Stage I

Bridge Span #1 from the Hathaway Bridge.  Lots of marine life!  Photographed multiple jewfish on my only dive.  Whale Sharks have been filmed at this location previously.

Best access is from Captain Anderson's Marina.

Bridge Span #1 is also known as Hathaway Truss 1.

Bridge Span #1

Named in honor of Richard "Mac" McCullen.  "Divers gotta be tough" was McCullen's motto.  Originally a Navy Toolship, it was used by the Navy for many years after decommissioning as a vessel for salvage practice.  When it had outlived it's usefulness, the Navy base donated the boat to Panama City Marine Institute for use as an artificial reef.  It was sunk in 2008.  A granite plaque was also left to memorialize "Mac"



Mac's Reef

The 185-foot oil field supply ship sits upright in about 75 feet of water. Her bow points due south. The bridge can be reached at 40 feet and the main deck is at 66 feet. The cargo holds are open for exploration. Divers can also explore the head (complete with toilets) and the galley which still has several appliances. The Black Bart is a popular spot for wreck training and for photography. 



Black Bart





Bridge Span #14 is also known as Hathaway Truss 14.

Bridge Span #14

This was my first time a this site. Visibility was around 5- 10 ft., it was almost low tide. I heard that around high tide is much better vis. I also heard in the early summer you might get to see baby hammerhead sharks, but I didn't see any myself. Because of the changing tides there was a slight current. There were a variety of fish there, and some coral. 

Outside of Panama City Beach, Florida.

St. Andrews State Park

1,260-acre coastal park; 110ft, 40ft viz, 60-80DegF; for more information, call St. Andrews State Park at (850) 233-5140 
Park Fees: Admission Fee--$5.00 per vehicle; $1.00 for the following: Pedestrians, Bicyclists, extra Passengers, Passengers in vehicles with holder of Annual Individual Entrance Permit 
Facilities: Picnic pavilions, bath-house, restrooms, beach chair rentals (in season), Park store with limited lunch food items for sale plus drinks, snacks and souvenirs. Beach on tidal pool with no waves and beach on main beach area where waves are located. Boat shuttle (fee charged) available to Shell Island (sand island) across channel from park. No facilities on Shell Island. 
Dive Shop Concession on site: Jetty Dive Shop 850-233-0197 On site air fills when compressor is working. Some rental tanks, but limited availability. Nitrox usually not available. 
Closest offsite Dive Shop: PC Dive Center at the corner of Front Beach Rd and Thomas Drive just outside the park at the first redlight. 
Dive Rules: Follow Florida State dive laws. Dive flag required for diving anywhere outside the jetty tidal pool. 
Best time to dive: At "high slack tide" Check local tide tables for time. 
Dive Conditions: strong currents can exist due to incoming/outgoing tide. Best time for lowest current and best visibility is at high slack tide. Depths to 65 feet in main channel. Beware of boat traffic above and use a dive flag as required by law. Fishermen sometimes fish on jetty rocks, so beware of line entanglement or being hooked. Best to carry a cutting tool just in case. 
Accommodations: Camping available at park or hotels/condos available outside park.

Hours of Operation: 8:00 AM to sunset 
Driving Directions: From Hwy 98 turn South on to Hwy 3031 (Thomas Drive) and follow it straight to Hwy 392 and turn left to enter into the gates of St. Andrews State Park. St. Andrews State Park is located approximately 3 miles east of Hwy 392.

St. Andrews Jetties, Panama Beach

There is tons to do here, lots of wreck dives there is even a bridge span to dive on 45 min offshore!! I tagged this location because this is were the hardest toughest members of our navy are forged and formed into navy divers. The history and technology that is housed here will humble even the most experienced diver. While your here check out the man in the sea museum this will surely give you a feeling of awwwwweeeeee.

Its Panama city beach!!! who doesn't know this place, from such infomercials like girls gone wild and girls gone wild spring break, there is also MTV specials filmed and hosted here every year for the Lower alabama and southern college folks.

Aligator bayou is also known as The mecca for Navy Diving.

Aligator bayou

Tug Boat Janet is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in USA, Florida, Destin which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.

Tug Boat Janet

Destin, Florida, East Pass' east jetty is pretty much the only beach dive in the Destin area other than the Destin Marler bridge. Visibility can occasionally get above 30 feet but the average is more like 10 - 20 feet. 

This dive MUST be done during a slack tide period. This cannot be stressed enough! Check tides for Destin East Pass prior to attempting dive and plan your dive accordingly. A slack high tide will offer the best visibility as compared to a slack low tide after the bay has flushed through. Tidal flow through the pass can easily exceed 4 knots.



Access to the East Jetty can be by boat or by short walk to the beach by way of Holiday Isle.

East Jetty

Recently( this February) I did a shore dive at the Destin Jetties in Destin, Florida.  I went there because the boat dives were all canceled due to bad weather. Of course that meant there was bad weather at the jetties too but I was so determined to dive in the ocean that weekend. I spent about 12 mins fighting the currents in 6 foot water and went about 9 yards. It was freezing cold and I had about 5 ft of visibility. It was a terrible dive but the locals I talked to said that on good days it can be incredible. I plan to try it again this summer. You are at the mercy of the tides for peek diving conditions. Obviously when I dove that mercy was not available.

There are jetties on both the east and west side of the pass - the east side is where people do most of their diving. To reach them, you'll want to get to Gulf Shore Drive and follow it past where it makes an "S" turn. At this point, be on watch for a gravel lane for public parking on the right side of the road. There will also be a single showerhead and a few signs that can be easy to miss marking the trail that leads out to the beach and the East Pass Jetties.

Stage I

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Stage I