Tag: shore diving

Friday the 13th Dive Shenanigans: A Night DPV dive to the OJ Walker in Lake Champlain

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Unfortunately my regular dive buddy John decided to abandon me and move to bum-fuck Tennessee. As a result we haven’t gotten any dives in together this year. I don’t blame him (ok only a little bit); The weather is warmer in Tennessee and I’m sure the cost of living is much better than New England / New York. Anyway he still does National Guard in Vermont and flew back this past weekend. We had talked about getting in a dive together when he was here but unfortunately it would have…

Peirce Island Exploration Dive

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Due to the massive construction project that has been going on at Peirce Island I have not been able to dive one of my favorite winter shore diving sites for nudibranch photography.  This has led me to research other possible entry points or dive sites in the Picataqua River.  I’ve only explored a couple areas so far and while I haven’t found anything similar to the massive hydroid field at Peirce, I have managed to find some cool bottles so that has been an added bonus. Since I knew the…

Thompson’s Point Shore Dive in Lake Champlain

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Thompson's Point Lake Champlain

We decided to do something a little different this weekend.  Myself, Matt, Lea and Tom went up to Lake Champlain for some planned exploratory shore diving.  We also figured we would hit some of the restaurants and breweries in Burlington. Thompson’s Point There is an area in Lake Champlain called Thompson’s Point which is rumored to have some very cool topography (vertical wall) underwater.  It’s an area that is also one of the deepest points of the lake. We had no real ambitious plans to go “super” deep but we carried…

2 Hour 15 Minute Shore Dive at Old Garden Beach

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rEvo rebreathers at Old Garden Beach

Because the marine forecast called for high winds 20-25kts SW with gusts up to 30kts Matt decided to bag the charters for Saturday. Instead I met up with Brie and Scott on their rebreathers to do a nice long shore dive at Old Garden Beach.  Me and Matt were originally supposed to drive the Daybreaker down to Scituate to dive the Pinthis but that would have not been a fun ride in a 10kt boat in those conditions. In fact it would have been long and miserable. Anyway, not wanting to…

Nudibranchs and Beer: Shore diving Folly Cove & Back Beach

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I decided to get some open circuit “practice” in on Sunday and Monday and left the rebreather at home. Me and Annie dove Folly Cove on Sunday while Lewis joined us on Monday (Patriot’s Day) at Back Beach.  As much as I hate shore diving I didn’t really want to pay for another two days of charter fees.  It was also pretty windy so I didn’t want to end up getting blown out and then go to a less than optimal dive site.  4 days of diving in row in…

Scootering at Old Garden Beach

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It’s been a while since I’ve been in the salt water (ok I just realized that’s a lie..it’s been a while since my rebreather has seen salt water) and had a few things I needed to test.  Most importantly, my aqualung/tear aid repair job on my exhale counterlung.  I also wanted to test my repaired battery on my Suex Xjoy2 scooter and my new Light Monkey bailout system. What better place than Old Garden Beach in Rockport, MA on a Sunday morning. Me and Mike W. met up at Old…

Diving Canoe Beach in Nahant, MA

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This morning I got a nice early dive in before work with a few friends at Canoe Beach in Nahant, MA.     Canoe Beach is one of my old favorite haunts;  It’s a fairly shallow dive with an easy entry and has some very nice underwater topography compared to most shore dives in New England.    A prominent attraction is a rock formation called the “chimneys” which you can enter from the right side and literally go through them and come out the top.  There is also another small…

Easter Dive at Nubble Light

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diving nubble light

Not too much to report for the last few weeks since my weekends and weeknights have been busy studying for the USCG captain’s course. Thankfully on Sunday I got a break from class because of the Easter holiday and decided to dive Nubble Light (aka Cape Neddick Light). I’m not a huge fan of chocolate bunnies, color-dyed chicken eggs or zombie resurrected carpenters so I decided to go diving instead.  Diving Nubble Light is always great without the crowds, especially in the winter when the parking lot is not usually completely…

Do you even work? Peirce Island double dip

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Just how many times can one dive the same dive site before you get bored?  Lots.   It’s no secret that I’ve been diving Peirce Island practically every other weekend this winter.   Unfortunately with most dive charters getting blown out or not enough people to run, boat diving can be challenging in New England winters.   Since one of my goals this year was so do more macro photography and practice with my camera I’ve been relegated to shore diving and Peirce Island provides endless subjects to photograph and is very…

Frozen dog shit, mud & Peirce Island nudibranchs

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The weather in Boston this weekend rivaled the arctic with air temperatures of -9F (-22C) and with strong winds making it feel closer to almost -20F (-28C!).   Not a great weekend for diving as you might imagine but few of us decided to brave it anyway and go diving on Monday (President’s Day) since it was holiday.  Unfortunately the air temperature on Monday wasn’t that much better than Saturday or Sunday; It was around 14F (-10c) when we entered the water if I remember but I think it finally…