New Diver looking for spots (and help!) in New England

[gcarter]

I'll chime in there again, like the others said, there is a bunch of good diving up in Massachusetts. It's actually pretty hard to find a site that isn't diveable in most weather conditions on Cape Ann. If you do go up to Cape Ann, there are plenty of shops in the area. Some shops that I've had good luck with are East Coast Divers in Brookline, South Shore Divers in Weymouth, Boston Scuba in Boston, Cape Ann Divers in Gloucester and Andys Sport Shop in Fitchburg. If you do make it up to Cape Ann, I'd recommend either tagging along with a shop as a good number of them host shore dives each weekend (I know East Coast does for sure) or swing by Cape Ann Divers as they can point you in the right direction based on the weather and your abilities.

My son and I spent 2 weeks in Cape Ann area last summer and had a blast. Cape Ann divers has a handout that lists all the local shore diving sites, with directions, parking tips, lots of useful information. We had a bunch of great dives, unguided. Just be comfortable with your compass and mind your bearings.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

My son and I spent 2 weeks in Cape Ann area last summer and had a blast. Cape Ann divers has a handout that lists all the local shore diving sites, with directions, parking tips, lots of useful information. We had a bunch of great dives, unguided. Just be comfortable with your compass and mind your bearings.

The shore entries can be nasty. I sprained my ankle in Folly Cove while coming out of the water with a huge dangling DSLR camera strapped to me. I think it is best to get together with the locals who can show you the best dive sites as well as best ways to enter. There are a lot of folks on this forum who are frequent divers.

 

[gcarter]

The shore entries can be nasty. I sprained my ankle in Folly Cove while coming out of the water with a huge dangling DSLR camera strapped to me. I think it is best to get together with the locals who can show you the best dive sites as well as best ways to enter. There are a lot of folks on this forum who are frequent divers.

There were sites we avoided based on descriptions of access and entry.

Folly Cove I noted in my log "Slippery exit at low tide on the rocks"

Pebble Beach was a bit of a chore with the rocks sliding and turning underfoot. I crawled the last piece with the surf on the second tank - the surf wasn't really bad, it was more the footing.

Other sites like Old Garden Beach and Back Beach are pretty dead easy.

I did make a point of checking with the shop each day which sites would be best given the day's conditions.

 

[AfterDark]

The shore entries can be nasty. I sprained my ankle in Folly Cove while coming out of the water with a huge dangling DSLR camera strapped to me. I think it is best to get together with the locals who can show you the best dive sites as well as best ways to enter. There are a lot of folks on this forum who are frequent divers.

Come on Capt! Those rocks where there when you went in weren't they? Folly Cove is one of the best sites up there. The ingress and egress is a little tricky but that's NE diving. Have you tried Cathedral Rocks on a rough day? Not for the faint of heart. The back beach site is easy in and out, but can get old. Halibut point is a long walk. Folly Cove is even a good place to snorkel along the right side of the cove.

I'm not into mountain goat diving anymore either and haven't dove Folly Cove in about 3 years now. Last time I was there my hamstrings cramped up on me and I didn't get to really dive. That was the 2nd dive after diving Cathedral Rocks on a rough day! Did a lot of hard kicking on that dive!

 

[mike0479]

Look into Orbit Marine in Bridgeport CT. Noel the store owner has 2 boats that he puts in the water around June and he has a few dive sites. I've gone out with him a bunch of times since he's local and I have always been happy with the groups of people. I also have used Cape Ann divers and they are a great outfit to dive with. Also, Rhode Island has some great diving too...

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Come on Capt! Those rocks where there when you went in weren't they? Folly Cove is one of the best sites up there. The ingress and egress is a little tricky but that's NE diving. Have you tried Cathedral Rocks on a rough day? Not for the faint of heart. The back beach site is easy in and out, but can get old. Halibut point is a long walk. Folly Cove is even a good place to snorkel along the right side of the cove.

I'm not into mountain goat diving anymore either and haven't dove Folly Cove in about 3 years now. Last time I was there my hamstrings cramped up on me and I didn't get to really dive. That was the 2nd dive after diving Cathedral Rocks on a rough day! Did a lot of hard kicking on that dive!

Folly Cove is really not that bad compared to some other sites. My incident was more of a freak accident because when you are holding a DSLR with lights, you really do not have hands to work your way out. Just like New England divers crawl out of water on their fours, DSLR with housing and lights does not let you do that. You are either on your feet or on your two knees. I heard Cathedral rocks are really nice but you need a rope. I would love to dive the Cathedral rocks sometime this season hopefully.

 

[Laurent Pilotte]

Two light Maine.

http://youtu.be/CyUoMV3DpzY

Sent from my XT901 using Tapatalk

 

[Mr.X]

Folly Cove is really not that bad compared to some other sites. My incident was more of a freak accident because when you are holding a DSLR with lights, you really do not have hands to work your way out. Just like New England divers crawl out of water on their fours, DSLR with housing and lights does not let you do that.

I once carried a Gavin scooter out to Folly's and getting it past the rocks was a total ^%&%@. It always pays to have a dive sherpa who will work for a clam dinner.

 

[divin'dog]

... I heard Cathedral rocks are really nice but you need a rope. I would love to dive the Cathedral rocks sometime this season hopefully.

CR is a nice dive but sometimes it attracts the wrong divers because of its reputation. Entry/exit can be a difficult depending on conditions... and what might look like a nice calm day can turn quickly when getting out at different tide and shifting conditions. Use caution when diving there.

 

[KapitanSparrow]

I love both Folly Cove and Cathedral Rocks. It's best to dive both Folly Cove and Cathedral Rocks in high tide. Entry is much easier then. During high tide you can pretty much jump off into the water at Cathedral. It's best to get away from the rocks as soon as possible. I once tried holding onto the rocks for a while without my gloves. Let's just say the government needs a new set of my fingerprints. Getting out of CR is the trickiest.

My other favorite is Loblolly Point. It's always free of other divers, but entry is somewhat difficult. Magnolia is another one that I hope to visit again. I loved Halibut Point, all of it except the long walk.