Carl Mottern's Dive Log

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6-13-2009. I had a pre arranged dive set up with an acquaintance from a previous trip. Our party of three locals and I met in the lower parking lot on Saturday morning at 8:00 sharp. The sea was like glass, as was Nubble Light cove. The 75+ Degs air temp contrasted with the 50+F water temp in the region. Low humidity and no fog allowed a great view of Boon Island Light as well. Getting in the water proved to be the first challenge. Due to the low tide at that hour we had to carry most of our gear to a spot close enough to enter the water. There is a lot of hard clinging plastic like moss that is very slippery, making the gear trek dicey. Once geared up I had to find a spot that allowed a jump entry without banging my tank on the underlying rocks on the way down. That done we began our decent. The visibility was 30+ feet, and may have been hindered as most of the cove was still in some shadow caused by the island and lighthouse. But there was plenty to see. A large school of Pollacks, torpedo rays, crabs, lobsters, and a huge bright yellow Skate. The calm sea allowed easy navigation to the base of the island. We then made a left turn and proceeded in a NW direction. At low tide we bottomed out at 48' Max, as recorded by my computer. I got low on air so we finished with 45 minutes of dive time and snorkeled back to the parking lot area to try a water exit. This proved to be more difficult than it looked. We ended up tossing fins up on the rocks and crawling across the aforementioned clinging moss. Knee pads are a must here, or you risk the chance of tearing up your suit. Then the hike up the rocks with gear left me feeling like an old pack mule. Gotta get in better shape! Would I do it again? ABSOLUTLY! GREAT DIVE! Does the low tide cause problems? Yes, but nothing that cant be handled. Get there early! As we were packing up to leave, the parking lot was now full, and a charter dive showed up with 25+ divers. Would have made the cove a bit crowded.