Tides
for Saint Andrews Pass
| Note: You must display a diver down flag when diving the jetties. The law is strictly enforced by the Florida Marine Patrol due to the high volume of boat traffic. In this area you should dive within 100 feet of your flag. Spear fishing or collecting is not permitted (state park regulations). |
Note: Some low tide heights are
given as negative numbers (-0.x)
To print a tide table: File menu / Print.
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NOTE: For sunrise/sunset times and for tides at other stations, go
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TIDES AT THE JETTY
The tides at Panama City are some of the lowest in the world
due to the shape of the land mass around the Gulf of Mexico. A high
tide travels from east to west as a large wave around the Florida peninsula;
reaching the coasts of Texas and Mexico it bounces back and tends to
cancel the next wave (the next high tide). This is also why, on most
days, there is only one high and one low in our area, rather than two
high and two low tides as at other places.
When planning your dive at the jetty (St. Andrews Pass), consider these factors: 1. Incoming water from the Gulf (before high tide) is cleaner, providing better visibility. 2. The current flowing through the pass is slowest at slack tide, around the time of changing direction (the published high or low).
The best conditions are when your dive ends at just about high tide and the current hasn't yet started flowing out. The next best conditions start just a little after low tide when the incoming current starts bringing in clear water from the open ocean.
On some days you may easily make the entire dive at slack tide, that is, with no significant current. On the other hand, in extreme cases, it may seem that slack tide only lasts about five minutes. To estimate the diving conditions, consider the difference in height between tides and the difference in time between tides. For example: a high tide might be only a couple inches higher than the preceding low; or it might be two feet higher. Look at the time involved for the tide to change that much. For a particular difference in height, if the last low was 12 hours ago, you can expect less current and a longer slack period than if the last low was only 6 hours ago. When planning to dive just after a low tide, consider the time and height of the next high tide.
Sometimes you may think that NOAA got the tide tables wrong, but there are a couple factors they can't predict. In cases of a long slack tide and not much current, recent rains may cause the highs and lows to be a little late because of more water flowing out of the bay. A strong south or west wind will have similar results, as it tends to blow the water back into the bay in the form of surface currents.
If you do end up diving with a significant current, you will find it slowest at the very bottom or near the large rocks.
One last caveat; the tide predictions for Panama City will be about 50 minutes or so later than those for the jetty. Be sure to use the predictions for St. Andrews Pass.
