localdivah
Contributor
- Messages
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Two lobster buddies and I decided that the spring conditions topside might be gone tomorrow, so we decided to test the waters for the first time since January.
NOAA buoy data said that surface temp was about 40 degrees, so we expected something similar to the 37-39 degrees we found during our New Year's dive.
We checked out Magnolia first, but winds were coming from the south and the waves were choppier than we expected. Onto Lane's Cove, which is usually pretty sheltered. There were few lobster pot buoys and no other divers around when we slipped in around 9am.
All of us were diving wet, and one of my buddies, who hadn't been diving since October had a few choice words about the water, once it made it through his neck seal. We paddled out a far bit before dropping down and almost instantly lost each other in the 10' max vis. Eventually we caught sight of each other through bubble trails and made our way due north. In January, we had gone 300 degrees and saw absolutely nothing on a flat sandy bottom, so we hoped to get some variety by going further east. Vegetation was sparse, but it did look like lobster country. No luck as we continued out past the drop off. From there, I lost my buddies and continued down to about 60'. Here, it just was plain depressing, 4-5' vis, silty, and almost no light getting through. The only thing on the bottom were sand dollars, some sea stars, one winter flounder, and the upside down hull of a sailboat (nothing inside). Reminded me of freshwater diving in NH actually.
About 30 min in, I turned back -- my body was pretty warm with a 3mm shorty and 7mm Pinnacle semidry -- but I had no feeling in my fingers and was starting to worry about getting frostbite in my digits (my computer was reading 35 degrees F). Not surprisingly, the little seagrass, boulders, and sunlight that came into view around 20' was a welcome change. I saw 2 lobsters during this dive -- one tiny guy tucked into a crevice, and a nice size fella in the one lobster pot I came across. At first, I thought it might be an encouraging sign of others around, but then I remembered the book "The Secret Life of Lobsters" that mentioned that lobsters could swim over a mile in a day. I didn't even see a single crab.
My buddies turned out dry also, with only 3 lobster sightings between the 3 of us. We decided not to do more of the same and went pizza hunting instead. All in all, nice to get wet, but unless you're diving dry or don't care about seeing anything alive, you might want to wait another couple weeks.
NOAA buoy data said that surface temp was about 40 degrees, so we expected something similar to the 37-39 degrees we found during our New Year's dive.
We checked out Magnolia first, but winds were coming from the south and the waves were choppier than we expected. Onto Lane's Cove, which is usually pretty sheltered. There were few lobster pot buoys and no other divers around when we slipped in around 9am.
All of us were diving wet, and one of my buddies, who hadn't been diving since October had a few choice words about the water, once it made it through his neck seal. We paddled out a far bit before dropping down and almost instantly lost each other in the 10' max vis. Eventually we caught sight of each other through bubble trails and made our way due north. In January, we had gone 300 degrees and saw absolutely nothing on a flat sandy bottom, so we hoped to get some variety by going further east. Vegetation was sparse, but it did look like lobster country. No luck as we continued out past the drop off. From there, I lost my buddies and continued down to about 60'. Here, it just was plain depressing, 4-5' vis, silty, and almost no light getting through. The only thing on the bottom were sand dollars, some sea stars, one winter flounder, and the upside down hull of a sailboat (nothing inside). Reminded me of freshwater diving in NH actually.
About 30 min in, I turned back -- my body was pretty warm with a 3mm shorty and 7mm Pinnacle semidry -- but I had no feeling in my fingers and was starting to worry about getting frostbite in my digits (my computer was reading 35 degrees F). Not surprisingly, the little seagrass, boulders, and sunlight that came into view around 20' was a welcome change. I saw 2 lobsters during this dive -- one tiny guy tucked into a crevice, and a nice size fella in the one lobster pot I came across. At first, I thought it might be an encouraging sign of others around, but then I remembered the book "The Secret Life of Lobsters" that mentioned that lobsters could swim over a mile in a day. I didn't even see a single crab.
My buddies turned out dry also, with only 3 lobster sightings between the 3 of us. We decided not to do more of the same and went pizza hunting instead. All in all, nice to get wet, but unless you're diving dry or don't care about seeing anything alive, you might want to wait another couple weeks.
