Santa Rosa Island

This is a fun spot to go. Visibility and current are big factors on the enjoyment of this dive site. There is a frame of an old Army jeep off the jetties. The one time I got good vis to snorkel with I noticed a lot of hermit crabs with a large variety of colored shells. Make sure to pay attention to the currents when heading out for your dive.

During 2004 we've logged 9 dives here so far. At least once a month since April. The last was the weekend before Ivan came through. We've seen a variety of fish here. Sheeps head, sgt majors, damsel fish, spade fish, Squid. I've come up real close to rays burying themselves in the sand. And there's that porcupine fish I'm about to adopt. If you pay attention, there's colorful sea rods mixed in the rocks with urchin and anemone. Jellyfish were a problem in July, but less so below 20 feet. If you can, get a parking place close to the stairs. Entry couldn't be easier. There's a shower to wash you and your equipment off, as well. This is best at slack tide, as currents can be a problem. Viz seem to vary between 6-8 feet and 20+, often on the same dive. The depths go to about 50 ft. Just about every time we've been here, there were at least 1 or 2 classes, so it can get a bit crowded near the beach. With all those dive flags, fisherman still come in real close to where folks are diving. (They caught my flag once.) Fishermen in boats can get too close for comfort for me, and sometimes tempers between the fishermen and divers flare. This has been my favorite place for shore dives since I learned a lot about diving here. And I have my fingers crossed that Ivan didn't mess it up too bad so we can get back to it soon.

During 2004 we've logged 9 dives here so far. At least once a month since April. The last was the weekend before Ivan came through. We've seen a variety of fish here. Sheeps head, sgt majors, damsel fish, spade fish, Squid. I've come up real close to rays burying themselves in the sand. And there's that porcupine fish I'm about to adopt. If you pay attention, there's colorful sea rods mixed in the rocks with urchin and anemone. Jellyfish were a problem in July, but less so below 20 feet. If you can, get a parking place close to the stairs. Entry couldn't be easier. There's a shower to wash you and your equipment off, as well. This is best at slack tide, as currents can be a problem. Viz seem to vary between 6-8 feet and 20+, often on the same dive. The depths go to about 50 ft. Just about every time we've been here, there were at least 1 or 2 classes, so it can get a bit crowded near the beach. With all those dive flags, fisherman still come in real close to where folks are diving. (They caught my flag once.) Fishermen in boats can get too close for comfort for me, and sometimes tempers between the fishermen and divers flare. This has been my favorite place for shore dives since I learned a lot about diving here. And I have my fingers crossed that Ivan didn't mess it up too bad so we can get back to it soon.

We've done the dive at the Fort Pickens several times. Viz is dependent on the tides and there can be lots of fisherman at times. The actual jetties are quite short but there can be a good dive up the channel from the jetties too. There are fish attractors sunk along the slope to the ship channel. We've seen octopus there as well as good variety of fish. The only guitar fish I've ever seen was there. It's not Bonaire but it's well worth doing.