If you’re diving out of Orange Beach, this is the boat. The Dive Boat Down Under runs a 46-foot Newton — the standard-issue serious dive platform — off Bayou Road behind The Steamer, a short idle from Perdido Pass. It’s the working answer to a question the beach crowd doesn’t ask: what’s actually down there?
The trips
The ladder goes from gentle to legitimate. One-tank beginner dives run Wednesday mornings and Sunday afternoons for the newly certified. Two-tank near-shore and offshore trips cover wrecks and structure like the Liberty ship Allen and the Atlantis bridge spans. At the top sits the USS Oriskany — the sunk aircraft carrier off Pensacola, 86 to 150 feet down, one of the biggest artificial reefs anywhere and a bucket-list dive that happens to be in our backyard.
Good to know
You must be certified to scuba — no exceptions — but Tuesday snorkel trips (8:30 and 11:30 AM) take anyone ten and up who can swim, usually working the Perdido Pass jetties. Scuba folks arrive at 8 for an 8:30 departure; snorkelers, 30 minutes before. Crew tips of 15–20% are customary, same as anywhere the crew hauls your tanks.
