Marblehead Light house

[dkerr]

Anyone ever dive this spot? I went there last night and had an excellent dive. Nice rocky bottom but was only 15-18 ft where I was. An increadable amount of life there. Entry is relatively easy. We hit it at low tide and at this time the waters edge is kind of like folly's. Pretty much any time besides low tide would be easy though because there is a large gravel path that leads all the way down to the rocks.
Anyone who is looking for a change of scenery, this is a real nice choice and is about the same driving time as cape anne. Probably not the best choice for a summer weekend dive as to the left of the lighthouse is a sea of boat moorings. Not a single boat went by last night though! Try it out.

 

[PK]

Wow, I go to Marblehead all the time to visit friends and I've always wondered if the diving is any good. Thanks for letting us know! What species did you see?

The lighthouse is also nice because you can easily park right there.

 

[large_diver]

FYI

http://web.mit.edu/scuba-club/www/Chandler_Hovey.html

 

[dkerr]

Thanks for the link LD.
As far as species, there are a number of lobsters, crabs, flounder, and scate. I was so occupied with playing with new gear that I wasn't as observant as I usually try to be.

 

[MSilvia]

What'd you get?

 

[dkerr]

BP/Wings. I bought what turned out to be a real crappy BC off ebay earlier in the year. Well, I sold it and bought what I wanted the first time. FredT SSBP and Halcyon36# wings. Still have some adjusting to do but was extremely happy with it.

 

[xoomboy]

dkerr,

This might be a bonehead question, but what made you go with the 36# over the 27# Pioneer? I'm planning on picking up the same type of setup in the spring for diving around the North Shore.

Also, not sure if anyone saw, but there was a Pioneer 36# setup on eBay that finished last night at $355... *sigh*... at least the reserve wasn't met, so I don't have to be jealous of anyone today

Matt

 

[dkerr]

Hey Matt,
The reason I got the 36# is that it was recomended to me by EE and seemed to be the consensus of this board as well. I dive wet with a HP120 so I felt I might need the additional lift. I am toying with the idea of ordering the 27# as well to see if I can really tell a difference. I think I would probably be OK with the 27# but I guess I figured since the 36 is about the same size (additional lift through the bellows) I wouldn't have much of a difference between the two. Close call either way.
I watched that sale on ebay as well. Looked like a good deal.

 

[xoomboy]

I'm going to be diving wet with a single AL80, most likely -- I'm thinking that I'll probably go with the 27#, unless it's not going to provide enough lift. I think it would, though, with the aluminum tank.

It would be cool if Halcyon had some sort of interactive form on their site that could help you figure it out:

If you are diving [wet/dry] with a [skin/3mm/5mm/7mm] suit....
and with a [single/double] [AL80/HP120/LP104] tank setup....
and you weigh [160/165/170/175]...
and you tend to [sink/float] in the water...

[click submit]

We recommend that you purchase a [Pioneer/Explorer] with [27/36/45/55] lbs of lift.

Of course, which to buy depends on many factors, but you could probably account for a lot of them with the form to really narrow it down. I'm sure it would save them a lot of phone calls...

Matt

 

[dkerr]

From what I understand, if you are diving Al 80's, then the 27# should be fine. What plate do you have and how much weight do you wear? Like I said, this is my first bp/wing attempt so any speculations I make are just from what I have understood off this board and from EE. Maybe sometime we could get together and compare our setups.
Thanks
Doug