Diving in Mass / Cape Ann Area Looking for Advice

[Sea Louse]

I am heading up to New England for a Neuroscience research conference in late August. I am planning on getting a little taste of New England diving after the meeting on the weekend of the 25th and 26th. I haven't been up there before and I have no clue of what to look for in local dives. Looks like Cape Anne has a pretty decent diving scene, but I am still at a loss of what dives to plan. Here's what I've come up with so far:

1)Shore dives. They look great, and are numerous. They are also cheaper than boats dives! But how do I find a buddy or guided dive? I called Cape Anne Divers and they said they only did guided shore dives for their students. So that was a no-go. Where can I find guided tours or local dive buddies to check out the shore diving scene up there?

2) Scallop diving seems cool (and I wouldn't have to buy a lobster permit), but I haven't been able to find any charters running that weekend (let alone till October, when boats traffic dies down) Anybody know of anything? My honey would love for me to bring home a quart or two of fresh scallops, especially given that I am diving without her on my work-trip...

3) Boat dives. How is Cape Ann Divers? They were running some wall dives on the 25th, and dives with seals that sounded very exciting, so I might jump on one of those charters, but are there any good alternatives?

4) Exposure suit. I have a 5mm full with 7mm hood and booties. How far is that going to get me at Cape Anne? How about with a 3mm shorty layered on?

Any tips, or local insight would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[AfterDark]

Folly Cove, Rockport is a nice dive easy in and out. It can get crowded and parking sucks, parking is not allowed near the site. Unload and park down the road. Cape Ann Divers is the only game in town, I think. Cape Ann is not a diver friendly area. It does have a lot of nice diving. It is dry suit diivng IMO. I have used a 7mm farmer wet suit w/ a 2mm hooded vest. After 60fsw that was not enough, that's 16mm on my tourso. It is very cold water.

 

[porgyhunter]

P.M.me Louse maybe we can hook up to do some divin around Cape Cod...Fun shallow stuff...you can have the lobsters we catch...

 

[kmurray719]

1)Shore dives. They look great, and are numerous. They are also cheaper than boats dives! But how do I find a buddy or guided dive? I called Cape Anne Divers and they said they only did guided shore dives for their students. So that was a no-go. Where can I find guided tours or local dive buddies to check out the shore diving scene up there?

There are other dive shops in MA that run shore dives on weekends. They usually meet at the rest stop on Route 128 in Beverly, and will either put a guide in the water with you or hook you up with a buddy. You'll get a site briefing and instructions for parking. East Coast Divers is doing a shore dive that Sunday morning at Folly Cove:
East Coast Divers Brookline Ma 02445 Scuba Diving New England Cape Ann Massachusetts Boston and the World



3) Boat dives. How is Cape Ann Divers? They were running some wall dives on the 25th, and dives with seals that sounded very exciting, so I might jump on one of those charters, but are there any good alternatives?

CAD has great boats, and they serve awesome snacks between dives. Boat dives around here are not generally guided. I don't think they'll do anything to find you a buddy on board, so you may need to ask people yourself and hope someone is willing to dive with you. You could call and ask them about that, I'm not positive of their procedures.



4) Exposure suit. I have a 5mm full with 7mm hood and booties. How far is that going to get me at Cape Anne? How about with a 3mm shorty layered on?

It really depends on your cold tolerance. If you're a furnace, you might be okay with the 5 layered with the 3. It's not much different than people who wear a 7 with a 3 mil hooded vest, and that is commonly done. It may also be worth renting a 7mil here. I dive wet here with a 7 mil and a 7 mil step in vest, but I'm pretty cold blooded. You'll find most divers here diving wet in August. Especially on shore dives, which are generally pretty shallow.

Any tips, or local insight would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Whatever you end up doing, enjoy it. Cape Ann has great shore diving, and lots of good stuff to see!

 

[Sea Louse]

@AfterDark Thanks for the info. May end up renting a 7mm john.
@Porgy PM Sent.
@kmurrary Thanks for the detailed response. Turns out my OW instructor used to teach with one of the DM's at CAD, she is getting me in touch with her so maybe I can get something hooked up with them, if I don't end up hooking up with porgy. OR I can do Cape Ann and Cape Cod for a day each.:banana:

 

[Green_Manelishi]

....I can do Cape Ann and Cape Cod for a day each.:banana:

Cape Ann, and (especially) Cape Cod fill up with tourists and vacationers each weekend. Depending on when you attempt to drive to either one you might spend hours in traffic. I suggest Cape Ann over Cape Cod. CA has many shore dive possibilities within a short drive of each other, and plenty of places to eat.

 

[macado]

I think I saw your thread on reddit but the advice everyone has given you was good. Cape Ann Divers run some good charters. There is also lots of decent shore diving in Cape Ann (Rockport/Gloucester) area.

My other recommendation would be to check out Boston Scuba, out of East Boston. They run a great charter boat. Location is hard to beat.

 

[large_diver]

A Cape Ann Divers charter would be your best bet if you can't find a buddy (unfortunately I am out of town that weekend). I've booked solo trips with them before and have been able to to buddy up with someone else. I've been out with them 3 times in the past month (trips on both boats)....some points to note:

- As you've probably seen from their web-site, they run 2 boats. Cape Ann Diver I (31 foot 6 pack) and Cape Ann Diver II (much larger, can take up to 14 divers). Both have heads on board, although CAD II has a separate head in a small room off the main deck (CAD I's head sits in the middle of the single room in the bow below deck). Both have wooden benches with bungies for securing tanks. The space underneath the benches is open, allowing room to store fins and gear. I've found that a plastic milkcrate fits perfectly under these benches and is what I use to hold my camera, wrist compass/computer, mask, defogger, etc....and still enough room for weights and fins. There is more space on the CAD II, with room in the middle of the main deck for dive bags, etc. Both boats have dry space below, which is usually where I put on my drysuit.

- CAD II has 2 crew members, CAD I has 1.

- There is no camera rinse tank on board either boat

- CAD II has a small external shower with warm water for rinsing off. No shower on CAD I

- CAD II usually serves food between dives (lately this has been sliced fruit, cheese/crackers, cookies), CAD I does not. Both usually have water on board, although I usually bring my own to be sure

- Both have "fins on" style ladders...CAD II crew pops your fins off for you as you come back on board....CAD I with the single crew member lets you shuffle back to your seat with fins on (or you can take them off in the water). Both boats have open transoms making getting on off easier. Water entry on both is via giant stride from the platform behind the transom.

- Looks like many of the trips on that weekend are Captain's choice, which will likely be based on conditions. Folly Wall is listed for one day, which is a relatively long trip to the far side of Cape Ann from the marina from where the boat sails from (about 1 hour each way). I did this trip about a month ago and have done Folly many times from shore - it's a nice dive, with depths from 30-75 feet. Paddock and Salt Rocks on the 26th is a nice combo as well and certainly stereotypical NE diving, with rocky underwater topography, lots of cool cracks and crevices, etc. Depths in the 20-75 range. Chester Poling is the most popular wreck dive in that area, since it is located just outside of Gloucester Harbor. Depths range from 75 to 90+ depending on tide and whether you stay on deck or head to the sand. Water will be cold down there...rarely gets above 50F. Easy to navigate, as wreck is upright and intact...although this is the stern half of the wreck (broke apart in a 1970s storm...looks like it was sliced in half with a big knife). Usually lots of marine life on the wreck.

- Most dives are from moored locations......some are easy circumnavigations of a wreck or rock...others require compass work.

- Both boats are "typical" northeastern charter boats regarding dive operations = no divemaster on board; detailed, informative briefings provided

Another choice is Daybreaker, a charter boat run by a guy named Fran Marcoux. No web-site, but a well-run boat that hits many of the same sites as CAD. He can be reached at franm52@aol.com or 508.873.8339.

Exposure protection - depends on how tolerant you are of cold water, but I can confidently say 5mm + 3mm shorty won't be enough, especially if you are going deeper than 40 ft. Water temps at the end of August will be in the mid-high 50s F at the shallower sites at depth. I use a drysuit year round. Many folks dive wet here...lots of farmer john/jacket combos (both 7mm), which gives you 14mm on your torso.

Hope this helps - PM with questions.

Chris