Scuba Dive Panama City Beach Under Water

Scuba Dive Panama City Beach Update


Panama City Beach is a paradise for both divers as well as non-divers. You won't want to go to the beach or feel guilty for taking your family out to PCB while you dive. If your partner is certified, you can make a diving trip part of a romantic weekend in Panama City Beach.


The jetties at St. Andrews State Park offer the best beach dives available along the Emerald Coast. Depth on the channel side of the west jetty hits 70 feet in spots, and the rocks attract and hold a variety of sea life, including octopus, red snapper, redfish, grouper, and other tropical fish. If you time your dive to catch an incoming tide, it doesn’t get any better.

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The Black Bart, a 180 foot vessel, was built in 1993 to create an artificial reef. Vulcano del Golfo, which was christened in 1977, is dedicated to Charles' Black Bartholomew, Navy Supervisor for Salvage Captain. He died in 1990 while diving off Panama City Beach. His accomplishments include the Recovery of Space Shuttle Challenger, and the Navy's Cleanup of Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. This is a poetic tribute to Charles' Black Bart, a supply ship for oil rigs.

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The Black Bart is a 180-foot boat that was built as an artificial coral reef. Vulcano del Golfo was established in 1977 to honor Charles' Black Bart Bartholomew who was Navy Supervisor of Salvage Capt. Bartholomew died while diving off Panama City Beach on September 30, 1990. His feats include leading the Navy in the cleanup of Exxon Valdez's oil spillage.

Why can't you scuba dive with whale sharks









There is quite an extensive collection of artificial reef material deployed around Panama City Beach. Materials range from bridge pilings to old piers to specially designed reef habitat. Most of these sites wouldn’t attract divers on their own, but when you see a sunken ship surrounded by reef modules, you can bet there will be lots of fish down there.

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Inshore diving is defined as less than 8 miles away from St Andrew's Pass. It is generally safe for open water divers. The Red Sea, a tugboat measuring 125 feet, was installed here in 2009. It is also home to the E. E. Simpson Tug, which sank in 1929. Stage 2 (a Navy platform, which was destroyed in 1984), Fontainebleau Boxcars (2 boxcars with associated reef material) and a pair Voodoo Jets anchoring in Seltzer Reef are other interesting locations. Below is a table listing inshore dive spots in Panama City Beach and their associated bottom depths.

Scuba Dive Panama City Beach Hotel


Before you dive your first time, make sure to check out our free resources, downloads, and more! You can also discover our top diving spots and more about historic landmarks only under water!

Frequently Asked Questions

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.