Diving into the Unexpected Beauty of New England Waters

What is it like to scuba dive in the hidden wonders right in our backyard?

by Clare Ong

Photo by Clare Ong

Cold, murky, and unforgiving. New England waters would not be most people's first choice for scuba diving. 

Nonetheless, in September, I spent three weeks diving across sites in Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island for a scientific diving course under the Boston University Marine Semester. 

Our dive group would don thick, bulky wetsuits, hoods, vests, gloves, and boots—limiting our dexterity and flexibility. We'd trudge through rocky, sandy shorelines and swim on our backs to deeper waters. 

We'd descend, slowly sinking. Cold water would crawl under my layers of neoprene. We'd hit the sand and silt at the bottom of the seafloor, creating clouds of suspended sediment and fogging up our vision. 

But when we found our buoyancy, the sediment settled, and sunlight pierced through the green-blue water, a new underwater ecosystem revealed itself to me. 

Long blades of sugar kelp swayed with the waves, curling and twisting like lasagna noodles. Tufts of seaweed and algae — red, yellow, green — blanketed the rocks like a dense underwater forest. Crabs and critters littered the sea floor, peeking out of their shells and scurrying away. 

No, the water isn't warm. No, it's not crystal clear. No, you aren't greeted by colorful corals or frenzies of fish when you descend. 

But what diver doesn't love a good challenge?

There's no doubt that diving under more challenging conditions pushes you to be a better diver. But diving here pushes you to be a more mindful diver. 

Unlike in tropical waters, you know there's practically no chance you'll find large marine animals like turtles, rays, or sharks while diving in New England. Instead, your eyes become attuned to finding little creatures and details in the water around you. 

Starfish, lobsters, and sea slugs. Flounders, bass, and snappers. Hermit, blue, and horseshoe crabs. Skates, shrimp, and jellyfish. Eels, urchins, and anemones. Even squid, nudibranchs, and bioluminescence. 

Warm, salty water coming up from the Gulf Stream, in conjunction with the cold, nutrient-rich waters from the Gulf of Maine, creates a complex ecosystem home to thousands of marine species.

Not only that, but this region is home to a niche group of New England divers. Dive clubs organize safe dive excursions and provide a community for passionate divers. You'll find a dive group at every corner of New England, like the Bay State Council of Divers, Boston Sea Rovers, New England Aquarium Dive Club, North Shore Frogmen, MetroWest Dive Club, and more. 

In the Boston area, dive shops like East Coast Divers or Boston Scuba make renting equipment easy. While some sites are boat dives, most sites in New England involve shore entry. 

Though the water is warmest from June to October, people dive in New England all year round, even in the winter. Drysuit diving and proper exposure protection like wetsuits, hoods, gloves, and dive boots make this possible. 

If New England waters are calling you, check out Massachusetts dive sites in Rockport and Gloucester like Old Garden Beach, Loblolly Cove, and Folly Cove. Head to Maine's Nubble Lighthouse, Saco Bay, and Portland Head Lighthouse. And don't miss Fort Wetherill in Jamestown, Rhode Island. 

So gear up, embrace the cold, and immerse yourself in the mesmerizing thrills and chills of New England scuba diving.