Your favorite dive spots

[large_diver]

Burnham Rock
Saturday Night Ledge
Halfway Rock
The Poling (stern) - a wreck that seemingly everyone has done...but a classic
Old Garden Beach
Folly, especially at night

 

[emtgirl86]

My favorite site by far would have to be the old pier in Eastport, Maine. Clear water and lots of marine life!!! The only bad thing is the tides move quick and fast.

 

[Nylorac]

Hilarious! I finally checked this sticky, and after two years (almost to the day), it has a total of TWO posts (three now). Not really sure if this merits "sticky status"... So come on, what are your favorite NE dive sites. Here are a few of my favorites:

Shore Dives
-Cathedral Rocks (by far my favorite)
-The others (really, they all pale in comparison to CR)
[Ok, Folly, Old Garden Beach, and Ft. Wetherill are all very nice, too!]

Boat Dives
-Burnham's
-SNL
-Poling
-Egg Rock
-Half Way Rock
-Grave's Lighthouse

Looking forward to diving the Boston Harbor wrecks next summer, along with exploring sites other than those on Cape Ann. So many places to dive, so little time...

We are from Connecticut and have just started diving locally. That means RI and MA - no where to dive in CT and would appeciate any advice about where to dive around here. Where is Cathedral Rocks? We had our first NE dive in late September (bucked it up and dealt with the cold, dim water - actually loved it) and dove the Heroine wreck in the Block Island area. Never expected to see that kind of marine life around here - anemones, coral, star fish, sand dollars, flounder, etc. - just great! The wreck was very broken up but still recoginzable. I can't wait to get more dives in around here but most of the ones I know about are pretty deep and I'm not ready for more than around 100' at this point. I'm looking forward to diving the Pinnacles this summer, has anyone dove it? Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Nylorac]

Burnham Rock
Saturday Night Ledge
Halfway Rock
The Poling (stern) - a wreck that seemingly everyone has done...but a classic
Old Garden Beach
Folly, especially at night

Nothing better than a good night dive - where is Folly?

 

[bennsarrow]

Nothing better than a good night dive - where is Folly?

Folley Cove. Nice shore dive off the north side of Cape Ann. N42-41.106 W070-38.505. Parking is for residents only in the summer but during the off season it's easy. I'm actually going to be there tomorrow. My recommendation, get one of the good Cape Ann dive books from an LDS.

Enjoy...Sean

 

[divin'dog]

We are from Connecticut and have just started diving locally. That means RI and MA - no where to dive in CT and would appeciate any advice about where to dive around here. Where is Cathedral Rocks? ...
Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi Nylorac,
There's lots of good diving in NE. I just want to caution you that various sites require a certain amount of experience and physical fitness to enjoy. I'm not trying to scare you, far from it, just that Cathedral Rocks imho is a site that requires some experience getting in and out of a difficult entry and exit if the surf is even moderately rough. I read your profile (25-49 dives) and just want to make sure you don't plan a day for something you might not expect.

At one entry point, you had to judge the waves coming in, then jump in and swim away before it took you and pushed you back into the rocks. The exit was difficult in that the tide and surf created a small window to exit. You had to time the wave just right and then swim to the exit and launch yourself onto the exit point, where other divers would help you up. I saw at least 3 divers get caught in the surf and were rolled mercilessly into the rocks. Other divers had to jump in to save them. At least one diver was injured that day. It was almost impossible to save yourself. On that particular day, there were a lot of divers that did not belong there.

It has been years since I've been there (too many divers) but that is my experience. Maybe it's changed and there's an easy entry/exit point. CR is a nice dive however once you're in the water. Huge lobsters if you can get them out from under the monsterous rocks. Hope you enjoy the diving up here.

dd

 

[Nylorac]

Thanks, I really appreciate the advice. I'm not looking for that much of a challenge getting to the dive. Do you have any recommendations for other sites? I'm not limiting it to shore dives, just looking for good diving up here. Thanks.

 

[BGF]

We are from Connecticut and have just started diving locally. That means RI and MA - no where to dive in CT and would appeciate any advice about where to dive around here.


no where to dive in CT...not true. Checkout brownstone park, or Stonington point. Ok so yeah, few and far between but there's a few . Otherwise Ft Wetherell or Beavertail in RI are great shore dives. Haven't been to MA yet. Where in CT do you live? I'm outside of New Haven, feel free to PM me if you're ever looking for a buddy. As you can see I'm also pretty noob to diving but am always eager to dive.

 

[MSilvia]

I feel bad having let this go so long without posting, but my favorite dives are often the ones that aren't popular destinations. Minot's Ledge and the various rocks off Cohasset come to mind, and Grave's Ledge is a great dive too.

As far as popular shore dives go, I like Old Garden Beach in Rockport the best of all I've done in the area, and the Pinthis wreck has still been one of my favorite wreck dives... probably because the visibility has been so good when I've been there.

 

[divin'dog]

Thanks, I really appreciate the advice. I'm not looking for that much of a challenge getting to the dive. Do you have any recommendations for other sites? I'm not limiting it to shore dives, just looking for good diving up here. Thanks.

I've had fun at Folly's Cove. It can get a little crowded and parking is not convenient but once in the water, the cove has lots to see if you take your time to observe. Once outside the cove you can go left or right and make your own adventure. I've noticed that the water can sometimes be a little colder than usual, but it's a nice dive and you can relax on the beach (rocky) in between dives. Relatively easy entry/exit. Some big rocks on the beach and you need to be careful where you step or you will twist an ankle. Gets easier as the tide comes in.

Old Garden Beach is a nice dive if you go to the left or right from the basic beach entry points (very easy entry/exit). I actually started on the right side, then swimming over to the left side I found a 12 1/2 lb lobster in 30' out in the open in the middle area where there is supposedly "no lobsters". Yes, I did catch him and yes, he was delicious! Parking is limited as I remember.

One of my favorite dive sites is Magnolia Rocks. It's a medium level entry and exit. It's a big almost flat rocky area that you can lay out all your stuff and get dressed on without any sand getting in your gear. Entry may be tricky if the surf is up. I always had the same entry point. Sit on the corner of the ledge of a pocket and time the cadence of the surf. When the biggest wave came in, I'd slide in and swim out with the surf. Not as difficult as it seems but you need to study the lay of the land so to speak and plan your entry. This is a good stepping stone to more difficult entries and exits. Also plan your exit point, which is easier than getting in because you can kinda crawl out at a lot of points. Only reason you can't use these for entry is that the rocks can be very slippery (algae/seaweed) at the water line.

Once out there, it is very rocky and there's lots to explore. There is usually a slight current running along the shore but is normally mild unless at the change of tide. Direction of current depends on the tide. In between dives it is absolutely great to lie on the rock and take in the sun and fresh air. I haven't been there in a long time, but it was usually not crowded.

dd