Diving on Vacation in Maine

[N.E.Diver]

I am taking my first trip to maine with my wife. I will be staying in phippsburg in the popham beach area. Its about an hour north of Portland. I'm interested in diving in the area, maybe a boat dive but definetly a shore dive.

Any suggestions appreciated? Im a Dive Master with a drysuit.

 

[dave4868]

I've dived from shore while camping at Hermit Island Campground. It's a peninsula in Small Point, about 5 miles from Phippsburg. I poked around the rocks in the shallows, less than 30'. You could call and ask if they'd let you do that with a day pass.

Hermit Island Campground

Here are the coordinates of the area I dove:

69Ž°50'6.07"W
69Ž°50'6.07"W

Also, you might get some good advice from Johnson's Sporting Goods (20 miles away from Phippsburg, in Brunswick, ME). They run a dive shop on premises.

Johnson's Sporting Goods: Scuba

I'll give it some more thought later and post if I come up with some other dive suggestions for that area.

Dave C

 

[spectrum]

Hi N. E. Diver,

When are you heading up?

Most of the diving I do is from Cape Elizabeth South and if schedules align I'd be glad to share a local site or 2 with you. Here is my page covering local dive resources and another of sites.

Our Dive Club, the Maine-iac Divers has many members up along the mid coast. You might want to visit our website and I suggest you post youe upcoming visit on our Yahoo Group to network with more local divers.

Pete

 

[N.E.Diver]

Hi N. E. Diver,

When are you heading up?

Most of the diving I do is from Cape Elizabeth South and if schedules align I'd be glad to share a local site or 2 with you. Here is my page covering local dive resources and another of sites.

Our Dive Club, the Maine-iac Divers has many members up along the mid coast. You might want to visit our website and I suggest you post youe upcoming visit on our Yahoo Group to network with more local divers.

Pete

I will be going the last week of June from Sat-Sat I think. I'm told I am an hour north of Portland. I have always wanted to dive Nubble as I've heard it is beutiful. Basically I am willing to drive up to 2 hours to enjoy a dive as this is not uncommon for me anyway.

I will check out the club. thanks

 

[spectrum]

Nubble is doable too.

 

[Dockmaster]

There's a few good sites near Phippsburg:

Ocean Point in East Boothbay - Nothing fancy, but a good dive. The diving is a little better if you park by the Inn.

Rachel Carson Salt Pond in New Harbor - Deep shore dive that must be done at high tide.

Pemaquid Beach Park in Bristol - Not very deep and not all that much to see, but if you have kids and a non-diving spouse like I do, the park is a great place to have a family outing and sneak in a dive at the same time. There are bathrooms with showers, a snack bar, and a nature center right at the park. Check out their web site: Bristol Parks Welcomes You!.

All of these sites are about an hour north of you off Rt.1.

People also dive at Land's End on Bailey Island, but there is a lot of boat trafic on the weekends.

Nubble is a great dive and well worth it. Stop there on your way in or out of the state. PM me as you get closer to your trip and I'll see if I can join you (if you want company).

 

[N.E.Diver]

Well I am leaving tomorrow and staying through next SAT and I am eager for some dive buddies while I am up there. If anyone is interested in hosting me for a shore dive please PM me.

 

[ScubaSarus]

Reid State Park and Popham Beach State Park look exciting. Permit only though and you need to do some bathymetry research to see what the most interesting areas are. Tide is big 20 ft or so so currents can be strong.

Please post a review when you get back as there are quite a few here who love Maine diving.