Artificial reef. approx. 30-40' barge with culvert pipesaround that lead to another barge.

Always goliath grouper, snapper, AJs, and various other species.

Viz is normally decent. Usually not crowded.

Easy to find 8-10' relief on bottom finder.

Palm Island Ferry

This site is known to yield fossilized sharks' teeth. Poor visibility, esp when the water's a little choppy. I have found upwards of 60 teeth in a one-hour dive. (Pics of them on my page.) Teeth ranged from serrated (white sharks) to lanceolate (sand sharks). Many different sizes. This site has been reported to yield teeth in excess of 4" diameter !!! Local dive guides available, but you won't need them. Stay at exactly 19'-21', and you'll find plenty. BEWARE of boats: use a dive buoy.

Public parking at the municipal lot. Hump your gear to the water's edge. Go straight out +/- 100 yards from the lifeguard tower.

Venice Beach

Boca Grande Wreck

Spanish Rocks Reef is unique in that it is one of the very rare saltwater shore dives on the west coast of Florida.  This dive site consists of limestone ledges that vary in height off the bottom from about a foot to about five feet high in certain locations.   Life on the ledges are sponges, tunicates, lots of sea weed, and some corals (hard coral, sea fans, gorgonians).  Various tropical fish live on an around the ledges with turtles and nurse sharks spotted on occasion.  Average depth is from 15 to 20 feet based on tides.  Visibility is highly dependant upon prevailing wind direction and strength.

This dive site located off of Bradenton Beach, FL on Anna Maria Island.  To get to this location find the beach access point on Gulf Drive North and 33rd Street.  33rd Street is only 50 to 100 feet long and serves as the parking lot for the local beach access.   A way to get there from the mainland is to take SR 64 (Manatee Ave.) to Gulf Drive North and then go south about a quarter mile.   If you keep going south along gulf drive for about another 1.5 miles you will get to the other Brandenton Beach shore dive site the Wreck of the Regina (aka Sugar Barge).  The 33rd St. Gulf Drive N. beach access is marked by a small blue green sign to the west.   From the Beach access point find the reef by walking south along the beach six houses and then head out from there due west for a couple hundred yards.  You have to go past the sandy bottom area.  If the visibility is poor it can be easy to miss.  The ledges then heads towards the west away from shore at an angle.

Spanish Rocks Reef

Bulb shape sink-hole

Approx. 27 miles offshore Marco Island, Florida

Black Hole

The Santa Lucia was a 47 foot turtle boat; she was sunk in 1997 to become part of and artificial reef site.

Approx. 4 miles west of Gordon Pass

Santa Lucia

Military radio tower

Approx. 29 miles offshore Marco Island


R  Tower

The program is approximately 90-minutes and includes an educational presentation about sharks and a 30-minute dive in the Shark Bay exhibit. The divers will exit the shark cage with an Aquarium dive master and position themselves on the bottom of the exhibit in front of the exhibit window for optimal viewing of the sharks. Family and friends will be able to view the divers during all phases of the dive from the Sea Hunt gallery.

The Shark Bay Exhibit at The Florida Aquarium, 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa, Florida.  http://www.flaquarium.org/html/l2/l2_explore_dive.html  From I-275 Southbound - Coming from North Tampa & Ocala Areas  Take Exit 45A (OLD 26) Downtown East (Jefferson Street) Continue straight on Jefferson to Twiggs Left on Twiggs to Channelside Drive Right on Channelside Drive to Washington Street Left on Washington Street to Aquarium Parking

Shark Bay Exhibit At the Florida Aquarium

There is a SCUBA destination in Lake Denton, Florida.  This is where my wife and I completed our open water dives for our certification.  The visibility is good and there are a lot of fish to see.  It is a favorite of the locals and is busy on Saturday, but Sunday it's less crowded.  There are lines on the bottom to help navigate.  There are also a couple of sunken dinghies.

Lake Denton, Florida

Lake Denton

This 453 foot-long German freighter was sunk by Dutch and British warships back in WWII.

Off the coast of the Dry Tortugas

Rhein

The Sheridan lies within the Pinellas #2 Artificial Reef Site and is just 100 yards southeast of the USCG Blackthorn. The Sheridan is a fantastic wreck dive. The 180-foot tugboat lies upright and fully intact. The tug lists about 50 degrees to starboard with its prop in place. The top of the wreck can be reached at 25-30 feet. The wreck is surrounded by concrete culverts and tires.

Many consider the Sheridan to be one of the best wreck dives in the Tampa/Clearwater area. The Sheridan is home to several Goliath Grouper and barracuda and always has lots of marine life to observe. Spanish mackerel, amberjack, crevelle jack, trigger fish, snapper, and even the occasional shark frequent the reef site. This is a great spot to take pictures of some large grouper. Advanced wreck divers will enjoy exploring the open compartments.

Boat dive only.

Palm Island Ferry

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Palm Island Ferry