Driftwood (Keystone Beach)

[pensacoladiver]

Dive Site Name: Driftwood

Skill Level: Beginner if no current. Int on high current days.

Current Sensitive: Yes

Location/Address: 90 Degree bend on Keystone Ave.

Directions: From Keystone Jetty, head east on 20 approx 2 miles. Where 20 makes a 90 degree turn to the left, take a RIGHT and drive straight into a parking lot with a pump station.

Free Parking: Yes

Staging Area: Good, short walk to the water, but you must cross some driftwood (hence the name).

Surface Swim: None

Nearby Facilities: None

Special Considerations:

Maximum Depth: 50 ft

Known Hazards: Driftwood to cross on beach. Decent current on most days.

Dive Site Description: Fairly steep slope that levels off at 50 feet. Current generally runs to the west. On high exchange days, you can park one vehicle at the Keystone Jetty and get in the water at driftwood and the current will carry you all the way to the jetty. There is a bottle field, several tire reefs, and a sunken boat along the way. If the current is not strong, you can drift a bit and swim back to the starting point. Great 2nd dive from Keystone is the current is picking up.

[Dusty2]

Thanks That's one I hadn't heard of. Sounds like it might make a good photo dive if the current is right

[pensacoladiver]

I have dove it many times. I call it "old standby". Our LDS is doing a night dive there Saturday. I got an invite but will be eating crab about that time.

It got me thinking that I had never seen a post on it here in the listings section. The great thing about it is you are never more than 100 feet away from the shoreline... it drops to 50 feet pretty quickly.

[dieseldude]

That drift dive sounds awesome. Thanks for the info. Dusty2 let me know if you need someone to park on the other end-I'll make the dive with you! It'd be a long walk back with doubles if I miscalculated the current & made the run involuntarily.
MJ

[pensacoladiver]

That drift dive sounds awesome. Thanks for the info. Dusty2 let me know if you need someone to park on the other end-I'll make the dive with you! It'd be a long walk back with doubles if I miscalculated the current & made the run involuntarily.
MJ

Speaking of which, Kagey 747 and I did something similar to that 2 weeks ago. The current was going decent, but we had no intention of going all the way to the jetty. After about a half hour underewater, we turned to head back east, but the current was not cooperating. We just decided to come shallow and walk back with our gear on in about 4 feet of water. Not too bad, but if I had to do it again, I would want to go all the way to the jetty and then drive back (which we have done before).

Another note (I wanted to keep the original post short) is that you want to do this on a good exchange day so there is enough current to carry you the whole way. I did it on a HP 119 and had over 1,000 psi left at the jetty end.

The boat and the tire reef are approx 20 feet out after the slope levels off. If you stay just to the south of the slope, you can't miss them.

I think this site is perfect for current training. If all hell breaks loose for whatever reason, point your compass due North and crawl along the bottom for 150 feet and you will be out of the water and on the beach.

[Mattleycrue76]

I just came across this one. Thanks for the info. I think I might just try this out next time I'm there. I've done the drift from the wharf to the jetty a few times and It's pretty fun. Sounds like a grat way to extend that run - alot.

[climb2freefall]

I just did the drift from Admiralty Beach and made it to the Pier at Keystone, we were at 35-40 ft depth. The current was hauling balls. So many dumb Flounders on the way, we could scoop them up right off the bottom as we were cruising along. Total time was 45 min of a dive, distance (dont shoot me for going by odometer) but from parking lot to parking lot, 1.5 miles. Current was about 4.5 today, I have dove at Keystone for a majority of my time diving and it never ceases to amaze me the speed and power that current has.