SCUBA Divers at Rockport MA Beaches
- Thread starter mmerriman
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Drip Dry
Registered
Thank you Mike for representing the Cape Ann scuba diving community, members new and existing, in the local press. Until now I believe the local press has been largely one sided in its reporting of the public beach access issue, it was nice to see the Gloucester Times to provide some coverage from the scuba divers point of view. Was anything you said taken out of context, or any salient points you mentioned omitted in the article?
This has been an ongoing issue. I just make sure to leave the site and ocean cleaner than I found it.
OP
No - I don't think anything was taken out of context or misrepresented. I don't think I actually said "witch hunt" but that was the sentiment. The reporter did his homework and got info from the DPW and Police. He tried to get info from the chief complainant who didn't reply. The only thing missed was at the end - he asked what I was hoping the town would do. I replied 1) clarify the rules - what constitutes commercial activity, what constitutes a group, and what is the rationale for granting or withholding a permit? 2) make it known that the town understands and is in compliance with state law regarding beach access for divers, and 3) apply the permit process universally and consistently - not selectively to divers.
Unfortunately, I think that this may be a case where a few bad apples ruin it for the majority. I have been diving Rockport beaches (and teaching classes there) for several years, and I have some sympathy with the residents as I have witnessed some (often unintentional) behavior that I would consider annoying if I lived in one of the homes on the beach front at Back Beach. This can be anything from divers arriving at 6:00 or 7:00 am and shouting back and forth while getting dressed to divers blasting air from cylinders to dry dust caps or test regulators. I believe that there is room for all to co-exist and we, the diving community, must also be diligent to maintain and promote respect for the community we dive in as well as the ocean that we dive in.
OP
as do we all - but we still all hear the complaints: the divers are raiding lobster traps, they are urinating in the bushes, they are hoarding the parking spaces, they are not residents or shoppers, they show up in groups of 50, they are loud, they are "undressing" in public.
AfterDark
Contributor
My experience diving in Rockport goes back to the 1980's. It as always been IMO the one of best but most unfriendly spots to dive on the East coast.
IMO it's the lobster men mostly, they don't like or trust us and use their considerable clout in the town to make it very hard to dive in Rockport. They bad mouth us every chance they get often embellishing the truth. I don't see it ever changing. But keep trying!
IMO it's the lobster men mostly, they don't like or trust us and use their considerable clout in the town to make it very hard to dive in Rockport. They bad mouth us every chance they get often embellishing the truth. I don't see it ever changing. But keep trying!
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