Diving the Connecticut River

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North Shore Frogmen

North Shore Frogmen

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Salem MA
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I'm a Fish!
Exploring one of America’s Heritage Rivers – The Connecticut



The 410 mile-long Connecticut River is New England’s longest river. Its headwaters are at the Canadian border and it empties into Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook Connecticut. Known to Native Americans as “Quenticut- the long tidal river”, it is one of America’s earliest developed rivers with European settlements stretching back over 350 years. Dammed and dumped in over the past 150 years, it was called at one time as the Nation’s “best landscaped sewer”. However, since 1972’s passing of the Federal Clean Water Act, it is now swimmable, fishable and in some areas drinkable. "Diving in the Connecticut River" is excellent and in this presentation, Annette Spaulding and Patrick Madden hope to give you insight into the biodiversity, history and excitement of this historic river.

Please join us Thursday, October 16th at 8 pm @ The Beverly Golf and Tennis Club 134 McKay st in Beverly. Social hour starts at 7pm, there is a nice pub/restaraunt on site.
 
North Shore Frogmen:
Exploring one of America’s Heritage Rivers – The Connecticut



The 410 mile-long Connecticut River is New England’s longest river. Its headwaters are at the Canadian border and it empties into Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook Connecticut. Known to Native Americans as “Quenticut- the long tidal river”, it is one of America’s earliest developed rivers with European settlements stretching back over 350 years. Dammed and dumped in over the past 150 years, it was called at one time as the Nation’s “best landscaped sewer”. However, since 1972’s passing of the Federal Clean Water Act, it is now swimmable, fishable and in some areas drinkable. "Diving in the Connecticut River" is excellent and in this presentation, Annette Spaulding and Patrick Madden hope to give you insight into the biodiversity, history and excitement of this historic river.

Please join us Thursday, October 16th at 8 pm @ The Beverly Golf and Tennis Club 134 McKay st in Beverly. Social hour starts at 7pm, there is a nice pub/restaraunt on site.
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i cant make this date. But just tonight we were looking for a way to dive Conn. We will be in westport at the end of Nov. if you have any more info i would love to read it. thanks wendy
 
There is really no place in CT to have a good dive in the CT River. Its too silty and the vis is 0-5ft max year round. Currents can be treacherous as we have lost lots of people from drownings (more than I like to read/hear about).

The diving reffered to is usually up in MA above the Turners fall dam. We dove the King Philips Abyss in Gill,MA and the railroad bridge (washed out by the flood of 1936) 3 miles up from Gill, Ma two weeks ago; and they are great dives.

You also have to go when the water flow is down and that depends on floods and electricity demand coming from the hydro-electric dam.

I would myself like more ideas as were to dive in the river. I'm in Middletown, CT right near it.

For diving in CT try Stonington Point or Eastern Point State Beach in Groton I believe.
 
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ScubaSarus:
There is really no place in CT to have a good dive in the CT River. Its too silty and the vis is 0-5ft max year round. Currents can be treacherous as we have lost lots of people from drownings (more than I like to read/hear about).

The diving reffered to is usually up in MA above the Turners fall dam. We dove the King Philips Abyss in Gill,MA and the railroad bridge (washed out by the flood of 1936) 3 miles up from Gill, Ma two weeks ago; and they are great dives.

You also have to go when the water flow is down and that depends on floods and electricity demand coming from the hydro-electric dam.

I would myself like more ideas as were to dive in the river. I'm in Middletown, CT right near it.
Click to expand...

I don't know of any Connecticut River dive sites in the state of Connecticut and you probably already know about the Hinsdale/Brattleboro bridge another ten miles north, but I thought I'd mention it.

That area has the ruins of the steel bridge torn away by flooding ice in that same time period. Pretty interesting.

How was the King Philips Abyss? What's it like to dive?

I wish I could get to the Frogmen's presentation tonight, but I can't..... :depressed:

Dave C
 
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The Abyss is a neat dive. You drop to the edge of the Abyss at 30' and its hard rocky ledge and bottom. You drop not down a shear cliff in complete darkness, but the cliff has ledges and we grabbed one at 80' and recorded some video. Ther is no thermal incline and hardly no current providing the river flows are down.

As you ascend from the darkness on a sunny day, its as if somone automatically turns the lights on for you as you get this ever increasing brightening tanic-acid color. At one point on the ascent, the sun shines thru like a tiffany lamp.

Here is a picture of what it was like at the bottom.
 

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ScubaSarus:
The Abyss is a neat dive. You drop to the edge of the Abyss at 30' and its hard rocky ledge and bottom. You drop not down a shear cliff in complete darkness, but the cliff has ledges and we grabbed one at 80' and recorded some video. Ther is no thermal incline and hardly no current providing the river flows are down.

As you ascend from the darkness on a sunny day, its as if somone automatically turns the lights on for you as you get this ever increasing brightening tanic-acid color. At one point on the ascent, the sun shines thru like a tiffany lamp.

Here is a picture of what it was like at the bottom.
Click to expand...

Well done! :rofl3: Yes, I did click that thumbnail to see the fine detail....

Just goes to show that if one really knows what they're doing, composition and camera settings can capture even the most difficult shots!

Was the bottom of the hole rocky also? Anything laying around?

Dave C
 
Yes. The bottom was rocky (no muck at all). There are unique fresh water sponges growing flat on the rocks down there and an occasional large American Eel. We alway stay near the anchor line as its pitch black and lights really should be HID down there.
 
Just saw this post... We dive the CT River in the Springfield, Ma area for River Clean-ups every year...Pretty good vis, found some neat things other than trash. The Nicest area is farther up near Deerfield.
 
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