Has anyone been diving in the PEI (Canada) area?

[Fyshebait]

Groundhog, I've never been diving in the Great Lakes, but have heard (and seen on video) that some of the wrecks there are spectacular. The few I've managed to dive here in PEI just can't compare. They just seem to get beat up too much too fast. Don't know if you've ever dove in Nova Scotia, but Lunenburg has a great wreck site, the Saguenay, a naval ship that was deliberately sunk as a dive site after being decommissioned. I've been there a couple of times, and it is a fun dive. My recommendation would be to go in the fall, late September or even October. The water isn't much colder than it gets in July, and the visibility seems to be much better.

 

[Groundhog246]

I've heard of it. Too many places to dive, not enough time or money. The salt enviroment eats into wrecks much more quickly than the fresh water of the Great Lakes. Zebra mussels have done much to improve visibility. On the down side, they cover much of the wrecks and hide many of the moe interesting details, as well as weighing down the aging structures. mixed blessing.

 

[nalfein]

You'll get warmer water in the fall than you'd get in July.... but you pay for it with some pretty crappy vis. We always seem to hit the wreck in late summer, but I hear reports of really great vis in the spring. We had 40 F in the middle of August this year on the wreck, but the vis was garbage.... lots of particulate matter about.. August is the time to go if you're wanting to see the seal colony though.

 

[Groundhog246]

We saw some seals moving by offshore when we were diving, but they didn't come in to play.
Not sure when we might be heading East again, but hopefully will have a little more time off and will post ahead for suggestions/guides.

 

[karmajewell]

Hi Kim, say I was wondering if you would be willing to contribute a few pictures of diving in Eastern Canada for Lady Diver Magazine website. I have an article to publish about diving up their but my Lady Diver author of said article has no pictures. I will give you credit for the shots plus any link you would like to include. I am hoping to achieve this by Thursday, getting so bummed no one has responded. Feel free to check out my website at www.ladydivermagazine.com we are non profit, and my email is karmajewell@yahoo.com Cheers and happy diving to ya

 

[TMHeimer]

Was just speaking to someone who was suggesting there is a Strait in PEI that has warm water influence from the Gulf of Mexico. And this strait has warm water year round. I'm attempting to locate a shore diving area to practice skills and would prefer to not drive all the way to Florida. Anyone familiar with this warm water in PEI or maybe North Carolina?
Michael

Gulf of Mexico??? You mean Gulf of St. Lawrence. Actually, I believe the summer water temps. on all sides of PEI are warmed by the warmer, shallower fresh water coming from the St. Lawrence River. The Easternmost Great Lake, Erie, is also the shallowest, which may cause that lake to expel warmer water into the St. Lawrence. I believe the fresh water influence on the Gulf is also the reason Northumberland Strait and parts of the Gulf of St.Lawrence freezes over in late Fall and is coldest in early Spring.

 

[Groundhog246]

He speaks of the Gulf Stream I believe. Unfortunately, he's mis-informed. The Northumberland Strait get much warmer in the summer than the North Shore area of PEI (Cavendish, Rustico), but freezes over in the winter. The influence of the Gulf Stream is why Great Britain has such a temperate climate for it's Northern location. But it gets pushed offshore well South of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, so they don't get the benefit from it.