Fort Wetherill

It is New England, it is gratis (Free) and it is very good. The water is clean the area beautiful and the residents around are very friendly. A good shore dive if you can get out to the Caribbean I tell you this, it beats Dutch Springs.

Overall, I thought that it was cool to see the rock reef with all of the fish (big and small) and plenty of seaweed.

OK nobody has said anything for a couple of years so just my 2 cents. It's a very nice dive site for a beginner. My 12 year old needed to dive some more and this was a perfect spot. You can brush up on skills and get ready for going somewhere fancy. Just walk down a little cement boat ramp and you are in. No showers, just porta potties but what do you expect for free! There is some current out by the channel but if you stay on the right side inlet it's calm. I got tangled up in some guy's fishing line on the left hand inlet which was annoying -- he had out 5 lines (!). Didn't have to cut free but thought about it! Vis was OK, I'm still learning what is good up here in New England. . . Lots of fish and crabs -- fun dive even for me!

I took all my certifications here, it's a nice dive but can get busy. I've dove here in the spring, summer and fall and saw plenty of marine life all 3 seasons. Tons of flounder and skate. The right cove is easier to access and has no surface chop or current. The wall of the left has plenty of crabs, small fish and starfish, the middle is a sandy bottom where tons of flounder are. The right side of the cove is a lot like the left with a rocky bottom and a wall teaming with life. visibility is great unless there's a class (which will kick up the bottom) or after a storm visibility drops to zero. Water's nice and it's an easy place to get to, always a fun dive.

This site is perfect for all beginners and even fun for those that just like to see lots of wildlife… I have dove here many times with a class, and for my own recreation fun. I recommend doing Wetheral as a night dive, because this is when the bottom of this cove really comes alive, although I have dove here during the day and saw plenty of flounder (catching one once with my hand). Beware, only about 100m offshore it starts to get deep, and cold. Vis really depends on recent local weather more than anything else. It is also easy to kick up mud and blind yourself, this is because days after a storm vis can still be only 3-4 feet which keeps you close to the bottom. On the contrary I have dove here with 10-15ft some days. Have fun

This site was way too busy for good diving.

I went in September, and the water was reasonably warm. I just snorkeled, and was in for a long time with a wet suit. I tried for a little while without one and didn't freeze to death or anything. There are some pretty nice fish here (as well as some comb jellies, starfish and other invertebrates), and some tropical ones ride up in the current as eggs and hatch in the fall, so you can find some really interesting things sometimes.

I like Fort Wetherill better than Beavertail mainly for the ease of entry & exit. Doesn't get any easier than this, especially in New England. The boat ramp is the obvious choice for entry, but there are 2 entry points, each on opposite sides of a peninsula. You can do a point to point dive and navigate around the peninsula - even beginners can do this easily. There is an island off the tip of the peninsula and if you have advanced skills, you can navigate around the outside of the island and back around to the other side of the peninsula. But watch out: it gets to 80 feet deep on the left side of the island (if you're standing on shore facing it) so watch your air! If you've used up more than 500 lbs by the time you reach the island, take the inner route back to the peninsula rather than navigating the outside route. Also there is very little light at 80 ft so a flashlight is mandatory. And occasionally there is a ripping current outside the island. If I run into a current there, I feel more comfortable just heading back the way I came rather than risking it. Anyway, lots of flounder, skate, sunfish and stonefish. Also lots cool looking long-leg crabs. Not sure what they're called. This is a fun dive with something for everyone. The down side is EVERYONE is there. Lots of divers and classes so viz can be sketchy.

Fort Wetherill actually has two coves that are close together and both diveable. The right and left cove. The right cove is an easy entry down the boat ramp, busy on weekends so watch the boat traffic. Once in the water follow the wall out and back. Viz ranges from 0-15 feet and is easily silted on both sides. Animal life is abundant on both coves but better on the left cove, a short walk down to the beach through a small but easily walked goat path. This is a really pretty place and great for the non-divers and kids as well. Lots of free parking and porta-johns, too. Short walk from parking to the water. Lots of lobster, flounder, crabs and the usual NE critters. This dive isn't heaven, but it does the trick. 62 degrees at 25 fsw in July. Good for macro unless a frequent class is in session.