Daniel J. Halligan's Dive Log

Although my score may read low, do not take that as a bad thing. This is an advanced dive. Surge ranges from annoying to life-threatening. More on that later. My dive buddies and I like this sight because it is easy to get to the entry point. You may see that I rated it not so easy. I did this because, you do have to go rock-jumping down to the entry point and it's not an easy task. If you are in better than average shape it will be no problem and you will be awarded with a short walk, or jump, LOL! If you have trouble carrying a full load of gear on an easy surface, you are going to be in trouble here. The rocks can be a killer on the way in due to surge. I've been here five times and I have to tell you, conditions vary wildly. Basically, this dive lets you go deep with a minimal effort and you can see some really cool things here. We have seen a baby shark, wonderful schools of fish and some interesting bottom life. I hear brittle stars are here as well as nudibranches. My dive partner gave me a very cool ten-ridged whelk shell which I have cleaned and displayed in my house. I like this site. It is usually secluded but you may meet some divers here. A lot of them are nice folks but the GROUPS of more than two have been very rude. You'll see what I mean when you go here. The entry point is perfect to set up two tanks. The last two groups of people we saw were resting with their gear sprawled everywhere. We had difficulty getting to the staging site. They just sat oblivious, in the way. The thing is, there is plenty of room here to rest without getting in anyone's way. Like I said, you will all see what I mean when you go there. We met a lot of good people but here is a conversation from the time I dove when one of the 'Groups' was there. Diver in Water: "Dan! Are you coming in yet!" Dan: " I just have to get my gear on!" (as a guy sipping Gatorade is between me and my gear which is VERY obvious that he is in my way for no reason.) Diver in Water after two minutes: "What the hell are you doing!!! Lets go!!!" Dan: " I know, this guy won't move, what do you want me to do, hip check him?" Idiot moves off and I get underwater. The morale of the story is to help all fellow divers. We give fellow divers a hand and make things easier. Most divers do. Lets make sure we all do. That's my review. I love the Rocks!

This was actually my first dive after getting certified. I went on this one with the reviewer above, Mr. Jurcszak. We had an awesome time. I will begin with saying that the entry point is a nightmare. You CAN get a rock shelf that will help you like we did but it's tough. Since Halibut Point is a beautiful park, Jake got friends of his to come by and hang out on the beach. This was very helpful. My gear was wrong and I had to swim in to be fitted properly. You DON'T want this to happen to you. You should have a perfect load-out when you do this dive. It's almost like a space capsule. You find a rock crevice with waves crashing in, you assemble your gear, and then wait for a wave and push out into the Atlantic. Of course, being my first REAL dive, I was messed up with my gear. I returned to my rock nook. Thank God Jake's friends were there to help me out because I didn't have the strength to climb out with the wetsuit and change it personally. He is right, you need shore folks here. It's a fun park though so it shouldn't be a problem. As for underwater, Jake has nailed it. Weird stone slabs are everywhere. Stripers were all around us and I was awed. It was the last run of the Stripers and what a place to see it in! Being in the last point of Cape Ann, it seems like you're at the end of the world. Very cool. The lobster he is talking about is called in our circles "The Great Lobster". It scared the hell out of me! Imagine, being scared by a lobster? LOL! I will cut it short, but Jake caught it barehanded and brought it to the surface. Many adventures followed, but I remember watching it fall in twenty feet of water when he let it go. We New England Divers know how Lobsters act but this one just dropped down like a meteorite. I think it was to heavy to swim backwards. It looked like something out of Alien, LOL! Watch for our new dive log on Halibut Point. I am going there very soon. Beginners should not attempt this one. It was my first dive but it was not easy. It was the worst dive I have had and also the best dive I have had. Luckily, I like mistakes and errors as they help you learn and train. So this was a win-win dive for me. It might not be that for a more casual diver. My two cents.

This is one of the premier dives of New England. I dove the right side of the cove which is shallow compared to the wall on the left side. Depth was around 30-40' easy. This cove is not shallow if you go far out. You can easily get to 70' on the wall (My dive partners went earlier and were at 50' inside the cove at the wall.), which is located on the left side of the mouth of the cove, the deep side anyway. If you want to see Anemones, this is the place to do it. I plan on going to Folly Cove many times in the future, it's a great dive. Back Beach is nice, but it is not even CLOSE to Folly Cove. There is no way that Back Beach should be rated higher than this dive site. Parking is non-existent, so drop your stuff off and park at Halibut Point Sate Park. I will post a review for Halibut point as well.