Veteran's Reef

I have to admit, I was a bit concerned...I have been told repeatedly that "there's no ocean diving" in Tampa, so when a friend offered the chance to hitch a ride on his boat, I had no idea what to expect.

Veteran's Reef is a collection of sunken vehicles, including barges and a plane, that collectively provide habitat and shelter for a variety of fish and other marine animals.

Website: http://www.veteransreef.org.

More Info:
Latitude 28º 2.868'
Longitude 83º 0.768'
Maximum Depth 45 feet (most of this site is around 30 feet down)
Built 8/4/1999

Review:
Massive schools of bait fish and Goliath groupers characterized this heart-pounding dive. Every time I turned around, there was another huge grouper just disappearing into a hole in the barge. One of the barges has collapsed, and coral/plant life is relatively limited, but the prolific fish make this a worthwhile dive. This is a shallow dive with fairly obvious "landmarks", making this a dive suitable for beginners as well as interesting for more advanced divers.

Lake Denton

We headed out to Lake Denton this Sunday in an attempt to finish a few class skills. Though I am assured that this is NOT always the case, visibility was awful, in the neighborhood of 1-2 feet on average. I had to pull my gauges right up to my face in order to see anything.

Otherwise, though, gorgeous lake, and I am told that if you head a bit further left of the welcome building, there's a sandy/grassy area that maintains better visibility and won't be so stirred up by classes.

Pertinent details:

Website/Directions: http://www.highlandscvb.com/do/moreinfo.php?ZID23=96867&page=parks&ClassID=25

Entrance fee for divers is $10, with the instructor/divemaster free. Park carefully out of the way of traffic and be sure not to block anyone's driveway. You'll want to bring a tarp to place gear on, as it's either dirt or sand between the lake and the parking area.

De Leon Springs

Overall: Absolutely beautiful area, with a restaurant and boat rides available in the park. Diving is severely limited, and only allowed if you're accompanied by an instructor or dive operation with a yearly permit.

Website/Directions: http://www.floridastateparks.org/deleonsprings/

We headed out to De Leon Springs to do a few skills in the "swimming hole", which is subdivided from the rest of the river. The water is ultra-clear, but the current from the 19 million gallon daily flow spring can be a bit strong. All in all, a lovely place to do a class, provided your students can deal with the flow.

New Tampa Scuba Diving Blog

I know it's sparse right now, but over the next few weeks I'll be adding local dive site reviews, tips, and answering any questions I get about scuba diving in general, as well as questions that come up during my local Tampa diving classes. Please feel free to email me with any comments or requests!