Ft. Wetherill Jamestown, RI Anybody?

[Gidds]

Anybody ever gone snorkelling or diving at Ft. Wetherill on Jamestown, Rhode Island before? I'm trying to get back into diving and it was recommended to me as a nice place where I can get used to snorkelling again. I was thinking about going on Tuesday.

 

[ScubaSarus]

Snorkeling is awsome at Ft Wetherill. Stay along the edges of the coves and you'll see quite a bit. In the 2cnd week of Sept odds are you may see some tropical fish that hang out in the shallows along the sides of the cove that come in off the gulf stream.

 

[jwinslow68]

Took my daughter snorkeling there last year and we both had fun. Its a great place to snorkel.

 

[Gidds]

Will the tide effect my snorkelling pleasure or can I go at any old time?

 

[ScubaSarus]

If you stay on the edges of the cove, anytime will do. The vis a awsome on the edges and sometimes when I'm alone I simply dive in the shallows and see more than I do a depth and thats when I spotted the spot tail butterfly fish and that silver eyed orange fish the big eye or something like that.

 

[Gidds]

Thanks I'll stick to the edges for now I think, as I've only been swimming in the pool lately and I'll just creep myself out if I go out further by myself. I'm going to go tomarrow since it is supposed to be hot and I have a snorkel camera so maybe I'll have some pictures to share afterwards

 

[ScubaSarus]

Please share if you see naything neat. Best of luck.

 

[Gidds]

A brief summary of my day:
Got to Ft. Wetherill around 12 got in the water 12:30ish. Before getting in I looked around a bit; first I drove down to the lower parking lot by the marina-ish area and cliffs; saw two scuba divers already in the water doing some sort of data collection near the rocks. I decided it would be easier to get into the water on the other side of the cove from the parking lot near the boat ramp. I decided to try the other cove first (not the one accessible from the boat ramp) because there was a large party with a siene and I didn't want to get in thier way. At about the same time I got in three young men a few years younger than me got in and were apparently spear fishing. Vis. was :blah: I could see my own fins and that was about it except for the zillion and one comb jellies around my face (I know they can't hurt me but I have had past jelly-trauma resulting in nasty scars) and the big clump of sea weed that then smacked me in the face. There were also a bunch of little fish but they took off before I could ID them. I decided to swim across the cove since I thought the surge where I entered the water might have been effecting the vis. I swam across the cove taking care to stay FAR away from the spear fishers, two divers and the lobster bouy. Vis. was even worse on the other side of the cove so I decided to get out (had no desire to be anywhere near the spear fishers in low vis.) and walked back around to the parking lot. I decided to eat my lunch down by the boat ramp and dicovered that the sieners were from the NEA and they'd caught some puffers and other neat stuff. There was a foursome diving in the cove by the boat ramp and 3 snorkellers, one of whom was spear fishing. I was a little annoyed to see three very large decaying fish (not able to ID) right at the boat ramp. I assumed either somebody dumped out thier bait or else a spearfisher was being ecologically insensitive :06: After eating my lunch I decided that the vis. on that side really wasn't any better and the NEA staff had already caught any fish worth watching so I took off my wetsuit and climbed around on the rocks for awhile then went to OSS to buy some gloves. Hopefully the vis. will be better next time I go

 

[RIOceanographer]

A brief summary of my day:
Got to Ft. Wetherill around 12 got in the water 12:30ish.

I think you just missed running into me be a few minutes. I was launching my kayak around 12-1230ish from the boat ramp cove. I am taking the whole week off from work and just playing in/on the water!

Those dead fish you are talking about were tautog. There are usually quite a lot of them around the rocks near the point at the end of the cove.

Sorry you didn't get better visibility. Unfortunately it has been like that for a few weeks.

 

[michaelp68]

Gidds, thanks for the report. Bummer about the low vis, though.

Michael