urbanrob
Registered
If you're a new diver, I'd recommend that you stay away from Eaton's Neck Oyster Barge until you have some dives under your belt. It's real easy to kick up the bottom and lose visibility of your buddy. I've had black out situations where a 50W halogen light couldn't be seen with a few feet of a buddy. My fault entirely for kicking up the bottom of course. You don't realize that when you swim for the barge, everything behind you is now kicked up, even when you're 5 feet off the bottom. Plus, it's also a relatively long swim and a lot of work to the barge and back to the shore. And, since it's a favorite for boaters, you need to be aware of the traffic even though you're dragging a dive flag. Not exactly an "easy" dive. Not a big deal but you just need to be aware of these factors before you decide to attempt it.
On the pro side, this is great site for practicing skills, like navigation (since it's kind of difficult to find the barge) and bouyancy (since touching the bottom creates low vis). Another pro is that this is a great fall back site for those eager to get wet despite the poor weather conditions. It could be ripping on the shore but since this is protected in a cove, it's usually great here. The tide swings some 7+ feet but here it doesn't matter much since the barge is in some 30 ft of water. The vis will vary from clear to murky and there have been times where I would not go in due to poor vis.
For those still interested in going, I'd recommend going after the beach closes and usually early in the morning. And, on your way to the beach, YOU MUST OBSERVE YOUR SPEED. There are police officers that watch that stetch like a hawk and will pull you over for the slightest infraction.
BTW, I love this site.
On the pro side, this is great site for practicing skills, like navigation (since it's kind of difficult to find the barge) and bouyancy (since touching the bottom creates low vis). Another pro is that this is a great fall back site for those eager to get wet despite the poor weather conditions. It could be ripping on the shore but since this is protected in a cove, it's usually great here. The tide swings some 7+ feet but here it doesn't matter much since the barge is in some 30 ft of water. The vis will vary from clear to murky and there have been times where I would not go in due to poor vis.
For those still interested in going, I'd recommend going after the beach closes and usually early in the morning. And, on your way to the beach, YOU MUST OBSERVE YOUR SPEED. There are police officers that watch that stetch like a hawk and will pull you over for the slightest infraction.
BTW, I love this site.