Look no further than Bay Breeze Dive Center (BBDC), the one-stop shop for all your scuba needs. The small shop is located in Gulf Breeze between Thai 54 and the Quality Inn right off the 3 mile bridge, and the knowledgeable, friendly staff will make scuba training, along with gear purchase, a fun and enjoyable experience.
I purchased BBDC's summer rate scuba classes to obtain NAUI recreational diver certification, which was $170-ish per person with an additional requirement of purchasing $200 worth of product in their shop. Most dive charters don't supply fins, snorkel/mask, and booties and require people to have these products before renting scuba gear. So while the $300 per person class price tag at other operations initially seems like a better value, in the long run it's not. BBCD has a wide selection of quality and budget gear to select from.
The first day of training was in the pool at the Club in Gulf Breeze. Our class size was eight plus two instructors (Bruce, and Carlos the owner). I cannot say enough about these instructors. I never had swimming lessons so was very inexperienced, and very nervous. Of course, breathing underwater is unlike normal respiration and I ended up having several panic attacks in the pool. Carlos and Bruce spent extra time with me and let me go at my own pace. I was never pushed or forced into doing something with which I was uncomfortable. Because of my slow pace, our class was in the pool from 11-5PM. While that seems long, it's important to takeaway that neither of them lost their patience with me and they never gave up on me.
BBDC allowed us to complete our training dives several weeks apart. Day 2 dive was on 8/20/16 (Saturday) at Fort Pickens. The visibility was 5ft at best, but Bruce held my hand, navigating me on our 26 minute dive to a depth of 28 feet. It was very cool seeing all the tiny fish lurking underwater. Bruce found a puffer fish and gave him to me to hold in my hand. These are little things that instructors don't have to do, but Bruce did to make the experience more memorable and exciting.
Day 3, 8/28/16 (Sunday), was cloudy, and while the visibility was better, the current was strong. Throughout two, 20+minute dives, Bruce made myself and 5 other people feel safe in the strong current. We found a flounder, which Bruce masterfully caught, and several live sand dollars (which are purple, not white when alive). At the end of the day, my husband and I became scuba certified and we are looking forward to pursing some of BBDC's more advanced classes and charter dives in the future.
I highly recommend this place, whether it is buying gear of any kind, to getting FREE advice on where to dive, to having tanks re-filled, gear serviced (if bought from them), even to free kittens. Yes, sometimes they have kittens at their facility to give away to a good home for free.
The owner Carlos reminded us on several occasions that he will attempt to match or beat any online price, so test out his offer before buying from an online supplier. They want your business and supporting local mom and pop businesses is better for the local economy than purchasing online. Besides, if you purchase items from them and something is wrong or it needs maintenance, you can bring it In for them to help.
Thanks to Bruce, Carlos, and the BBDC team for making scuba certification such a positive experience! read more