ScubaSarus
Guest
Well Scott (Video Joe) invited me to travel with his family to film an Expedition New England documentary above and below water. The ocean was a bit rough with swells coming in so we did our first dive Sunday morning at sheltered Bracy cove directly
opposite of Little Long Pond near Seal Harbor.
We entered at high tide and made our way thru the kelp to the rocky ledges to the west of the cove. Water temps were 53 F. Vis was 10 to 40 ft maybe. We came across large colonies of Sea Cucumbers that mimicked the vegetation growing on the rocks. The rocky areas were neat and had nice little canyons to dive thru. On our way back I spotted a neat lumpfish that mimicked the kelp and I stopped shivering when we decided to chase the critter around the cove filming it. Has to be one of the cutest fish Ive seen besides the Spiny Lumpfish we saw on a Beavertail Night dive. Dive time 70 minutes.
The second dive was when conditions were perfect and we decided to dive Little Hunters Beach inside Acadia National Park just past Otter cove and Thunder Hole. Little Hunters Beach consists of rocks and large pebbles tumbled and smashed together over the years within what they call the shatter zone. You could constantly hear the rocks smashing each other under the water. I was concerned as we had no bars on our cell phones, we had to walk down a steep staired cliff, were in an isolated wilderness, and in unknown territory, and had a wave or two come thru the cove.
We headed straight out to where lots on erratics (boulders) were with tons of lobsters everywhere. On our way in we missed the cove and ended up in a smooth canyon polished over the years with a neat smooth undercut at 26 ft deep and an awesome surge. I looked to my right and saw the biggest lobster Ive seen in my life (bigger than the Cat Rocks Lobster). I informed Scott who then had a large battle of Lobster vs Video Camera as I stayed a safe distance away watching the stalemate. The lobster eventually went into his den backwards. Dive time was 40 minutes, water temp 53 F, vis 10 30 ft.
I was so happy after the second dive I decided to pay respects to the ocean and take a nice chilly dip.
After our dives we took to the trails filming wild life, got a good view of Thunder Hole in mild action, took a nature tour on top of Cadillac Mountain, saw Bubble Rock and beaver homes at Beaver Lake. Parts of the park trails were closed due to the 2006 earthquake.
It was a nice trip and a very busy place on the Island in general. There were hotels and restaurants galore near Bar Harbor with plenty of vacancies at reasonable prices $60/night. Traffic on Rt 3 was crazy and police were busy keeping speeders and crazed tourists in order (via police scanner). Sunday the island was in an unhealthy haze and Monday the island had unlimited vis. Ide love to go back in late Sept or early Oct.
PS
I want to thank Scubaboard members Spectrum and POE67 for providing guidance and insight into diving on the Isle of Mt Desert and Acadia Natl Park.; they were a big help.
opposite of Little Long Pond near Seal Harbor.
We entered at high tide and made our way thru the kelp to the rocky ledges to the west of the cove. Water temps were 53 F. Vis was 10 to 40 ft maybe. We came across large colonies of Sea Cucumbers that mimicked the vegetation growing on the rocks. The rocky areas were neat and had nice little canyons to dive thru. On our way back I spotted a neat lumpfish that mimicked the kelp and I stopped shivering when we decided to chase the critter around the cove filming it. Has to be one of the cutest fish Ive seen besides the Spiny Lumpfish we saw on a Beavertail Night dive. Dive time 70 minutes.
The second dive was when conditions were perfect and we decided to dive Little Hunters Beach inside Acadia National Park just past Otter cove and Thunder Hole. Little Hunters Beach consists of rocks and large pebbles tumbled and smashed together over the years within what they call the shatter zone. You could constantly hear the rocks smashing each other under the water. I was concerned as we had no bars on our cell phones, we had to walk down a steep staired cliff, were in an isolated wilderness, and in unknown territory, and had a wave or two come thru the cove.
We headed straight out to where lots on erratics (boulders) were with tons of lobsters everywhere. On our way in we missed the cove and ended up in a smooth canyon polished over the years with a neat smooth undercut at 26 ft deep and an awesome surge. I looked to my right and saw the biggest lobster Ive seen in my life (bigger than the Cat Rocks Lobster). I informed Scott who then had a large battle of Lobster vs Video Camera as I stayed a safe distance away watching the stalemate. The lobster eventually went into his den backwards. Dive time was 40 minutes, water temp 53 F, vis 10 30 ft.
I was so happy after the second dive I decided to pay respects to the ocean and take a nice chilly dip.
After our dives we took to the trails filming wild life, got a good view of Thunder Hole in mild action, took a nature tour on top of Cadillac Mountain, saw Bubble Rock and beaver homes at Beaver Lake. Parts of the park trails were closed due to the 2006 earthquake.
It was a nice trip and a very busy place on the Island in general. There were hotels and restaurants galore near Bar Harbor with plenty of vacancies at reasonable prices $60/night. Traffic on Rt 3 was crazy and police were busy keeping speeders and crazed tourists in order (via police scanner). Sunday the island was in an unhealthy haze and Monday the island had unlimited vis. Ide love to go back in late Sept or early Oct.
PS
I want to thank Scubaboard members Spectrum and POE67 for providing guidance and insight into diving on the Isle of Mt Desert and Acadia Natl Park.; they were a big help.
