Boston area dive scene?

[Mr. Dooley]

Well, my job wants to move me to Boston and I'll likely accept the offer. Naturally, one of my primary concerns is, what about my diving?

I currently live in Portland, OR, so my diving experience is as follows -

• Closest consistently good dive sites are about a three hour drive (Hood Canal)
• Driving three hours each way for a dive weekend is perfectly acceptable to me
• Dives are often cold (sub 50) which is fine as I have a good drysuit
• The sites I dive offer solid marine life (octopus, schools of fish, seals, etc.), shore or boat dives, deep dives, worthwhile night dives, etc.
• In addition to very good diving around Hood Canal, another bucket list dive of Clear Lake is a few hours away
• Can dive pretty much all year round, and I typically enjoy a dive weekend once a month

So on a scale of 1-10, I'd rate my diving quality of life as a solid 7 of 10 - generally good diving a day trip away, dive all year, vibrant and challenging dives abound.

So what might I anticipate about moving to Boston as a diver? Is my scuba life over? Or is it a gem that I just don't know about?

 

[happy-diver]

Dude your diving will be minutes away by comparison, ten out of ten

 

[EdC]

Cape Ann is much closer than 3 hours and offers most of what you are used too, enjoy!

 

[RIHappyDiver]

Depending on where you’ll be in Boston, Cape Ann/Gloucester is about an hour north. Shore dives, charters, etc. If you wake up and say to yourself that you want just an easy shore dive Town Neck Beach in Sandwich (on Cape Cod) is about an hour south. In the summer you’ll want to head to either place pretty early to beat the tourists. Check out the New England forum for some more info, and maybe repost there to get even more feed back. As someone who moved to New England From Seattle 20 years ago, Welcome to New England! Oh, and be prepared to shovel snow, !

Erik

 

[formernuke]

Erik above summed up the sites.

Boston scuba runs charters out of Boston Harbor. Cape ann diver 2 runs out of Gloucester.

Watee temp wise Monday I had 49 degrees in marblehead (very close to boston). I can let you know later about RI as I'm heading there later this morning. The coldest I saw this winter was 38, but winters past I've seen 31.

We call 10ft VIS here good, often see less occasionally more.

@AfterDark

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I'm following this thread for some useful info. I now work for a company based in Cambridge. While I am a fully remote employee, I will be traveling to the Boston area several times a year now that we are coming out of the COVID craziness. Might be a good opportunity to break out my drysuit and get in some nice, refreshing, low viz dives that I was so used to in the Midwest.

 

[AfterDark]

Erik above summed up the sites.

Boston scuba runs charters out of Boston Harbor. Cape ann diver 2 runs out of Gloucester.

Watee temp wise Monday I had 49 degrees in marblehead (very close to boston). I can let you know later about RI as I'm heading there later this morning. The coldest I saw this winter was 38, but winters past I've seen 31.

We call 10ft VIS here good, often see less occasionally more.

@AfterDark

We call 10ft VIS here good...for which we pray but rarely see and seldom can predict. Welcome to New England! It can be great diving, like the jungle can be great hiking once you clear a path!
It has to be worked at.

 

[TuckerIdaho]

Depending on where you’ll be in Boston, Cape Ann/Gloucester is about an hour north. Shore dives, charters, etc. If you wake up and say to yourself that you want just an easy shore dive Town Neck Beach in Sandwich (on Cape Cod) is about an hour south. In the summer you’ll want to head to either place pretty early to beat the tourists. Check out the New England forum for some more info, and maybe repost there to get even more feed back. As someone who moved to New England From Seattle 20 years ago, Welcome to New England! Oh, and be prepared to shovel snow, !

Erik

You forgot RI.
Fort Wetherill is the most popular spot on Jamestown. There's also a smattering of good spots on Aquidneck Island in Newport/Middletown.

 

[formernuke]

48 in wetherell this morning

 

[RIHappyDiver]

48 in wetherell this morning

What?!?! The Newport buoy says 53.4!