Snapper Scuba

09/04/2026

Open Water course completion
Congrats to John who completed the course at the Destin Jetties on 27 July. This was another set of pics and videos that were delayed in posting. The highlight was certainly the 5' Southern stingray that visited a few times. We also saw a flounder. There were a lot of snorkelers, but no other divers when we were on our tour.

08/31/2026

Advanced Open Water graduates!
Congrats to Alejandro, Benjamin and Keith for completing the class in the Gulf on 26 July. We dove on some of the newer wrecks, Skippin' Sue resting at 80' and Fantasea at 90'. We chartered under Taz's Excursions. (Pardon the delay in posting, but I've been on the road for a month without the videos.) The guys progressed well from the dives the day prior at the springs and have more confidence to handle changing conditions. The highlight was certainly the goliath grouper, but no grunts heard this time. Vis was about 15' with rolling 2' seas and only a mild current near the surface.

07/31/2026

Advanced Open Water and OW training at The Original Vortex Spring
On 25 July, Benjamin, Zachary and Keith completed three dives towards the AOW cert: Peak Performance Buoyancy, Navigation and Search & Recovery. John completed three dives towards the OW cert. The visibility was horrible with lots of training classes in the basin, which forced the team to improve on buoyancy and trim control, and overall communication. Everyone learned much and they are ready for the next series of dives.

07/28/2026

Enriched Air NITROX graduates!
Congrats to Benjamin and Alejandro who completed the course on July 22nd. Keith did a refresher. Now they can appreciate the benefits of longer dive times with reduced nitrogen in the tissues.

07/07/2026

Five new 3D artifical reef models available near Destin compliments of Reef Smart

Thanks to Alex Fogg from the Destin-FWB Natural Resources Group for the post

https://www.destinfwb.com/explore/eco-tourism/artificial-reefs/3d-models/?fbclid=IwY2xjawS5UtNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFVY0NBbHl1VjRRMlVhV2hNc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjfBVHWe4lkSIv-fFHaeWoLmCQnPYObnYceSDSXEOSvomyJYWLJ-871v2jwH_aem_WOp80bWvuANqpH657-Ifqw

07/06/2026

New artificial reef off Destin!

https://niceville.com/224-foot-vessel-to-become-newest-gulf-artificial-reef/?fbclid=IwdGRjcAS37JRwZG9mAWZkaWQWUKC9LPJDZ6JDKWxjp9ej03aI6-7l-2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR6o0Lc2uzHadUjXAP8D0NwlxbYGMTwwHWAQdz4-kQjB6gj6eIhtyFoOamnLpw_aem_k_S4x1QcAQry9VSu7zDXrw

Okaloosa County and the Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau will partner to deploy a 224-foot

07/02/2026

New wreck off Orange Beach!
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19FBd4TjL1/?mibextid=wwXIfr

06/26/2026

Open Water class completion!
Congrats to Logan, Ethan and Alec who completed the class on 20 June at The Original Vortex Spring. Skies were overcast and vis was around 10-15' from other divers kicking up the basin, but these guys did a good job to stay off the bottom. We kept the group together and they did a nice job with the skills and improved buoyancy and trim control from earlier in the course. Go forth and dive!

06/22/2026

Open Water pool skills
Logan and dad Alec joined me in the pool on 17 June to work on basic skills. Everything went 'swimmingly' and they are ready to progress to the Open Water dives.

06/19/2026

Open Water graduates!
Congrats to James (16) and Alejandro who completed the class at the Destin Jetties on June 14th. They progressed well throughout the training the past two weeks and are ready to experience "the other half of Florida!" Eric and Sebastian, prior students, joined us. The 30' vis was good for this site. The highlight was certainly seeing a spotted eagle ray and I got a short clip. We saw a pufferfish, flounder and I was able to cut a fishing line from the mouth of a toadfish without getting stung. Nice job guys!