Favourite local diving spots

[Heka]

What is your favourite local diving spot? We see a lot of images of the picture perfect reefs and most beautiful wrecks waters has to offer, but we can't dive those all the time. What is your favourite diving place that you find yourself over and over again and what is the charm that you find in it? Post images if possible!

I'll start with pictures from Kaupinoja, Tampere, Finland.
The entrance to water is right next to a water plant that purifies drinking water from lake for nearby towns. There are multiple massive concrete water pipes that are approx 1.5m / 5ft diameter, smaller plastic pipes and old wooden pipeline that was build 1928. You can also find a small sailboat wreck and wooden bunker like structures. There are only a few fish and the water has a lot of tannin so it's reddish brown in color. Visibility ranges between 1-7m / 3-23ft and sunlight doesn't penetrate to bottom below 5m / 15 ft.

Somehow I find myself there a lot more often than other even clearer lakes. I did my first open water dives there when I was getting my OWD and remember thinking that I'll never return to this black soup after I get my cert. But as I've dived more I find it to have many interesting things in it. My latest dive there was today at 1C/34F water that was starting to freeze over, but I just had to go so I could post images of the wooden pipes

Wooden intake pipeline from 1928

Edit: Decided to remove two of the images that weren't mine, may add more if i can collect some from dive buddies

 

[TMHeimer]

Birchy Head near Halifax. Shore dive easy short way out to 60-80 feet and plenty of shells--American Pelicans Foot shells in particular, but the odd New England Neptune.

 

[Marie13]

Lake Michigan shipwrecks. Can’t wait to do this one this summer after I get tech certified.

EDIT: define “local.” I’m within a day’s drive of three of the Great Lakes (Michigan, Huron, Superior). Erie and Ontario are more than a day’s drive. Huron’s wrecks are awesome, but Lake Michigan is my local local diving.

 

[rhwestfall]

@Stoo (can't wait to see what he will post....)

 

[rhwestfall]

While I have been taking a few more warm water trips in the recent years, I'm here near Lake Erie, Ontario, Huron, and the St. Lawrence River. 1800's era ships...

Truly magical.....

 

[Ayisha]

I love our well preserved shipwrecks near Kingston and Picton in Lake Ontario; the shipwrecks and drift dives in the St Lawrence river; the rush of the Eastcliffe Hall in Lake St Lawrence; the deep, cold and dark wrecks in Lake Erie; and a few of the wrecks in cold but clear Tobermory. The Waome is a beautiful wreck but not for the faint of heart in cold, dark, tannic water. The Wexford has lost it's glory covered in zebra mussels, but it was once a majestic playground. All are between 1.5 and 4 hours driving from me, and I can dive locally in Lake Ontario, which is a half hour drive.

I never bring my underlit camera locally, so I only have the pics people have taken of me. I'll bet Stoo and Warren have pics of all the local shipwrecks.

On the Marsh in Kingston:

In the Wolfe Islander II in Kingston:

 

[Heka]

EDIT: define “local.” I’m within a day’s drive of three of the Great Lakes (Michigan, Huron, Superior). Erie and Ontario are more than a day’s drive. Huron’s wrecks are awesome, but Lake Michigan is my local local diving.

I think that "local" is a bit different for everyone, but I'd say you should be able to drive/boat to dive site and come back in the same day to call the dive local.

 

[TMHeimer]

I think that "local" is a bit different for everyone, but I'd say you should be able to drive/boat to dive site and come back in the same day to call the dive local.

Agree. Perfect definition.

 

[Stoo]

@Stoo (can't wait to see what he will post....)

What? Who? What did I do now???

 

[DogDiver]

Ginnie Springs in Florida