Diving conditions in Rhode Island and MA area

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Hello:


This dive season I am looking to do some underwater photography in Rhode Island and MA area. Can anyone tell me what kind of visibility can be expected? Also is visibilith there seasonal? If it is then which months offer the best vis and which months offer the worst? If I could have this information it would help me plan my trips better. Thanks for your help folks.

Sinbad.

 

[mathauck0814]

I can't speak to Rhode Island, but in Maine, New Hampshire and the coastal MA spots north of Boston the water is generally clearer when it is colder. I've found that there's generally less to look at then as well. I'm terrible at judging distances, but i'd say that 15-20 feet is average, 30 is great. Less than 10 is bad. The diving is beautiful and there's lots to photograph - I think it's probably more of a macro sort of a dive though.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Thanks mathauck0814. Those viz figures you are giving, are they for summer or winter?

 

[mathauck0814]

I think you can have any of those viz conditions any time of year. I'd say that in the winter you're more likely to get better viz. In the summer and after it rains you're more likely to get the lower end of the spectrum. I don't think that there's any "best time" to dive New England but YMMV.

 

[large_diver]

Agree with above. I guess you could say that colder water = better vis on average, but by no means is that universal. I was diving up on Cape Ann (30 miles north of Boston) this past Sunday....water temp was 41F....but vis was about 2-3 feet....and sometimes 0-1. We only did one dive since the vis was so poor. No fish life seen.....but with that vis, not much of anything was seen ;-)

Average summer vis is about 15 feet I would guess....affected by the usual variables of in-shore/off-shore, recent rain/storms, etc., etc. That said, there are lots of great photo ops (agree with macro comments above) and diving in New England!

Here is some footage from this past year (late September 2011) - gives you some idea of typical local conditions. This was on a charter boat trip out of Cape Ann. Not the greatest quality (particularly the initial footage at about 70 feet with no video light), but gives you some idea of what I would call "typical" vis. The video includes a mix of still pictures and video footage taken over these 2 dives (all taken with a Canon G11 in a Canon housing....using only the internal camera flash with no strobe). I was using a Halcyon EOS LED canister light.....not the most effective video light because of its strength.

Also note that some of the very best New England diving is in eastern ME (Eastport)...the downside being there are huge tides, making diving only possible 2x per day around slack tide. Also - not much dive infrastructure up there. The huge tide variations bring lots of nutrients through the water...growing huge, beautiful anemones and plant life.

Hope this helps.

Chris

Click on the image to start the video

 

[AfterDark]

Nice vis Large_ diver, that would be a very good day indeed in RI. I've hit it like that or even better in RI but it's getting more rare. The last 2 years have been less than avarege vis. I've called more than a few dives recently because it just wasn't worth the time or air.

 

[porgyhunter]

It's all about "the wind" here in Cape Cod Bay.....You get 5 days of calm and you can get 20 or 30ft

 

[Goody1986]

It's all about "the wind" here in Cape Cod Bay.....You get 5 days of calm and you can get 20 or 30ft

X 2 very true