polarized schools of small fish, schools of large jacks sweep in from the open water, and a wide variety of marine animals have taken up residence on the Strength. Black Bart The most popular dive site in Panama City, the 185-foot oil field supply ship sits upright and fully intact in about 75 feet of water. Her bow points due south. The bridge can be reached at 45 feet and the main deck is at 70 feet. The cargo holds are open for exploration. The Black Bart is a popular spot for wreck training and for photography. There is an abundance of fish in and around the ship. Turtles have been spotted at times, along with catfish, flounder and grouper. Hovercraft The Navy decommissioned one of their LCACs and donated it to the local dive community. It sits on the bottom upside down in 72' and is home to many flounder during their fall migration and well into the Spring. Lots of small tropical fish can also be found here. Bridge Spans Panama City Divers will invariably end up on a bridge span at some point in their marine adventures. After all there are 14 of them from the old Hathaway Bridge. Essentially the are the steel super structure of the bridge like a rail road trestle. They are all generally 110' long 35' high and 25' wide. Their regular structure makes them very easy to navigate and stay oriented on. The large amount of fish present keep them exciting and the "salvage" opportunities are always fun as fisherman loose many anchors on these sites. Spans are scattered all over offshore Panama City from shallow to offshore and are often referred to by numbers 1-14. Numbers 15 and on are not from the Hathaway Bridge. Stage 2 Another boon from the Navy to Panama City divers, stage 2 is an old Naval platform, similar to an oil rig without the drilling. As time and storms began to take their toll on the structure is was demolished to 20' below the water's surface. The site consists of a jumble of steel legs and pipes from 50' to 30' and in all directions. You’ll find a large variety of fish and invertebrates, with huge schools of scad and silversides. Bring a compass to return to the anchor line! Chickasaw The Chickasaw was a steel hulled tug boat built in Pensacola, Florida, in 1908. She was 107 feet long, had a 20 foot beam and was used by the Army Corps of Engineers during many assorted projects including construction of the St. Andrews Jetties. The Chickasaw was sold at an auction after World War II and purchased by Sherman Towing Company of Panama City. She was renamed Sherman VI. The Sherman VI sank at her dock in the late 1970's. She was later raised and towed offshore to be sunk as a deep water fish haven, but the pumps that were being used to keep her afloat gave out, and the tug went down in shallower water than was originally planned. Today the wreck sits in 70 feet of water just offshore of the SAB buoy, and is home to a good assortment of marine life. Offshore Sites Accokeek A 143 foot Navy tug boat located 12 nautical miles from the pass in 110 feet of water. The wheelhouse is at 65 feet. The vessel is fully intact and is sitting on its keel. Scuba divers might be greeted by a large resident goliath grouper hanging out around the bow and wheelhouse. Twin Tugs Originally deployed to lay side by side, these tug boats have been tossed about by passing storms. They are both upright and laying on top of each other! Divers should bring a camera as these two are very dramatic to photograph and hold a large amount of marine life. Max depth is 100' the wreck starts at 60'. BJ Putnam A 180-ft supply vessel sitting at 110 feet. The supply boat had been converted for use as a processing platform. The wheelhouse has become separated from the main structure and now lays in the sand to the side. It holds a large variety of marine life, and is a good fishing and diving site for advanced divers. Commander About eight miles out from the St. Andrews Jetties lies the wreck of the tug Commander. Two local captains discovered the wreck on the bottom in 1979. The 65-foot, steel-hulled tug sits upright and intact on a white sandy bottom at 96 feet. The Commander has large schools of fish and divers can usually spot amberjack and groupers. This a great spot for photography. Tarpon One of Panama City's natural shipwrecks, the Tarpon now lies about nine miles southwest of the St. Andrews jetties in 90-95 feet of water. She rests on a hard bottom, parallel to the shoreline. The smokestack, part of the stern, and the bow are intact. Thousands of beer bottles are scattered around the area. The stern anchor and her builder's plaque have been recovered. In 1997, the Tarpon was designated Florida's Sixth Underwater Archaeological Preserve, making it unlawful to remove artifacts. Leave those beer bottles on the bottom! The Tarpon has been popular for fishing since the 1950s and recreational divers report spotting spiny and slipper lobster, moray eels, grouper, spadefish, angelfish, amberjack, flounder and remoras. Stage 1 Similar to stage 2, stage 1 is a massive version. This site covers more than an acre! Divers will find the top supports in 60' and can follow them down to the sand in 110' The legs are largely intact and standing upright. The amount of fish in this site can be staggering. Due to its massive size divers need to be mindful of their location. Chippewa To make sure that the Chippewa settled on the bottom upright, careful modifications were made to the watertight boundaries. The Chippewa was moored at the selected site about 11 miles south-southwest of the St. Andrews Jetties. A network of 37 explosive charges were set off and on February 8, 1990, the Chippewa sank to the sandy bottom in nearly 100 feet of water. The wreck is upright and in beautiful condition. Most ships' decks are stripped before deployment, but the Chippewa has all it's deck equipment intact. There are davits, wenches, levers, stairs and companionways to explore, so be sure to bring a light. The large, open cabin is reached at 50 feet and the main deck at 70 feet. The broken mast lies on the port side. Marine life discovered the wreck shortly after its sinking and have been colonizing it ever since. The Chippewa is one of the largest ships deployed by the Bay County Artificial Reef Program and a dive spot that should not be missed. Other Sites:
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Come dive with us at the Gulf Coast's hottest dive spot, Panama City Beach. Famous for its abundance of wrecks, enormous schools of tropical fish, fantastic beaches, exciting night life and excellent restaurants. There's also LOTS to do for non-divers! We’ll be staying in a beachfront hotel with the ocean just a few feet from your door! PCB is only a day’s drive by car or a short plane ride (PCB or Pensacola, about $250) away from Illinois. 
