Southerners coming to Boston in July, should we dive?

[auburntigergal]

Hello!
My husband, 14 yo daughter, 15 yo son and myself are spending 5 nights in Boston in July. We are all open water certified, but our dives have been in Hawaii or Caribbean and a few in Florida.
So, what water temps, visibility would we encounter in July? We just don't have a lot of time and my son wants to take in all the history sites. Diving is our favorite hobby however and I would hate to pass us up a chance to see something new and different. We might never get back up to New England....
Thanks in advance!!

 

[Mr.X]

Diveable sites in Gloucester and Rockport are just under a hour away by car. Both areas are beautiful and historic + plenty to do after a dive - eat fried clam bellies, chomp on a lobstah roll, shop Bearskin Neck in Rockport or visit the historic homes in nearby Ipswich. You can rent gear from $$+ Cape Ann divers so that's pretty easy. The temps are pretty good, and there are always some other types of different critters to see vs. what you see down South. That said - NE shore diving is different in that you just don't see a whole lot of colorful marine life. And often you'll have to look for the critters as they hide among the rocks.

Best with your visit.

 

[large_diver]

We have had one of the coldest and snowiest winters in greater Boston this year...maybe the snow will be melted by then ;-)

Again, speaking about Cape Ann/Gloucester/Rockport (35 miles north of Boston), since that is where the best diving is around Boston, water temps at shallower depths will hopefully be in the mid-upper 50s F by July. Average summer visibility is ~15 feet. Cape Ann has beautiful underwater topography, with lots of interesting rocky underwater formations. Colors of the marine flora and fauna are of course much more muted than what you've seen in the Caribbean. There is shore diving on Cape Ann at various spots, although parking can be a challenge. As Mr. X has said, Cape Ann Divers dive shop in Gloucester will rent you most everything you need = 7mm suit, etc....although you may have to talk to them about mask, fins, booties, if you need those. CAD also operates 2 charter boats that go to a variety of recreational sites. Boats are well run, but there is not a DM in the water unless you hire one (again, something you can talk to the shop about). I would definitely give CAD a call:

Welcome to Cape Ann Divers! cape ann divers, cape ann diving, boston diving, scuba boston, massachusetts diving, scuba massachusetts, new england scuba diving, scuba new england, north eastern usa scuba diving, scuba resorts usa, boston dive boat div

FWIW, my daughter was certified in the Caribbean (first certified when she was 15; now she's 18). She's been diving with me on Cape Ann a few times and finds it interesting, but the cold does get to her after about 1.5 dives (she's been in a 7mm rented wetsuit).

Hope this helps!

Chris

 

[Steve_C]

That's really helpful. I may need to be in Boston for a few days next summer. 50s is certainly doable in a 7 mil. Hadn't planned on diving there but now I may.

 

[Mr.X]

In my honest opinion - there is nothing quite as nice as a Cape Ann (or er' Cape Cod ) summer. It's never truly that hot, you can bike to nice beaches, drive some very nice roads which are never that crowded (Cape Ann only) eat a variety of seafood including the ubiquitous whole clam belly), see historic homes (Salem, Ipswich) and sites + Boston is a easy MBTA train trip in and out if you don't stay in Beantown. Divable Maine is only 1.5 hours away too.

The shore diving IMO is somewhat rudimentary, but it's all very different than what you might see down South. As Large Diver mentioned - best to check in with Cape Ann divers as they know what's best at any given time and will help you avoid some of the crazy locals townies.

X

 

[gcarter]

I did a few dives in Cape Ann a couple of summers ago, shore and boat. Used Cape Ann Divers for fills, they were great, but don't expect Nitrox - they don't like / sell it. They are awesome with the amount and quality of their advice on the local spots. We didn't need a DM or guide on our shore dives, the shop advised us on currents so we never ran into anything except light ones, and we took compass headings out and back. Your comfort level will matter here.

You will want to use a hood, that may take getting used to if you haven't used one before, and you are required to pull a dive flag.

We used the Cape Ann boat for one trip, and the Daybreaker for two, including the Poling. Both operations were great.

Here is some info on the dives we did with depths and temps. Of the shore dives, the only PITA for parking was Folly Cove, had to drop off gear, drive back to the park parking lot, and walk back. Nice spot though.


[TABLE="width: 722"]
[TR]
[TD]Divedate[/TD]
[TD]Place[/TD]
[TD]Divetime[/TD]
[TD]Depth[/TD]
[TD] AirF [/TD]
[TD] WaterF [/TD]
[TD] DepthAvg [/TD]
[TD]Type[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/09/13[/TD]
[TD]Old Garden Beach[/TD]
[TD]51[/TD]
[TD]35[/TD]
[TD]69.1[/TD]
[TD]54.0[/TD]
[TD]20.0[/TD]
[TD]Shore[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/09/13[/TD]
[TD]Old Garden Beach[/TD]
[TD]48[/TD]
[TD]32[/TD]
[TD]70.0[/TD]
[TD]52.0[/TD]
[TD]15.3[/TD]
[TD]Shore[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/11/13[/TD]
[TD]Pebble Beach[/TD]
[TD]66[/TD]
[TD]30[/TD]
[TD]72.0[/TD]
[TD]55.9[/TD]
[TD]17.3[/TD]
[TD]Shore[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/11/13[/TD]
[TD]Pebble Beach[/TD]
[TD]64[/TD]
[TD]30[/TD]
[TD]73.9[/TD]
[TD]57.9[/TD]
[TD]18.1[/TD]
[TD]Shore[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/13/13[/TD]
[TD]Halfway Rock[/TD]
[TD]47[/TD]
[TD]36[/TD]
[TD]69.1[/TD]
[TD]62.1[/TD]
[TD]27.4[/TD]
[TD]Boat[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/13/13[/TD]
[TD]Burnham Rock[/TD]
[TD]32[/TD]
[TD]87[/TD]
[TD]69.1[/TD]
[TD]48.0[/TD]
[TD]60.4[/TD]
[TD]Boat[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/14/13[/TD]
[TD]Chester Poling[/TD]
[TD]37[/TD]
[TD]80[/TD]
[TD]68.0[/TD]
[TD]45.0[/TD]
[TD]59.6[/TD]
[TD]Boat[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/14/13[/TD]
[TD]Chester Poling[/TD]
[TD]33[/TD]
[TD]78[/TD]
[TD]84.0[/TD]
[TD]44.1[/TD]
[TD]59.8[/TD]
[TD]Boat[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/15/13[/TD]
[TD]Back Beach[/TD]
[TD]70[/TD]
[TD]23[/TD]
[TD]89.1[/TD]
[TD]62.1[/TD]
[TD]16.5[/TD]
[TD]Shore[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/15/13[/TD]
[TD]Back Beach[/TD]
[TD]70[/TD]
[TD]22[/TD]
[TD]93.9[/TD]
[TD]60.1[/TD]
[TD]13.3[/TD]
[TD]Shore[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/17/13[/TD]
[TD]Old Garden Beach[/TD]
[TD]62[/TD]
[TD]23[/TD]
[TD]73.9[/TD]
[TD]52.0[/TD]
[TD]15.1[/TD]
[TD]Shore[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/18/13[/TD]
[TD]Folly Cove[/TD]
[TD]67[/TD]
[TD]32[/TD]
[TD]75.9[/TD]
[TD]50.0[/TD]
[TD]14.6[/TD]
[TD]Shore[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/18/13[/TD]
[TD]Folly Cove[/TD]
[TD]55[/TD]
[TD]32[/TD]
[TD]81.0[/TD]
[TD]53.1[/TD]
[TD]17.0[/TD]
[TD]Shore[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/19/13[/TD]
[TD]Braces Rock[/TD]
[TD]54[/TD]
[TD]32[/TD]
[TD]73.0[/TD]
[TD]48.9[/TD]
[TD]24.1[/TD]
[TD]Boat[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="align: right"]7/19/13[/TD]
[TD]Kettle Island[/TD]
[TD]60[/TD]
[TD]43[/TD]
[TD]82.9[/TD]
[TD]46.9[/TD]
[TD]25.9[/TD]
[TD]Boat[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[auburntigergal]

Thank you all for your replies!
We are looking forward to this trip very much! I thought the water would be pretty cold. Definitely not used to 50 degree water or wearing hoods. We may need to head to our local rock quarry and get a refresher . I will check out those areas you guys mentioned!

 

[Steve_C]

gcarter: It looks like all the dives below 50 were boat dives. Do you know it that pattern is typical? There is a noticable difference between 53 and 48, at least for me.

 

[macado]

gcarter: It looks like all the dives below 50 were boat dives. Do you know it that pattern is typical? There is a noticable difference between 53 and 48, at least for me.

That pattern is typical. A lot of New England shore dives tend to be shallow, less than 40-50ft depth so there is usually less of thermocline. You can get water temperatures in low 60fs in late summer but on deep dives it is common to still find temps in 40fs.

In the late summer, a lot of the deep dive sites will have water temps in mid to high 40s.

---------- Post added March 3rd, 2015 at 04:19 PM ----------

Hi Auburntigergal,

Diving in New England can be really exciting but it is quite different from Florida and Caribbean. In the summer months, most people are hunting for lobsters; They're very cool to see underwater instead of your dinner plate. You can see big schools of pollock, striped bass, crabs, flounders, etc. Some dive sites (usually off boats) you may also encounter friendly harbor seals. It's definitely a fun experience for most people but will be d

Average visibility tends to be about ~15ft in the summer but it can be worse. "Good visibility" visibility is typically 20-25ft+. By July, water temperatures should be in mid-50s and which is do-able for most people in a full 7mm wetsuit, hood and gloves.

I would definitely recommend a quick refresher or dive in your local quarry before diving up here.

Another alternative if you're staying close to Boston is Boston Scuba. We run a small dive shop and dive charter out of East Boston, MA that is less than 5-10 minutes from downtown and is MBTA (subway) and water taxi accessible. Feel free to call us at dive shop or email if with questions.

We have full gear rental available at the shop and our dive boat gives you an excellent few of Boston from the harbor/waterfront. In summer we run charters Thursday through Sunday and Saturday we usually have a morning and afternoon charters available.

If you're up in Cape Ann, Cape Ann Charters and Cape Ann Divers are also great options. The diving in Cape Ann is excellent and there are some great shore dives.

 

[Steve_C]

Have done a few dives near Vancouver. Really liked the invertebrates like all the stars and big anemones. Do you have that on your shore dives? Which ones are better if you do. Seals sounds cool also. Went to your Boston Scuba web site. What sort of depths are your charters or does it vary? Did not see a list of sites.