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Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island offer dozens of superb diving sites, ranging from beginner to the extremely difficult. During the summer months, which last from May through October, marine life is abundant and the visibility good. Although much of the marine life moves to warmer climates during the colder winter months, on a clear day visibility can reach 60 feet in some areas, offering crystal-clear views. Dive shops and chartered boat companies can be found near the more popular diving areas. Be aware that you must be properly certified to legally dive. The larger dive shops can assist you in receiving your certification.
Scuba Diving around Boston, Massachusetts
Located just 30 miles north of Boston, Cape Ann is one of the region's most popular diving locations. In addition to its wide variety of sea life, Cape Ann has a number of shipwrecks and reefs to explore. Equipment can be rented in the larger towns on the Cape.
During the summer, pollock, striped bass, and dogfish swim about the coves, while flounder, skate, sculpin, sea ravens, ocean pout, and lobster hide among the rocks and seaweed. Harbor seals put in their appearance during the winter.
Here are a few popular shore sites on Cape Ann, all of which are reachable by car:
- Cathedral Rocks - With its dramatic drop off with boulders, Cathedral Rocks is the deepest shore dive on Cape Ann.
- Back Beach - This site is popular with novice divers, and also with baby flounder, who swim around here in the summer.
- Pebble Beach - A pretty rock reef, with an abundance of flounder and skate in the sand and good lobstering on the reef, Pebble Beach is also a popular spot for night dives.
One of the best diving spots on Cape Cod Bay is the Sandwich Town Beach, located in East Sandwich. With relatively mild surf and tides that provide nearly perfect conditions for exploring, the site has numerous flounder and lobster hiding amongst the seaweed covering the hard bottom. There are also about a dozen wrecked ships to explore in Cape Cod Bay.
At the Vineyard, a fun dive is the Big Bridge. With depths of 15-20 feet, you can expect to see lots of lobsters and crabs. At nearby Sengekontacket there are schools of striped bass, as well as flounder and tautog. There are even more wrecks to explore, like the Mars tugboat, whose rudder and propeller are still in place.
Scuba Diving in Rhode Island
Rhode Island's waters are often a little warmer than the waters off Massachusetts. Jamestown, Rhode Island, on Conanicut Island in Narragansett Bay, offers several good diving spots. The best of these is around the Dumplings, rock outcroppings along the East Passage: You can see anemone-covered rocks, lobster, crab, and tautog. The current can be strong when the tide runs out bay. There is another advanced diving spot near the Beavertail Lighthouse, also on the island, but beware that the waters can often get rough. Nearby, Fort Wetherill has two coves that are separated by a bit of land. Often, there are training classes in the right cove. The left side of the left cove offers one of the spot's best dives. Where the wall drops off to about 70 feet it is covered with anemones, and plenty of tautog can be spotted.
The U-853, a German submarine that was the last U-boat sunk during World War II, can be sited off Block Island, 12 miles south of Rhode Island's coast.
King's Beach at Newport, Rhode Island is a great spot to either brush up on your diving skills or learn the sport fresh. There are plenty of lobsters, skates, eels, flounder, bass, and tautog for divers to watch.
Scuba Diving Spots in Boston, Cape Cod, Newport, Connecticut, Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island
Scuba-Diving
Sandy Neck Beach - Barnstable, Massachusetts
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