Northern CT Charters?

Is anyone aware of scuba charters out of northern Connecticut? I'd like to book two spots for a charter this next Saturday (20 Spetember 2008) for a wreck dive.

Appreciate any help or insights.

Okay, I'll bite, why do you want dive charter in northern CT since that would be the inland part of the state?

Actually I probably should have said Connecticut based charters for Long Island Sound. We've never dove on any of the wrecks there and are interested in something different.

I've looked at Atlantis Dive Center out of New London but they are scheduled for the Bass which is in Block Island Sound and too deep using EAN for our preferences/comfort. I have emailed Orbit Marine Sports Center, Inc. in Bridgeport and am awaiting a reply.

I'm figuring there might be others who are perhaps not accessible via Google?

Okay, I'll bite, most of the best wrecks are in RI (BI Sound). There are few in the CT and NY (LI Sound inner).

We went out Saturday morning with Captain Noel of Orbit Marine Sports Center in Bridgeport. Noel has been diving the New England waters for over 45 years and has had his dive shop for over 30. He is quite a character and was an enjoyable host. We went out to a wreck that he found a few years ago just outside of Captain Coves marina. This site is just off of the Penfield Lighthouse in Fairfield. This unnamed wreck, which he is calling "The Cable Wreck" has also been assumed to be the Mary Alice although Noel has not found true identification. It is only 20-25' and the visibility is 5' or so but the dive was quite interesting. The wreck is long, old (probably late 1800's) and well buried in the sand. We found some boilers and a cast iron heat exchanger and there is alot of coal chunks about. The wooden flooring planks can be found with a light brushing of the sand and Atlantic kelp. We saw a number of fish including tautog and flounder as well as a huge horseshoe crab and some skates. The dive was a nice change of pace. After we returned to shore we went over to Noel's shop and he showed us many of the treasures he has found at various wrecks around New England including the U-853. It was nice to see an old time dive shop doing well and staying active.

In the afternoon during our return trip we stopped over at Brownstone Park in Portland. We didn't arrive until 3 pm and for the first time in my visits, we had the quarry to ourselves! We enjoyed a nice leisurely and long dive as the bass were out and about with numerous little hatchlings covering about in the grassy areas. It is apparent that the owners are putting alot of effort into improvements and the viz was better than I ever remember as it was around 15-20'!

We ended our CT adventures with a stop at a nice seafood restaurant in Mystic. It was an enjoyable day with wonderful weather and interesting diving.

Hello. I am a new diver and live in southern Ct. I was interested in going to the Brownstone quarry but heard the visibility was terrible. After reading your message, sounds like you had a good time with plenty of viz. I think I will try it. I went to Dutch Springs Sunday for the 2nd time and really enjoyed it. This time swam the back cove and saw the building/mill structure and underwater stairs...
Thanks
J

The western Sound has what could be the highest concentration of wrecks in the US. This is because of the ship dumping grounds between Stampford, CT and Eatons Neck, NY.

Depths can run from zero to 190' just north of Eatons Neck. In the 2001 to 2006 surveys of the shipping channel and approaches to the major Harbors NOAA found over 130 unknown wrecks. In one survey run they found 5 wrecks and might have found more but they put the sonar towfish into the 5th.

But, vis will run from 15 to 20 in late February to zero in August and there are places that you can only dive at slack tide.

Put together the low vis, current, depth, and entanglements from mono and lobsterpot lines can make the dives very chalenging.

Right now we are diving:

Lightship LV-51 depth 190'
A110' Sub Chaser/Rum Runner at 110'
The Steamboat Washington in 60'
What may be the Steamboat Lexington in 145 (real challenge due to vis and entanglements)
A small intact tug in 150 near the Lex
A costal freighter in 110 near Middleground


Pete

jjmdiver:

Hello. I am a new diver and live in southern Ct. I was interested in going to the Brownstone quarry but heard the visibility was terrible. After reading your message, sounds like you had a good time with plenty of viz. I think I will try it. I went to Dutch Springs Sunday for the 2nd time and really enjoyed it. This time swam the back cove and saw the building/mill structure and underwater stairs...
Thanks
J

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It's definitely not Dutch, but Brownstone is an excellent training facility with quite a bit to see, and vis can be excellent depending on where you go and what time of year it is. I've had 2-3' in the shallows with 10' deeper, then I've seen 15-20 in the shallows and 40-50+' below the thermocline. Unfortunately, reality is that because the park has been quickly growing and becoming so popular there are a lot of new divers in the water and many tend to "crawl" on the bottom kicking things up, so general vis during peak summer can be poor. Absolutely no offense to you or anyone else, we all start somewhere. DUI is holding their annual DOG days this weekend at Brownstone. Definitely a good time to check it out, and try on a new drysuit. You can pre-register at the park website: www.brownstonepark.com Let me know if you are ever looking for a buddy to head to the park. Would be glad to show you around a little.

thanks for info. I am thinking of going to Brownstone next weekend and heard they rent equipment. As I am in the equipment evaluation mode, I am hoping they have various types of equipment to try on. I have been renting from NE Dive in Wallingford but have never asked for different equipment to check out. (Being new I did not know this was an option)

jjmdiver:

thanks for info. I am thinking of going to Brownstone next weekend and heard they rent equipment. As I am in the equipment evaluation mode, I am hoping they have various types of equipment to try on. I have been renting from NE Dive in Wallingford but have never asked for different equipment to check out. (Being new I did not know this was an option)

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Brownstone does rent some equipment, but if you really want to try new gear out by renting, I'd check out Scuba Shack (www.scubashackct.com) in Rocky Hill. Ed Hayes and his brothers' are the owners of Brownstone and have a full line up of more tech focused gear (back plate/wing) along with excellent recreational training. This will be very different from NE dive and give another point of view.