Scuba diving on Florida's Gulf Coast is a different experience than the rest of Florida's diving destinations. The Florida Keys and the Southeast coast are known for outstanding coral reefs, and inland diving destinations are known for the springs and sinkholes. The Gulf of Mexico, especially along the US Coast is mostly a flat mud substrate. Marine life generally does not like a flat and bare bottom. There are some limestone ridges that do provide protection for marine life. However, the State of Florida has taken an aggressive stance to protect and enhance the marine environment.
The Gulf Coast of Florida has hundreds of man-made aggravate sites. These are locations where materials have been added to the sea floor to provide some variety to it. Fish and other marine life take up residency in these areas. Which in turn brings the scuba divers and fishermen. Many of the sites are simply rubble piles from old bridges and roads. Others are shipwrecks and old oil platforms. One other aspect of the gulf is that it is relatively shallow, in places you may need to travel as far as 50 miles (ca. 80 km) for water deeper than 100 feet (ca. 30 m)
While travel time to dive sites can be long, there are a number of dive sites and snorkeling opportunities that are near to the shore and even as a shore dive. Florida has over 770 miles (ca. 1,239 km) of coastline on the Gulf of Mexico. The easiest way to discuss scuba diving Florida's Gulf Coast is to break it into two major areas. These would be the Florida Panhandle, and Southwest Florida coast. Southwest Florida includes Pinellas County with the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater, metropolitan area, south to Naples.
Scuba Diving and Snorkeling the Florida Panhandle.
The Florida Panhandle is roughly 200 miles (ca. 322 km) long along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. While it does extend away from the coast and beyond the major cities, It is generally described as the area between Tallahassee to Pensacola. The Panhandle has four regions: Emerald Coast, Forgotten Coast, Middle Florida, and West Florida. There are nine major cities in this area. You will find outstanding beaches, boating opportunities as well as diving and snorkeling. Do a little research and determine which one is best for you.
There are many things that attract visitors to the beaches and water sports of the region. One thing that you might not think of off hand is that it is 600 miles (ca. 966 km) closer to Midwest destinations than the Florida Keys. You could write a book about the best dive sites in the panhandle. I saw a list of 20 natural sites, 40 wrecks, and 85 rubble sites, for just one county. Another county has asked divers and fishermen to help correct their list of sites. Seems when they translated old coordinates to current GPS standards, there were some mistakes. They are asking for updates on 144 sites.
Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail
To help promote scuba diving in the Florida Panhandle, the State of Florida identified 12 shipwrecks and started to promote them, along with local partners, as the Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail. You can get a Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail Passport from the local dive shops, when you complete all the sites, you can send the passport to the state, and they will send you an award.
Recently, they have expanded the shipwreck trail to include 20 wrecks centered around three cities Pensacola, Panama City, and Destin:
Pensacola Wrecks
Here are the Florida Panhandle Shipwreck trail wreck closest to Pensacola:
Three Coal Barges: A shallow dive in 50 feet (ca. 15 m) of water. While en route to a planned sinking they broke free from their tug and were sunk before they could run aground and cause damage.
San Pablo: Sunk in 1944 by a secret weapon. This 315-foot (ca. 96 m) long ship with a 44foot (ca. 13 m) beam is in 80 feet (ca. 24 m) of water. Also called the “Russian Freighter”.
Peter Tide II: A former support vessel for offshore oil rigs, the Peter Tide II has three decks and is 168 feet (ca. 51 m) long with 38 feet (ca. 12 m) beam. She sits in 100 feet (ca. 30 m) of water.
YDT-14: A former US Navy diving tender is in 90 feet (ca. 27 m) of water reaching 65 feet (ca. 20 m). The tender is 132.5 feet (ca. 40 m) long with a beam of 30 feet (ca. 9 m). A sister ship YDT-15 is also a reef but is mostly covered by sand.
USS Oriskany: One of the greatest dive sites in the world and some marketing expert has tagged it the “Great Carrier Reef”.
Destin Wrecks
Destin is a great destination for snorkeling as well as scuba diving. There are a number of near-shore reefs in shallow waters. Many of the wrecks added to the expanded trail are near Destin. Here are the wrecks closest to Destin.
Miss Louise: This wreck is fairly close to shore and unlike most of the wrecks on the shipwreck trail sits on a sandy bottom. This old push tug is 95 feet (ca. 29 m) long and has a 23-foot (ca. 7 m) beam. It sits in just 60 feet (ca. 18 m) of water with plentiful marine life, making it a great training site. This wreck is among a number of artificial reefs used for both diving and snorkeling.
Vamar: This steamer was part of Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s American expedition to Antarctica in 1928. She sits in just 25 feet (ca. 8 m) of water.
M/V Janet: This 85-foot (ca. 26 m) tug sits in 93 feet (ca. 28 m) of water, and rises 30 feet from the bottom.
Chepanoc: This 128-foot tug sits further out than many of the other Destin dive sites. The 129-foot (ca. 39 m) long tugboat sits in 107 feet (ca. 33 m) of water.
Belize Queen/Bob Reay Reef: The Belize Queen is 85 feet (ca. 26 m) long tug sitting in rising 35 feet (ca. 11 m) from the 112 foot (ca. 33 m) bottom. There are a number of other artificial reefs adjoining the wreck.
Mohawk Chief: The Mohawk chief is a 95 feet (ca. 29 m) long tugboat that is the centerpiece of the Sand Dollar Complex #7
Tugboat "Zuess": This tugboat is one of the earliest artificial reef projects in the Florida Panhandle.
Destin Liberty Ship/Thomas Hayward Reef.: The Thomas Hayward is a 360-foot WWII liberty ship. Sitting in just 90 feet (ca. 27 m) of water and reaching just 25 feet (ca. 8 m) below the surface, it is one of the most popular dive sites in Destin.
Panama City Dive Sites on the Shipwreck Trail
Panama City is another outstanding destination in the Florida Panhandle. It is also one of the better Florida destinations for snorkeling. Saint Andrews State Park has a number of locations suitable for shore dives as well as snorkeling. Here are the Shipwreck Trail dive sites:
Black Bart: The offshore oil well support vessel, Vulcano del Golfo, was sunk in 85 feet (ca. 26 m) of water and renamed the Black Bart. The wheelhouse of the 185 feet (ca. 56 m) by 38 feet (ca. 12 m) vessel can be entered in 40 feet (ca. 12 m) of water. The deck is just 66 feet (ca. 20 m) down and the cargo hold at 80 feet (ca. 24 m).
FAMI tugs: A pair of tugs originally sunk next to each other in 100 feet of water. Now, one sits on top of the other.
USS Accokeek: A fleet tug that ended her career as a practice piece for Navy salvage and ordinance training. She now sits in 100 feet (ca. 30 m) of water.
USS Strength: This WWII minesweeper originally sunk on her side in 100 feet (ca. 30 m) of water. A hurricane helped divers by righting her in 1997.
USS Chippewa: A WWII Navy tug boat was sunk in 1990.
HMS Empire Mica: A British tanker sunk in WWII and later reduced as a hazard to navigation.
El Dorado: An investor purchased this cruise liner after it was heavily damaged in a hurricane. However, before it could be repaired and returned to service, a second hurricane ran it aground. The investor donated it to a reef project instead of going forward with his plans.
Florida's Gulf Coast Great Carrier Reef
This dive site deserves a little more detail. The USS Oriskany or the “Mighty O” is an Essex-class aircraft carrier, with a long proud military history. Years after being retired from service, she was processed and sunk as an artificial reef. Divers have been known to spend an entire vacation exploring this dive site and never seeing the same area twice. The “Great Carrier Reef” is 911 feet (ca. 278 meters) long. This makes her the longest single structure artificial reef to have been created. She also has a beam of 148 feet (ca. 45 m) which is larger than what most artificial reefs are long.
The profile is also impressive. The carrier sits in 212 feet (ca. 65 m) of water, which is beyond recreational dive limits while still a reasonable depth for technical divers. Her various decks reach up from the deep to within 80 feet (ca. 24 m) of the surface. While out of reach for Open Water Divers, it is within range of Advanced Open Water Divers. If you are only a OWD and want to explore the top portion of the wreck, some local dive centers will allow it as an adventure dive, a dive with an instructor. The Island portion of the ship rises from the flight deck which is listed as 146 feet (ca. 45 m) deep. A deep certified diver could get close to the deck and still be within certification range. Most divers circle the island and can visit various levels including the Primary Flight Bridge at 105 feet (32 m), the Navigation Bridge at 124feet (38 m), and the Flag Bridge at 134 feet (41m). There are also a number of swim-throughs between the different bridges within the island. Visibility is often greater than 100 feet (ca. 30 m) and there is generally a current over the wreck. These and other reasons require you to pay close attention to your dive plan.
Scuba Diving Southwest Florida
Let me first state that there is some great diving in Southwest Florida. As mentioned above, Southwest Florida includes Pinellas County with the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater, metropolitan area, and goes south to Naples. Pinellas County had for many years a great artificial reef program that include 42 artificial reefs. They created 13 offshore reefs those greater than 8 miles (ca. 13 km) from the coast, and 29 inshore reefs. The inshore reefs are in just 15 feet (ca. 4.5 m) of water making many of them great snorkeling locations as well. This count does not seem to include the 10 tanks off St Pete's beach.
To be frank, the area does not have the variety of dive sites the Panhandle does. However, what I do like and one reason this is a popular destination for me is how close it can be to diving central Florida and visiting the theme parks.
Lobster Anyone?
Image by Peterkoelbl, CC BY-SA 2.5
If you snorkel or scuba dive anywhere in Florida, you will likely hear about the spiny lobster season. The mini-season is a two-day event in late July. Those are the most dived days in the year with tens of thousands of divers and snorkelers out hunting. This is followed by the regular season which is August 6 through March 31 of each year. There are not that many spiny lobsters on the Gulf Coast. However, there are shovel-nose lobsters also known as slipper lobsters.
While not often found on shallow sites, they are found in deeper water. Shovel-nose lobsters are unregulated, which means you can take up to 100 pounds (ca. 45 kg) of them a day year-round. Just something to consider.
