By Rick Stratton
Publisher, Dive News Network
We have all heard the stories about how diving the Atlantic Ocean is so different from any other dive in the world but where does one begin? The east coast is massive and offers such a variety. I begin my east coast dive experience at the home of the Red Sox and the most famous cream pie in the world: Boston.
My friend Steve Bigelow, member of t
he MetroWest Dive Club, pointed out how Massachusetts diving is generally divided into the North Shore (Cape Ann), Boston Harbor, and the South Shore which includes everything from Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard all the way to Provincetown. Between the three areas, there is a lot of dive sites to cover. I will focus on Cape Ann area, with more on the others in future editions.
From what I discovered, the Cape Ann Peninsula provides good beach/shore entries for north, west, and south exposures. Although most diving can be limited by which way the wind is blowing, many Cape Ann divers feel comfortable getting into the water no matter which way the wind is set on. The name of the game in diving the Cape Ann area is sheltered areas. There seems to be a lot of coves, beaches and inlets where a diver can explore and be perfectly safe from strong currents.
Although there are those who shore dive, the preference of many hard-core Massachusetts divers is boat diving. Boat diving offers divers a chance to dive for scalloping, seal diving, and lobstering. “Provincetown can yield some outstanding lobstering with NO upper size limits as there are elsewhere along the Gulf of Maine,” says Bigelow. Good eats is all I can think as Bigelow points this out.
Bigelow also enjoys wreck diving. “It’s so hard to narrow down where all the best sites are,” says Bigelow. “There are many wrecks in Massachusetts waters, but of the ones within reasonable diving depths, I really like the wreck of the Chester A. Poling just south of the Gloucester Breakwater. Other wrecks include the City of Salisbury, Romance, and Kiowa.”
Captain Jim Sullivan of Boston Scuba agrees with Bigelow about the Romance. He owns a charter service that has been in service for over 10 years and they make a lot of trips out to the Romance. “It is a deeper wreck and has a lot of wreckage around it,’ says Sullivan. “You can explore the boilers, which are still intact and even some of the engine blocks. There is a lot of marine life to see around that ship as well.”
Captain Fred Calhoun of Easy Diver located in the Cape Ann Marina, is somewhat of a local legend with over 59 years of diving under his belt and 39 years of dive chartering in Cape Ann. “We began as quarry divers,” says Calhoun. “There are places above and below the atomic energy plant to dive and that’s where we started out.” Calhoun does point out they didn’t get close enough to the plant however to glow.
Calhoun adds there is a lot of diving to be done. “Cape Ann sticks out into the ocean and it is all granite,” Calhoun explains. “Our goal is to bring divers to dive sites they can’t normally get to by automobile. There are great sites off shore but one would have to go over private property to get to them. When you boat dive, you don’t have to worry about private property; the ocean belongs to everyone.”
Calhoun points out a few dive sites he takes divers to including Plum Cove, a place where instructors often bring students. “Plum Cove is an easy place to get in and out of and offers a great place to teach diving. Bemo Ledge is also a place for instructors to teach.” He goes on to explain, “It is well vegetated and offers a plateau. It forms part of a cove called Brace Cove, which is an ideal place to bring students for training. There’s a lot to see and it is a good beginning dive site.”
Calhoun says Folly Cove, which faces north, is also an ideal place to get your fins wet. “The cuts in the rock are evidence of the glaciers and there are a lot of interesting formations there because of it.”
Nick Fazah of East Coast Divers Inc., a full service dive center which also supports free diving and spear fishing, says Folly Cove is a huge draw for divers from his shop as well. “It is a really cool wall dive,” says Fazah. “The wall goes from 20 ft. to approximately 60 ft. There is a lot of marine life and there are a number of places to explore where local marine life hides.”
Another dive site I heard about in the Cape Ann area is Norman’s Woe. A lot of divers I spoke to say they have no idea why the site is named anyone’s woe. “It’s down south by Magnolia Rocks, close to Manchester,” says Fazah. “This site has an interesting entry; divers have to do a 6 ft. stride in order to get into it but it is worth the effort. There is a lot of marine life. It is an advanced site because of the way you get in and out but it is a cool 70-80 ft. dive where there is a lot of lobster and local marine life.” I have heard it can be a dangerous dive, and do encourage you to find a Dive Master who has gone diving there to go with you the first time because of the entry and exit points.
Mark Potter of Mass Diving enjoys all of the other dive sites I’ve mentioned already, but he brought up a few others. “I have been diving in the Cape Ann area since 1980 and there is a lot of good diving,” says Potter. “Up north there are a lot of rocky areas. Although you can shore dive, you will see much more on a boat dive. One of my favorites is the Saturday Night Ledge. “This is an interesting dive site that is about 5 miles off Manchester. It is easily a 100 ft. dive so you have to be an advanced diver. I enjoy the area because there is so much to see.” Potter also dives the Dry Salvages, which are right outside Rockport. “I take a lot of divers to the Dry Salvages because of the seals,” Potter explains. “The seals come right up to you and want to play; people love it. This is not a deep dive, 30 ft. or so but sometimes it’s just a lot of fun to do a shallow dive.”
I look forward to my next excuse to be in the Cape Ann area so I can enjoy these sites soon. In the mean time, take some pictures for me! ■
Special thanks to:
Steve Bigelow
MetroWest Dive Club
www.mwdc.org
Captain Jim Sullivan
Boston Scuba
www.bostonscuba.com
Captain Fred Calhoun
Easy Diver
www.easy-diver.com
Nick Fazah
East Coast Divers Inc.
www.ecdivers.com
Mark Potter
Mass Diving
www.massdiving.com
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