CT-Rich
Contributor
More than 25 years ago I first hike Newport RI's famed Cliff Walk. Beautiful building and gorgeous vista for the entire length of the five mile trail. There were two areas that I found particularly intriguing. The first was an area about a half mile from the start of the trail, called 40 steps. I was intrgued by it because it would be relatively easy to get down to the rocks and into the water. The rocks drop way down to the sandy bottom probably 15 fsw or so and well protected when the wind is right.
The second place was close to the very end of cliff walk at a place called Lands End. Ledge Road terminates on a bit of steep, very large gravel beach protected from Atlantic. I ave looked at that spot over and over for years, thinking that it is probably one of the best dive spots in Rhode Island. Looking at the chart, there seems to be many interesting submerged features to explore. Despite its apparently easy access intriguing geography. I was always found some reason not to go in and get wet. This last Tuesday, my daughter Emily and I decided to give this spot a real try.
Despite rain on drive up (I told her “the rain is a lie”). We arrived at in Newport a couple of hours before high tide.
The first problem, and possibly the most prohibitively expensive one, is parking. I think this is the one that kept me from trying this dive for the longest time. As anyone who has ever visited Newport can attest, the more attractive or interesting the spot, the less likely there will be any parking for people lacking a resident sticker. In fact, Ledge Road does have legal parking until 6 PM. There are approximately two spots a hundred yards up from the Cliff Walk. The rules are STRICTLY enforced. During the couple of hours we were at the site, we saw two wreckers haul away illegally parked cars. One of which was only partly outside the legal zone. In fairness to the NPD, the officer I talked and who was supervising the removal was very pleasant and helpful, but was ultimately doing his job.
To solve the parking problem, I had arrived with a strategy: drive around until I found a place that was legal parking. The solution to a bit of open space called the Almy Pond Conservation Area. This small area of land has a stretch of road that is about a quarter of a mile of unpost-legal parking. After off loading Emily and our gear, I drove over and parked the car, its about about a mile from the dive site and hoofed it back to Land's End.
The Dive
Entering the water was not difficult the rocks off the shore broke up the wave coming in from open water, but there was still a swell and the rocks that make up the beach are large, between softball and football sized and very loosely packed, they shift and roll very easily.
Emily had gotten suited up while waiting for me to get back from dropping the car off, so she went out and was enthusiastically reporting the best visibility she had ever seen. When I went in it was good fifteen or so feet. After letting her show me the sights, I started moving out towards the right side of the channel. Since this was a new spot I thought I would start out in the more protected area,
When I was at about 30fsw I came across what at first I assumed to be a lifeguard chair tipped over on the bottom. As I inspected it, I realized that it was made of a very substantial amount of steel. I vaguely recalled that a there was a navigational buoy had been sunk in the area. I wasn't certain that was what it was because only the superstructure was left.
I continued out of the protected area to the South West. The area is pretty rich with life, lots of good sized tautog and cunner. There was also a very nice looking skate and several flounder. When I reach my turn around I did a pop-up from about 30fsw to see if the current had pushed me off course. It hadn't so I set a reverse heading on my compass and started back in. The swim back was just as pleasant as the swim out. The bottom was a mix of rock with patches of sand interspersed. When I was close by the entrance to the rock protected area (you can tell because of the diminished surge, I found a large rusting cauldron about five foot across and two foot deep. I quickly realized this must be the missing remains of buoy I found earlier.
I proceeded on the bottom keeping the rocks on my right side to where I approximated my exit point. I surfaced looking straight across to the beach exit. To my mortification, there were thirty Japanese tourists clicking away at me from the rocky trail... Apparently my progress underwater had become something of an entertainment.
It was about 1:30 in the afternoon by the time I was back on land. A fairly thick fog had developed just off shore. I realized that had I done my pop-up then is stead of earlier, I likely would not have been able to see the shore.
Over all an excellent dive site, with lots of potential for future dives. On my next visit I will try to hit the more exposed Eastern side, which is supposed to have some nice swim-throughs.
That's a great site especially for new divers but as you say parking is a problem. I dive it off season in the winter when nobody is using the walk. Parking enforcement is somewhat relax off season. We used to dive Forty steps also when parking was allowed there. Newport was a lot more "divable" back in the 60's. Even Castle Hill was a shore dive back then. Less dive sites more traffic that's progress!
