Moving from SoCal to Maryland, what is the diving like?

[jrmiah]

Hi welcome to the area, check out our website.. we have lots of info about the diving off Ocean City, MD. OC Dive Boat SCUBA Charters

 

[tarponchik]

Atlantic Edge is the local chain that organizes various trips. I did 2 dives on Kathleen Riggins (off Ocean City) last year with their help, but you can also call any boat you like directly.

The temperature at the bottom was 58 F on that 4th of July weekend. I do not own a 5 or 8 mm suit, so I put two 3 mm's, one on top of the other. I had a 3 mm hood but no mittens. There were plenty of sea- nettle type jellyfish at the bottom, and I got stung couple of times, but the pain didn't last long. Also, a lot of black bass and sea robbins. Some pictures are here Kathleen Riggins '2010 - a set on Flickr

The worst part of living in MD is traffic.

 

[jrmiah]

Nice photos!

 

[Rich Keller]

Any suggestions for beach dive or kayak dive sites in the area?

 

[bikediver]

I don't think beach in MD dives are worth the effort - low viz, lots of turbulence and nothing but sand. There are some near shore wrecks off Delaware but due to poor viz. you need a GPS and depth finder to loacte them. Better to dive them from a boat. I have done some shallow shore dives in the Chesapeake Bay, the Patuxent River and various creeks. Interesting if you're studing local marine life or looking at historic remnants of ships or structures, but not for casual diving.

 

[Rich Keller]

I don't think beach in MD dives are worth the effort - low viz, lots of turbulence and nothing but sand. There are some near shore wrecks off Delaware but due to poor viz. you need a GPS and depth finder to loacte them. Better to dive them from a boat. I have done some shallow shore dives in the Chesapeake Bay, the Patuxent River and various creeks. Interesting if you're studing local marine life or looking at historic remnants of ships or structures, but not for casual diving.

I spent years doing bridge reconstruction in the Chesapeake, Choptank and Potomac rivers and due to the conditions I am not interested in going back. The pic I use as an avatar is of me working on the Rt 301 bridge from southern Maryland to Virginia. I do have a GPS and a dive kayak though so I could use any information you have on the near shore wrecks off Delaware.

 

[waterpirate]

I would say that the two places that stick out in my mind are the breakwater ocean side in Lewes, and the Fenwick shoals inner and outer. I would never yak them (to lazy) but people do. I can give you numbers if you pm, and I can prolly dig some numbers up on stuff we call 1 in 100. That means we stop there for a look 100 times and 1 time out of 100 it is magic.
Eric

 

[vshearer]

The Delmarva coast has seen thousands of wrecks in the last 400 years. I guess 98% of them are scoured away leaving only stone and some metal artifacts under the sand, at least for the ones within 10 miles of the coast. 300 years ago the shore was up to a 1/4 mile further out than now. This map kinda gives an idea of how rich an area it is.

Shipwrecks of DelMarVa Map, Laminated - National Geographic Store

I am reading this right now.

Amazon.com: Shipwrecks, Sea Raiders, and Maritime Disasters along the Delmarva Coast, 1632--2004 (9780801886706): Donald G. Shomette: Books