![]() We’ve since have done several dives together and I even had the opportunity dive with Matt on the other side of the island off his boat this past July. Matt had an amazing experience and said diving was better than he remembered. We went out August of 2021 and for Matt, the dives we did that day were the highlight of his summer. I’ll never forget the look of excitement in Matt’s eyes when I offered to take him out for a refresher, kit him up with set of gear. A couple years ago, while talking to Matt after one of my dives Matt shared he was diver and that he hadn’t dove since he completed his open water dives at Nubble when he was a student at UNH 25 years ago. Putting the mooring ball out in the spring and removing it in the fall has since become an annual ritual and Matt and I have since formed a special bond. I offered to help Matt with the mooring ball which he really appreciated. Several years later, I introduced myself to Matt Rosenburg, the new Lighthouse Keeper who replaced the previous one that had retired. The real highlight though was getting to go up to the lighthouse for the panoramic view. There were wood paneled walls, 70’s shag carpet, GSA issued office desks and bookshelves full of USCG manuals. It was still the same as when Town of York became Guardian of Nubble in 1997. It was special as I got to experience the inside of the house. ![]() ![]() To thank us, the Lighthouse Keeper offered to row us out on his dinghy to the island for a tour of the lighthouse. In the Spring of 2008, as my buddies and I were suiting up, the Lighthouse Keeper at that time asked if we would be willing to do him a favor and secure his mooring ball to the mooring in the cove. Nothing like surfacing to a beautiful starry sky lit by a full moon. Night dives at Nubble are also special with some of the largest schools of squid and occasional bioluminescence. This past October, two of my regular dive buddies encountered a humpback whale. Some bait balls of Pollack, Menhaden (“Pogies”) were so big right above me, the water would darken. On multiple occasions I came across the largest schools of bait fish. I encountered my first sightings of Torpedo Rays, Seals, Sturgeon and last December, came across a Blue Fin Tuna right off the northern point of the island. I’ve personally have had some of my all-time best encounters with marine life diving off Nubble. After Pierce Island in Portsmouth, it’s the 2nd site I’ve dove the most in New England with close to 200 dives. Whenever I’m looking to get out for a dive, I usually check conditions there first given it’s one of my favorites. Nubble Lighthouse in Cape Neddick, Maine, holds a special place in my heart as Nubble was the first dive site I dove when I first moved to New England. (We’re on our 3rd “neutrally buoyant” tree). David Coyle of Aquatic Specialties donated the current tree. We also switched to a much bigger winch that significantly simplified the process of submerging the tree. David Hubelbank, an RPI Electrical Engineer, upgraded the LED Lights with a proper LED lighting system which was a more reliable system than in past years. The original LED lighting Gary had fashioned also needed to be upgraded. The base eventually needed to be replaced, and Erika Parsons stepped up and used her pipefitter skills to build a new stainless-steel base. As you can imagine, over time it would rust and corrode due to the salt water, and this was amplified by being stored outside. The original base that Gary had made was crafted of steel rebar. ![]() Members from the former Finatics Dive Club, and NH dive shops Aquatic Escapes of Londonderry and Aquatic Specialties in Merrimack all helped to keep the tradition going. With the passing of Gary Thullier, who was integral in coordinating the tree dive, others were only too glad to pitch in to help. During night dives, divers will often be entertained by groupings of bobbing squid along the grooves of the sand.īut while divers explore Folly for so many reasons, most aren’t aware there is a resident Northern Red Anemone on the left side of the cove that has been in the same location for over 30 years. Divers will often also spend time on the bottom sand as there are moon snails, flounder, northern pipefish, northern puffers, burrowing anemones and for the lucky diver there is a torpedo ray sighting. Certain times of the year divers will see nudibranchs that aren’t commonly seen in Cape Ann during peak dive season. There are frilled anemones, green urchins, longhorn sculpin, rock gunnel and colorful sea stars. On the left side of a shore dive, divers explore pink granite formations loaded with life and sea critters. There is a shore dive along the left side of the cove, a shore dive along the right side of the cove and boat dive locations that begin towards the mouth of the cove. Day or night, Folly Cove rarely disappoints. Folly Cove in Gloucester, Massachusetts is one of every local scuba diver’s go-to dive sites on Cape Ann. ![]()
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