Newbie diving in Rockport Aug 27. Any advice?

[mike0479]

Hi Guys,
Im going to be finishing my open water certification this saturday. i am also going to be spending a weekend in Rockport staying at the Captains Bounty on Aug 27th. My dad and I were thinking about venturing out and doing a beach dive in front of the hotel.
Are there any suggestions to diving this particular place? Is there a better place to go that is just as easily accessible? What are the hazards if any that exist here? I dont want this first time dive to go horribly wrong or wrong in any manner.
I was thinking that this would be a nice place for us to take it easy and slow to get more comfortable with our equipment and use to scuba diving in general. We have been doing our dives in Long Island Sound where the visibility was only 3-5ft the last couople weeks and we were fine with that. I cant wait to get in the water and be able to see 10ft and more with the addition of some great marine life.
Any suggestions or tips will be greatly appreciated...
Thanks,
Mike

 

[mathauck0814]

Most of the sites around Rockport have some amount of a walk/climb to enter - it's not the worst thing in the world, but it's also not always so simple as walking off the beach. The bigger issue you'll find is parking - especially on a weekend. Check out Cape Ann Divers when you roll into town, they can help you with specific conditions on the day you arrive and help you pick sites based on where the weather is coming from. In my opinion, most of the sites are similar in what they have to offer, so you might be just fine with Back Beach - especially while you get comfortable.

 

[mmerriman]

captain's bounty is at front beach. I just led a night dive there last night. Do a dive right there, also dive back beach (right down the st) and Old garden beach. All good sites.

 

[macado]

You can dive right in front of Captain's Bounty. I prefer Back Beach a little down the street but Front Beach is also nice (and more convenient for you).

I second the recommendation to check in with Cape Ann Divers to see what they recommend. They will know of the conditions/visibility/etc at different dive sites in the area.