Nubble 5/8/2010 high in am

[oldflounder]

Will be doing Nubble after the morning high. Hope to be in the water no later than 9:30 if anyone wants a buddy. Will probably do the S cove. Rain or shine unless very adverse conditions.

 

[oldflounder]

I did end up going to Nubble yesterday morning even though it rained most of the day and I didn't think the conditions would be worth the trip. Contrary to what I normally do I went by some of my alternate sites on the way up. The winds were going to be out of the E and SE according to the marine forecast. Fort Stark and The Commons being on the E shore of The River were being smacked by a very angry sea. It didn't look very promising for Nubble but I went anyway figuring this would be a good time to try the N end of Long Sands possibly. When I got to Long Sands that thought disappeared. It too was being battered by an angry sea out of the E with 3' rollers. I don't know why there weren't any surfers out.

Anyway when I got to Nubble the S Cove was being attacked by heavy seas out of the SE. But the N Cove was normal conditions. There was a little surf on the surface, but there was very little surge beneath and the west shore of the cove was normal, peaceful surf lapping the rocks/ no big spray.

Went in at mid out-going tide. The viz was 15' and the surface temp was 46*. I had a great dive for an hour in the shallows [20'] just putzing around looking to see if any critters are back yet. Saw a small flounder, either a sculpin or a sea robin [I'm not much good at fish ID'ing yet], a 1" lobster and a 6" sea eel. The starfish are still very small. There was a lot of stringy stuff floating in the water - maybe some kind of jellyfish material. Like I said before there was very little surge away from the shallows/ledges. There is still no algae bloom yet as far as I know. That should be arriving soon if I remember right from last year.

There are some traps that are very close to shore. I don't know why they are in so close. One cluster of traps are right up on the underwater ledges at the edge of the cove bottom. And he's still using the floating line so be careful in that area if you're dragging a flag around. At low tide they'll be in less than 10' of water. The boat that's pulling them will be almost scraping the shore ledges when he's in there. Must be some new guy! They'll be gone by the time the season is in full swing. There aren't enough bugs in that close to shore to make it worthwhile maintaining the traps in such a dangerous situation. Of course that would be good for us if he did smash into the ledges. Then we could do OW classes there AND Wreck-Diving class!!! Until he's out of there it will be a definate overhead hazard for the classes to deal with depending upon his schedule to pull - would that be high tide?

Hoping to do a night dive Friday at Nubble depending on weather.

 

[dave4868]

Always nice to read a well-written, well-detailed dive report! Thanks!

With that kind of weather, I imagine you had the whole place to yourself, right?

Dave C

 

[oldflounder]

On the contrary, when I got there a class of UNH Marine Studies students [maybe 3 staff and 6 or 7 students] were suiting up to go in. For a rainy day there were a goodly number of tourists/locals in and out of the p-lot all the time I was there [10-1:30.] Some people just enjoy watching an angry sea - myself included. Diving at Nubble is very unpredictable. I've gone on beautiful summer days and the cove was horrendous; I've gone on days like yesterday with stormy weather and angry seas in the near vicinity and the cove was diveable. Go figure! You just can't take the marine forecast and reliably relate it to Nubble. It is on the end of a long peninsula and is protected by the island on the east side and the mainland on the west side. You don't actually know how it'll be until you drive into that p-lot and look out over the edge into the cove. And even then, if the N Cove is not diveable, the S Cove might be if the tide is high enough and you know the safe entry/exit points. The trick is to have a workable plan B if you're coming from a long distance away. Kittery Trading Post and the Kittery retail mall stores are a good back-up plan. Or you can find a good seafood restaurant. I have my alternate sites I check out down along the NH coast until I find a good spot - or else I'll just enjoy the coastal drive until I hit Hampton Beach and then just jump on 101 for the ride home.

 

[dave4868]

You're right. Nubble's definitely more unpredictable than other sites I dive, particularly those around Cape Ann, MA.

At Nubble, in addition to the occasionally unexpected surf and surge in the north cove, currents on the ocean side of the island have sometimes surprised me, too.

Dave C

 

[oldflounder]

I am planning to study and map the edge of the ocean bottom/island on the other side this summer. Right now I am trying to understand the rocks off the SE corner of the island and how the currents and surge work there. It can get pretty rough rounding that corner. I do not want to dive around the perimeter of the island and then hit that area without knowing what to expect. Stay tuned this summer for further developments.

 

[dave4868]

I am planning to study and map the edge of the ocean bottom/island on the other side this summer. Right now I am trying to understand the rocks off the SE corner of the island and how the currents and surge work there. It can get pretty rough rounding that corner. I do not want to dive around the perimeter of the island and then hit that area without knowing what to expect. Stay tuned this summer for further developments.

Actually, I was thinking of doing the same thing from the northeast corner and possibly circumnavigating the island (going deep only on the east side, possibly bringing more than my usual 150 cf of air)....

We should keep in touch.

Dave C