Wreck diving in New England

[archaeology22]

I was hoping to get some answers about diving wrecks in New England. I am advanced open water certified along with nitrox, wreck, cavern, search & recovery and underwater archaeology specialties. I started diving in 2005 and so far I have logged 62 dives (20 of those wreck dives). All of the wreck diving I have done was done in South Florida and some of these wrecks were in the 100-120 ft depth range. I always used single tanks while diving these wrecks, as did instructors and very experienced divers that I dove with. I am anxious to get back into diving since I have moved to Boston, but I am a little uncomfortable about diving in unfamiliar conditions - such as cold water, minimal visibility and possibly stronger current. Furthermore, I don't know anyone here who dives, so I am buddyless. I was watching some videos on youtube of divers on the U-853 wreck off of Block Island and noticed that they were all using double tanks and some of them even had an additional full-sized 80 cylinder strapped on the side (I am assuming as a stage or bail-out tank). It appears that the equipment requirements in this area are far different from Florida. Is it possible to dive wrecks in this area using a single 80 and a 30 pony bottle? Can anyone elaborate about any major equipment differences for this area compared to south Florida? Any info will be helpful - thanks. Greg

 

[divebostonforcharity]

I was hoping to get some answers about diving wrecks in New England. I am advanced open water certified along with nitrox, wreck, cavern, search & recovery and underwater archaeology specialties. I started diving in 2005 and so far I have logged 62 dives (20 of those wreck dives). All of the wreck diving I have done was done in South Florida and some of these wrecks were in the 100-120 ft depth range. I always used single tanks while diving these wrecks, as did instructors and very experienced divers that I dove with. I am anxious to get back into diving since I have moved to Boston, but I am a little uncomfortable about diving in unfamiliar conditions - such as cold water, minimal visibility and possibly stronger current. Furthermore, I don't know anyone here who dives, so I am buddyless. I was watching some videos on youtube of divers on the U-853 wreck off of Block Island and noticed that they were all using double tanks and some of them even had an additional full-sized 80 cylinder strapped on the side (I am assuming as a stage or bail-out tank). It appears that the equipment requirements in this area are far different from Florida. Is it possible to dive wrecks in this area using a single 80 and a 30 pony bottle? Can anyone elaborate about any major equipment differences for this area compared to south Florida? Any info will be helpful - thanks. Greg

It is standard practice around here to use either a single and a pony or double. Most DMs will want you to have a total of 130 cf between your two bottles so when I dive I usually use a HP100 and a 30 cf pony. A good way to get started wreck diving is to go on some boat dives with Boston Harbor Diving or Cape Ann divers both of whom run frequent wreck diving trips. You could also join the NEAQ dive club which is a great way to meet fellow divers.

 

[twortley]

There's tons of wrecks out in Boston Dumping grounds and then up along the north shire which have 3-4 dive boats going out every weekend. Cape Ann Divers (www capeanndivers com / scubacharters htm ) has 2 boats, Cape Ann Charters/Fran Marcoux on Daybreaker runs a lot of rec & tech wreck dives. There's the Gauntlett in Salem run by Dave and Heather of Northern Atlantic (www northernatlanticdive com). Fran will do rec dives to Chester Poling (95'), Burnham Ledge/Rock (50-120) and a dozen other locations. See Cape Ann Divers website for a list of the rec boat sites.

Most good sites are Advanced OW. Nitrox is good. Although there are some doing single tanks (usually with Pony), you will see majority of the regulars with doubles on the deeper dives. Chester Poling is the classic wreck/training ground. This time of year is in my opinion best time to get wet. Summer crowds have gone, water still warm. I would suggest a Poling trip as the classic New England wreck dive.

A few of the boats are in the water year round, diving in January is sort-of fun in small doses. 80%+ of regulars dive dry.

If you get hooked and wreck dive regularly, you'll be wanting to be dry and in doubles, though no reason not to dive with single Al80 and a stage/pony. No 3mm wetsuit though! Boat captains very tolerant of gear configs, buddy choice (or not). I find a lot of the regulars on the boats are very experience divers very willing to help a new cold water diver out. Many of them are instructors in their own right.

Deeper wrecks are served by Daybreaker (Fran), Gauntlett (Dave & Heather). The Crane/Barge at 150, then probably a dozen interesting "real" wrecks between 160 & 180, e.g. Coyote, Twin Anchor, Northern Voyager, Baleen, Pug, etc.

Msg me for more info. I have no knowledge of Florida diving as an ex-UK person, but come on in, the water is nice
-Tim

 

[mtmcrae]

archaeology22, welcome to Boston. Like the other posts mentioned, there are plenty of great wrecks up here in the Northeast. I typically dive a single HP119 and a 30 pony. Msg me if you're ever looking for a buddy. There's a small group of us that head up to Gloucester/Rockport at least twice a week. New buddies always welcome

 

[wreckvalle]

Here is some info on New Englands Shipwrecks

The New England Shipwreck Expo Directory Capt. Dan Berg's Guide to Shipwrecks information


Safe Diving
Capt. Dan