I recently discovered diving in the Northeastern State of Massachusetts can be a lot of fun. Massachusetts is about a 3 to 4-hour drive from NYC. I joined members from the Scuba Sports Club of Westchester for a weekend dive trip in Gloucester, MA. Gloucester is a small city on Cape Ann in Essex County.

This was my first northeast dive and I was excited about the possibility to dive with Seals. Also, this was my first dive with some of the member from the Scuba Sports Club of Westchester.

In order to dive on the charter, I was required to rent scuba tanks from Scuba New York since our dive boat charter does not provide tanks. Our club chartered the “Down Under.” The captain of the boat is Fran Linnehan and he took us to two dive sites where the seals frequented during the month of September. The dive site was called the Dry Salvages.

As you will see in the video above the Seals were very curious and friendly. The key to scuba diving with Seals is to keep still and let the Seals come to you.

The water was rather cold – 63 degrees. I was only suited with a 7mm wetsuit and a 5/3 hood vest plus 5mm gloves. We did two 30-45 minute dives. The core of my body was fine in a 7mm. However, my hands and feet were getting really cold. Next time, I will dive in a dry suit with property hands and feet insulation.

While we were interacting with the Seals, the sea floor was filled with a lot of active American Lobsters and Jonah Crabs. I was told as New Yorkers, we are not allowed to collect them without a permit. This didn’t bother me because I don’t eat seafood.

I used a Gorpo Hero 6 Black with a Backscatter Green Water filter and Sealife Sea Dragon Video Lights (2500 lumens each). It also helps that visibility was pretty good during our dives. I was told it was a pretty clear day.

I’m looking forward to returning next year. Captain Fran said there were a few dive sites where Nudibranch’s are abundant. I’m looking forward to explore new sites. But this time in a dry suit!