Ottawa to the coast: camp & dive

[caribean-ted]

Brockville, and Kingston ontario have some excellent dive sites and camping nearby. Its not far from the crossing to the us also.

 

[gcarter]

Brockville, and Kingston ontario have some excellent dive sites and camping nearby. Its not far from the crossing to the us also.

That's my regular diving. Vacation is for something different

 

[macado]

So the missus – just goes to show you should never actually TALK to your wife – is now suggesting that we do the 1^st week of our vacation at Cape Ann rather than Tobermory so she can do some day trips into Boston. Added benefit is that NYC would be a significantly shorter trip for her 2^nd week, and overall a whole heck of a lot less driving for me. Nor a horrible concept.

Can anyone give me feedback on camping here? Cape Ann Camp Site

Are they diver-friendly? Is it unreasonable to expect to do 2 – 3 tanks / day for 8 or 9 days between boat and shore dives there?

TIA

I've never camped there since I live locally so I can't comment. It's certainly not unreasonable to do 2-3 tanks a day in July. There are tons of good shore diving sites available in Cape Ann.

Some very close dive site: Folly Cove, Old Garden Beach, Loblolly, Back Beach, Cathedral Rocks. Parking can be an issue in the summer since a lot of places are resident only but you can usually find parking on site streets or drop your gear off at the dive site and then park down the street a little ways. As much as I would say the area embraces divers, I would be slightly lying. A lot of locals don't like watching a crowd of divers struggle to fit into wetsuits from their million dollar houses. I'm over generalizing of course but there are plenty of people that love diving locally. It's essentially prime season in the summer so parking can be limited.

There are some good parks/beaches for just sight seeing/walking around Stage Fort Park (can also dive here), Halibut Point (can dive here), Good Harbor Beach, Ravenswood Park, Wingaersheek Beach.

If you post here in in summer, I'm sure many members would be happy to dive with you or suggest sites, myself included

Gloucester/Rockport have tons of nice little bars/restaurants, a good waterfront and plenty of tourist activities in the summer. You'll be there in the height of tourist season and there should be a lot going on. You definitely may also want to spend a day exploring Salem. Lots of history there. There are whale watching boats, offshore fishing tours, museums, etc.

For charters, check out the Daybreaker (Cape Ann Charters, Inc.) and Cape Ann Divers. (Welcome to Cape Ann Divers! cape ann divers, cape ann diving, boston diving, scuba boston, massachusetts diving, scuba massachusetts, new england scuba diving, scuba new england, north eastern usa scuba diving, scuba resorts usa, boston dive boat div) Both run charters out of Cape Ann. Cape Ann Divers is the local dive shop in the area and they run two boats. You can use them for air fills/equipment. I would definitely recommend at least one or two days of charters while you're here.

In Gloucester, you can take the commuter rail directly into Boston if your wife does not want to drive. Easy access and convenient. That will open up a lot of exploration options without needing a car.

 

[gbirch]

So the missus – just goes to show you should never actually TALK to your wife – is now suggesting that we do the 1^st week of our vacation at Cape Ann rather than Tobermory so she can do some day trips into Boston. Added benefit is that NYC would be a significantly shorter trip for her 2^nd week, and overall a whole heck of a lot less driving for me. Nor a horrible concept.

Can anyone give me feedback on camping here? Cape Ann Camp Site

Are they diver-friendly? Is it unreasonable to expect to do 2 – 3 tanks / day for 8 or 9 days between boat and shore dives there?

TIA

Cape Ann Camp Site is very diver friendly. I stay here several times in a season with my family, and we regularly see other groups of divers staying here with gear hung up to dry. The sites are quite large and roomy and many are hidden away in the trees so you can dry stuff out without intruding on your neighbors. The facilities are quite basic so don't expect bathrooms to look like those at home, but they are functional and with hot water showers (tokens or quarters required). They also have larger camp areas if you are bringing an RV. If you read the reviews of this place, some people complain about the basic facilities, but in my book, it's camping and you are living in the woods... so what do you expect??! Some also complained about the owners, but I have taken a group of 30 teenagers here for the last 5 or so years and I have never had anything but curteous and pleasant help from the owners. The only thing that really rings my bell about this camp site is that they have, what I consider to be an unfair policy on nights stay: If you go for a weekend, you MUST pay for 3 nights - Why?? I want to go Friday, stay Saturday & leave on Sunday... but I have to pay for the Monday that I can't use?? - That's just not right. However, if you are planning a longer stay then you won't run into this policy and I'm confident that you will have a great stay here. And, Of course, the diving is great. I HIGHLY recommend that you get a copy of Jerry Shine's book "A Shore Diving Guide to New England" ($27 from Amazon) in advance. this book details the major dive sites that you wil find on Cape Ann with tips on entiries, exits, hazzards, weather etc - you will have more fun if you get this book. Another great resource is Cape Ann Divers (others have mentioned them already). Dave & Mary are extreemly helpful and will give you tips & recommendations on the best sites on any given day. As others have also said, they run 2 dive boats and, again, I have nothing but good things to say about the operation - the boats and their crew. They don't force you to buddy up or anything like that, they seem to have a piolicy of "We get you there and bring you back safely, but you are a certified diver, so how you conduct yourself in the water is your responsibility". You can also get your air fills here, althought they don't do Nitrox if this is a concern to you. Have fun and welcome to New England!

 

[Mike L]

Come to New Brunswick, Bay of Fundy, highest tides in the world.

 

[Mr.X]

Had a look at the campsite as I was cycling to Wingershaek Beach today. The campground is basic and nestled among trees on a tiered landscape. Each site has power and there is a short climb up the hill to what looks like the showers, or offices. They were doing some maintenance today probably in anticipation of campers coming for the busy season.

What I like are the tiered sites which overlook a tributary of the Annisquam river and it is roughly 30 seconds to get from campsite to the waters edge. This is kinda cool. I don't know if there was direct access to the water, but I am sure adventurous kids wouldn't have a hard time negotiating their way towards the water. On a safety note - there has been a lot of snow here and I would anticipate a nasty tick season. And these buggers are all around Massachusetts. Especially Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard where a simple amble through low grasses necessitates a thorough check of clothing.

It's probably a 3 minute ride to Wingershaek Beach which is a popular site for summer tourists. And today the beach was simply marvelous for viewing and walking a dog. As of May 1st - no dogs allowed though. And the same holds true to any of the local beaches around here. As per dive sites - the hardest part I find is parking. When I do go local diving I tend to go to Front Beach which has parking meters and a bathroom. I like Folly's - but unless you have a Gloucester Parking permit you are not allowed to park there. But, I would imagine you could park somewhere else., or get dropped off? The Lobster Pool restaurant is only a few ticks away and a nice place for family to eat while they wait for someone to get out of the water.

X

 

[macado]

As per dive sites - the hardest part I find is parking. When I do go local diving I tend to go to Front Beach which has parking meters and a bathroom. I like Folly's - but unless you have a Gloucester Parking permit you are not allowed to park there. But, I would imagine you could park somewhere else., or get dropped off? The Lobster Pool restaurant is only a few ticks away and a nice place for family to eat while they wait for someone to get out of the water.

X

Mr.X is right about parking. There are not a whole lot of dive sites where you can park directly at the dive site.

I think you meant Back Beach unless Front Beach has a bathroom too? I've actually never dove Front Beach, only Back Beach which is popular for open water checkouts. Plenty of metered parking and bathrooms. Diving is pretty good although not my favorite site.

Folly Cove. Although you can't park directly at Folly Cove in the summer, you can park a little ways down past the restaurant which is basically public parking. Most people quickly unload, go park and walk back to dive site.

Old Garden Beach. One of my favorite sites when conditions are right. You can park on the side streets. Quickly unload (Don't park/idle in main lot! I've gotten a tickets before.) You can park on the main street during the weekday/night dives but not on the weekends.

Loblolly Cove. Another great site but somewhat of a longer surface swim to hit more depth. Same deal can't park in the lot but drop your gear off and park on one of the side streets or park at Pebble Beach and walk to Loblolly.

Pebble Peach. It has public parking if you can find a spot. Not the most interesting dive site though.

Lanes Cove. You can park there but there have been issues/altercation in the past with locals vs divers. I think these issues are mostly gone. This is a great dive site.

Halibut Point. You can park in state park for a fee or on main road. LONG long walk with dive gear however but it's a nice dive.

Stage Fort Park. It's a state park so plenty of parking but you need to pay. I think $10 a day? There are bathroom facilities here, icecream/snack shop. They allow dogs here and it's a great place to BBQ in the summer. There are two places you can dive. It's not spectacular diving by any means and usually only around ~20fsw but it can be fun. This is a good base of operations if you want to spend the day exploring downtown Gloucester and walking around. One other good thing about Stage Fort Park is it's completely sheltered you can pretty much almost always dive here even if all the other sites are blown out.

Niles Beach. Resident parking only in the season, dont bother. Not really a great dive so I would skip it. Mostly all sand and dive is typically less than 20fsw. Only other good thing about Niles is, like Stage Fort Park it's completely sheltered and is almost always dive-able if you're desperate to get wet.


gcarter, also check out Welcome to Cape Ann Divers! cape ann divers, cape ann diving, boston diving, scuba boston, massachusetts diving, scuba massachusetts, new england scuba diving, scuba new england, north eastern usa scuba diving, scuba resorts usa, boston dive boat div for a list of sites and parking situation. Cape Ann Divers also has a free map with all this dive site information and directions in their shop. Usually it's a good idea to stop in there in the morning and ask about conditions especially if some sites are blown out due to wind. They can usually advise of which sites to go to.


I agree with the other recommendation about getting Jerry Shine's book, "A Shore Diving Guide to New England." It will mention most of these sites.

 

[gcarter]

So time is drawing near...

I am booked at the campground from July 7 (driving down that day) to July 21. Long haired boss and girl child (non-divers) will be with us until they head off on a train to NYC July 14. Probably won't dive the 8th, but never say never, will certainly be making a visit to Cape Ann Divers to get the lay of the land that day.

We are bringing all of our own gear, including tanks. I don't see their fill rates on their site? Presumably they sell fill cards at a reduced rate over a la carte? I read above that they don't do Nitrox, but do they have good clean air? I don't want to have to re-vis & O2 my tanks...

Should I contact them ahead of time re possible charters? How quickly do they fill?

Anyone looking for a dive during that period, my son and I will be good to go.

 

[gcarter]

Camper packed, truck loaded with gear and ready to go. Hit the road @ 8:00am.