Moving from WA State to Philly

[AL-Diver]

I joined this site, because Ill be moving from WA state to Philadelphia in a couple weeks. Not sure where exactly I'll be living yet. Almost all of my diving has been cold water diving, and am ready to get back into the rock quarries. I'll be interested to see what diving there in the area other than the rock quarries though. The St. Lawrence Seaway has been on my bucket list for sometime and I'm excited to get to Florida and other east coast destinations a little more frequently. Hope to meet a lot of new and great dive buddies.

ACL

 

[lowviz]

Welcome! (and my deepest sympathies)

One of the most active local divers (who isn't 'boat only') is @Basking Ridge Diver. He kind of heads a loose federation of local divers. Contact him to get squared away. One of the nicest people I've ever met.

 

[arew+4]

Welcome, you've got Dutch Springs a couple hours north west of Philly, then there is the NJ, De, Md coast, with good number of "shallow" wrecks and deeper tech wrecks.
Further south you have the "crap shoot" Carolinas I hear it's nice when the boats actually go out

I'm more of a vacation diver since my buddy/wife has no interest in water below 78deg.

 

[AL-Diver]

Thanks, I'll reach out to BaskingRidgeDiver.

I'm glad to hear there is some diving off the NJ, DE and MD coast. I've always expected that the water there is far too tanic to dive until you are very far off shore. I'll be eager to get out in the summer off the coast. In the past I've heard about NE Wreck Diving but the imagine I worked up in my mind is that it's very far off shore ,and long excursions out that will be something fun to do a couple times a year, but wouldn't completely satisfy the appetite. I'll be eager to see what's out there. I'm sure I'll be at Dutch Springs a lot just to feed the need.

I went to school at Ohio State and when I was there we had a great group of divers that camped together every weekend at the quarry, some of my best friends. It was extremely social and Friday and Saturday nights always involved a camp fire, potluck BBQ style dinners and a lot of good time with friends. It seems to me that the rules at Dutch Spring are pretty tight and it will be interesting to see if the same environment exist.

 

[lowviz]

...//... In the past I've heard about NE Wreck Diving but the imagine I worked up in my mind is that it's very far off shore ,and long excursions out that will be something fun to do a couple times a year, but wouldn't completely satisfy the appetite. I'll be eager to see what's out there. I'm sure I'll be at Dutch Springs a lot just to feed the need. ...

Very far offshore? Nope, not unless you are a SERIOUS artifact hunter or spearo. Start here: Artifacts & Shipwrecks ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving, Then click "Load Sidebar" on the left tab. Then go to "Dive Sites". Get to know the website. It is beyond amazing...

Local diving? Boats are reliable, know the ocean, and leave on time. Almost nobody travels here to dive, poor visibility is the norm, boats are full of friendly regulars. The boats have their own cultures: Spearo, Wrecking, or just enjoying a day on a wreck, with all going for mussels/scallops/lobsters. Real lobsters, the tasty ones with big nasty claws.

You will find Dutch fun and extremely social. Just play by their rules, pretty lax unless it comes to solo diving. Thus, my complete disinterest.

 

[tridacna]

Best warm water diving near you is the Baltimore Aquarium.

 

[arew+4]

Best warm water diving near you is the Baltimore Aquarium.

There is also the Camden aquarium. I think they have a volunteer thing too. Not sure about the temp but the Vis is good.

 

[tridacna]

There is also the Camden aquarium. I think they have a volunteer thing too. Not sure about the temp but the Vis is good.

Difference is that you CAN dive the Baltimore Aquarium. Fun experience. Once is enough.

 

[cfoster]

Difference is that you CAN dive the Baltimore Aquarium. Fun experience. Once is enough.

If you wanted to compare different aquariums, you could do the point defiance zoo's shark dive before you leave.

 

[AL-Diver]

Best warm water diving near you is the Baltimore Aquarium.

Fortunately I’m not too worried about warm water diving. Cold water is fine with me!