Pensacola Freediver

[justfins]

I'm relatively new to freediving. I've always been intrigued by anything to do with the water. Scuba seemed a bit cumbersome and complicated. Around April of 2010, I got a regular snorkel set and started going to the Ft. Pickens Jetties. It's awesome. I'm totally hooked.

I hope to find/network with other freedivers in the Pensacola area.

 

[Salehthefish]

Hello and welcome on DB try the search option and hope u find some one soon...

All best

 

[agbiv]

Welcome from Texas!

 

[Tin Man]

Welcome! I dove Pensacola Bay often for about 7 or 8 years before relocating to Baton Rouge, and I still get back there as often as I can. The current and hit or miss visibility in the bay can make freediving a challenge, but there's some neat stuff down there. There are also a couple of ballast piles, and a sunken barge just a couple hundred yards off the beach to the west of Pensacola Pass, if you have at least a kayak. And the Battleship Massachusetts is amazing if you can catch the current slack.

 

[cdavis]

You live in a good area to start diving. Nice and shallow and if you can effectively shoot fish in those waters, you can do it anywhere. I grew up in Mobile and learned to spear off Orange Beach and Gulf Shores. Sheephead, spadefish, flounder, speckle trout, redfish (some of this ain't legal anymore), cobia, Spanish Mackeral. Good memories. Lots of variety, but Specs are the hardest.

Get somebody to show you where the Whiskey Wreak is at Gulf Shores. I'm pretty sure its still there. If they still allow diving under the bridge at Orange Beach, that can be fabulous on an incoming tide. There is another wreck, an old steel sailing ship, just west of downtown Gulf Shores, about twice as far off the beach as the Whiskey Wreck. Than one might be gone by now.

Good luck

Connor

 

[justfins]

Thanks to all for the tips. I think I'll load up the kayak and head out to find whiskey wreck this weekend if the weather works out. Tin Man, I've read a lot of your posts, talking about spearing inside Pensacola Bay. Sounds very exciting. I'd love to break in my speargun, but I have no idea where any of the spots are. Are any reasonably accessible with a kayak?

 

[Tin Man]

I'll shoot you a PM.

 

[Lyterkillsling]

I live in Navarre. New to this forum. I Fo plenty of freediving when home. Always looking for some buddies to dive with!

 

[justfins]

Wish I was still there. I'm landlocked in Oklahoma now. Hoping to go try out some freshwater lakes before the end of the summer. Check out Dive Pros in P-cola, they have a monthly pot luck/party at the shop and you might meet some folks there. I know Dave Mucci is a local freedive legend and he hangs out there sometimes. Good luck finding a dive buddy.

 

[Lyterkillsling]

I've met Dave Hes a cool guy. Waiting on a permitting day to deep dive