Location is probably one of the most influential aspects of diving. Just like skiing or surfing it’s all about access to locations within season.  With time we set out to discover destinations and encounters both rare and remote. For those lucky enough to have local diving opportunities, those that can be covered in a day trip, the time between the rare and remote can produce amazing surprises and new understanding of our backyard.

By the peak of summer it became clear that my next trip was few months away. An early August trip to swim with hundreds of whale sharks in Mexico (phenomena recently discovered in the Mexican Riviera, Lookup Afuera) had to be canceled and with most late summer trips already booked the prospects were not good. That’s when talking to a colleague who lives on the Long Island shore I learned about several dive and spear fishing sites in the Hamptons.

Old Shinnecock Bridge used to span across the inlet before it was decommissioned and replaced by the newer and larger bridge. Suspended on several support columns, each made out of 3 pillars. The columns are positioned denser near land and further apart as they grow taller leaving a high and wide arch at the deepest part of the inlet for sail boat passage.  It’s easy to imagine these new surfaces supporting underwater life from new clam beds to hiding places for small fish and crabs in no time. What is left of the old bridge, less than 120 meters running parallel to the new bridge, is now a popular local site for scuba divers and spear fishers.

With the slack tied moving fast visibility drops rapidly

It was my first dive in NY area and so up north in the Atlantic and I had no point of reference for the predicted currents and limited visibility.

The inlet is subject to very strong tied currents that are further amplified by the narrow passages between the submerged columns and by passing traffic. By the advice of local expert and my dive buddy for this trip, Mark we had a short window of opportunity; 30-35 min of slack tied at 11:15 AM. Judging by the turn out at the water’s edge by 11:00, as everyone was waiting for the current to subside, and the orderly exit of all divers before noon, respecting the currents is an important local wisdom.

Water temperature was a surprising 77F and visibility ranged from 3-7 meters depending on slack and grace of other divers near the bottom. The water has a distinctive Green cast to it and proper warming filters are highly advised. Backscatter is a big problem as the bottom is stirred by currents and occasional boat passing by. Being in the shadow of the bridge does not help either. The choice of natural light photography dictates high ISO values and long exposure times which in my case resulted in many out of focus images.

We entered the water west of the old bridge with intentions to swim east to the new bridge’s columns and back but changed the plans very soon after entry. Old bridge’s pillars and the huge boulders supporting them were carpeted with densely packed clam beds. As everything else; divers, fish, crabs and vegetation violently swayed back and forth in the currents the clams remained still covering everything as far as the eye can see. Here is a link to a Gallery – Local diving and Hampton’s Shinnecock Bridge

The site is also popular with fisherman on land and spear fishers. I could hear the thud of the guns going off throughout the dive. Even Mark my Buddy took aim several times while I was trying to secure myself with a line to shoot the bridge columns and the light passing through them but we both surfaced empty handed.

Resident Crab at the base of old bridge

True, local diving in NY is far from rivaling any shore dive I’ve been on before. But even with its relatively limited visibility and bio-diversity and despite the very restricting bottom time I gained a new perspective for my back yard knowing how its waters look under the surface and how much life they host.