Diving in Panama City is heavily concentrated on its shipwrecks and artificial reefs. Some of the wrecks are "natural" sunk by fire or forces of nature while others were deliberately deployed as dive sites after being retired from military or commercial service. Other artificial reefs are from Old Navy training programs and the area bridge trusses. Whatever your preferences scuba divers have a great variety of dive sites to choose from in the Panama City/Panama City Beach area. The natural limestone reefs offshore offer the most bounty to spearing divers but tend to be only 1-3 feet in vertical relief. While we do take dedicated spearfishing charters to these types of reefs, our routine for strictly SCUBA trips is to stick with the Shipwrecks and artificial reefs.
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
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. Divers should be on the look out for the fake skeleton! The Black Bart is a
popular spot for wreck training and for photography.
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.
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 many many many (several) flounder during their fall migration and well into the Spring.
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. Bring a compass to return to te correct spot!
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'.
Chippewa
This is Captain Pat's favorite wreck to dive. 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. 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.
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. Sadly the mooring ball originally deployed here (and on all the other Panama City dive sites) was stolen some time ago and there are no plans to replace them at this time.
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 relative to the line and gas supply.
Technical Sites
USS Ozark
The Ozark is 458' long and has a 60' beam. She was originally a mine layer in WWII but was redesignated as a troop transport. After being decomisioned she was used as a target ship and was eventually sunk 28 nautical miles south of Destin. She currently sits upright in 330' of water and rises to within 200' of the surface.
USCG Zenia
A sistership to the well known USCG Blackthorn, the Zenia was a Buoy tender 180' long and 37' wide. She was sunk as an artificial reef in 1993, 27 nautical miles from Cape San Blas. Currently she is upright in 190' of water.