The Black Bart is a 180' vessel sunk in 1993 as an artificial reef. Christened Vulcano del Golfo in 1977, the site commemorates Charles’ Black Bart’ Bartholomew, Navy Supervisor of Salvage Captain, who died while diving off Panama City Beach in 1990. His exploits include heading up the recovery of the Space Shuttle Challenger and leading the Navy’s cleanup of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which is poetic since the Black Bart is an oil rig supply ship.
Do you want to try something new? In just 3 days, you can get your Open Water Scuba Diving Certificate. Your certification is valid for life. You won't have to worry about scheduling because classes are small. If you have been certified but have not dived in a while, we offer refreshers. We will put you on the schedule if you give us a call.
The SS Tarpon is a historic shipwreck. She sank in 1937 and took the lives of 18 crew members, including her captain – Willis G. Barrow. Remarkably, one crew member, Adley Baker, survived by swimming the 9 miles to shore in gale-force winds. It was a 25-hour ordeal, but he lived to tell the tale.
A 184' long Navy minesweeper tender with a 33' beam sunk in 1987 as a dive salvage training site. Storms broke the bow, and it lay off the port side of the wreck. The rest of the boat remains intact and sits upright, rising 20' off the bottom.
We offer a variety of classes for people with wide ranges of experience to get their scuba diving certification.
Panama City Beach boasts a vast array of artificial coral material. Material options include old piers, bridge pilings and custom-designed reef habitat. While these sites are unlikely to attract divers by themselves most of them will attract divers if they are surrounded by reef module-enclosed ships.
St. Andrews State Park offers the best beach diving along the Emerald Coast. The channel side of the west jetties has a depth of 70 feet. In spots, the rocks also attract and keep a variety of sea creatures, such as octopus and red snapper. The best part about diving is when you catch an incoming tide.
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.