PANAMA CITY BEACH — Panhandle divers soon will be adding “passport” to their equipment checklist as they descend upon the Panhandle Shipwreck Trail, a 12-wreck dive quest officially launched last week in Pensacola.
Developed by the Florida Department of State’s Underwater Archaeology team, the trail challenges divers to explore shipwrecks off the coast of Pensacola, Destin, Panama City and Port St. Joe, and catalogue the journey in an official Shipwreck Trail Passport.
The goal of the trail is to boost tourism in the region by giving divers an excuse to come back again and again.
— Click here for more information about the Shipwreck Trail »
Adam Wendt, a dive instructor at Dive Locker in Panama City Beach, said the shop likely will dedicate a boat specifically for Shipwreck Trail dives.
“A good amount of our business [is] from people interested in the Shipwreck Trail,” Wendt said. “Luckily in Panama City, we have a bunch of them.”
Bay County’s five featured wrecks give visiting divers plenty of reasons to return. Wrecks off the coast of Panama City Beach include the FAMI Tugs, Black Bart, USS Accokeek, USS Chippewa and USS Strength.
Wendt said Panama City is a favorite for avid divers, many of whom seek out specific species in the area’s many wrecks, like the monster Goliath grouper, a fish that can weigh up to 700 pounds.
Wendt’s favorite dive spot, the USS Strength, is an old World War II minesweeper, which sits on the Gulf floor in two sections so divers can swim through the ship’s hull.
Dive Locker is one of seven trail partners in the Bay County area, from which divers can obtain an official “passport” and have it validated as dives are completed.
Other area partners include Better Bottom Time, Captain Jack’s Private Yacht Charters, Diver’s Den, Florida Aquatic and Marine, Panama City Dive Center and Panama City Dive Charters.
So far, about 800 passports have been distributed throughout the region.
With the help of a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the project also includes an interactive website complete with videos of each wreck, maps of the wrecks and a list of partnering dive shops across the Panhandle.