Heading over to Boston for a tradeshow

[macado]

Forgot to mention Fran. He has a really nice setup.

Chester Polling is a great dive. I've done it on singles but if you cant get doubles you can at least check and see if you can rent a Steel 100 or 120 from Mass Diving in Natick.

Cape Ann Divers goes there very often due to it's close proximity to Gloucester harbor but I dont know if it would be posted on their schedule this early yet.

It can sometimes be tough to find a dive buddy at Cape Ann Divers. (Although to be honest I havent tried it in a year or so). Sometimes people want to dive alone or if they're lobstering.

If you didnt have a rental car Jim Sullivan from Boston Harbor Diving Company like I mentioned above is very close to Boston and can be reached by taxi (maybe bus?). Diving in the harbor islands gives you a really nice view of the Boston skyline that most people never experience. I'm pretty sure he rents and fills tanks though i'm not sure about other equipment.

 

[Slamfire]

I read in the Northern Atlantic website that they do not force their clients to go with a buddy and they do not arrange for buddying up divers in their boat. I totally understand if nobody in the boat would want to instabuddy with a total stranger. That's more the reason why I had doubles and drysuit in my mind for this dive -- redundancy required for solo diving in a wreck. I'm sure the dive can be done with a single, but redundancy is very nice when soloing a wreck.

At this point, as much as I am attracted to a dive in the Poling, I think the shore dives are more feasible. I've carried around the recreational setup on airplanes a couple of times before and I know I can do it within weight limits -- its close but it's doable. Carrying a tech setup would most probably put it over the limit. I could leave the heavy plate behind and maybe make the weight. But then I have to re-adjust somebody else's harness to my size, and I don't want to be doing that in the boat just before the dive.

The fact is that this is a work trip and I'm trying to "sneak" in some dives. When you sneak it's better to keep it simple, go in fast, and get out fast. I only have one day and one chance to go to Cape Ann. I can't go out there on Friday to pick up tanks and harness for adjusting. What if I also have to adjust tank bands? If I stick to shore dives, I'll be using my own gear that needs no adjustment and has no surprises for me.

Another thing I like about Cathedral Rocks and Folly Cove is that they seem to be just around the corner from each other. If conditions are not good at the rocks, Folly Cove is always there as a fall back. This takes my sneaking dives a little bit closer to "sure thing" status.

 

[paulthenurse]

Well then if you are going to do the shore dives, especially Cat Rocks, get there early and take your time heading down to the water. The 'path' over the rocks is not self evident. You want to head to the rock formation that looks like a couch on the right hand part of the bowl. I take several trips to haul my gear and get dressed at waterside and find that to be more to my liking than humping a full set up over the obstacle course. Have fun.

PTN

 

[Slamfire]

Paul, Macado, Rainer, Matt, thanks for the intel. I'll try post a review if I do these dives.