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Sean wrote:

>I'll be driving to upstate New York to visit a friend and was 
>wondering if there are any good places to dive.  Anyone from up >around
Utica?  My girlfriend tells me the lakes are clear and deep,
>but I was wondering if anyone recomended any lake in particular.  
>Thanks for the info.

Sean,

There are several lakes in upstate NY that are pretty good diving.  However,
the BEST place to dive in upstate NY as far as wrecks are concerned, is the
St Lawrence river around the Alexandria Bay area.  There are tons of wrecks
in the area, most of them are boat access only, but there are a few you can
dive from shore.  The depths range from 10' to 240'.  The current depends on
where you are, it can be nothing to pretty nasty.  Three weeks ago I had 100
- 150' vis right in Alex Bay at 60', two weeks ago I had about 100' of vis
out in the channel at 150' (the current was pretty strong, so a few things
were being moved around).  The temp right now is around 38 degrees.  I will
know more about the conditions tomorrow as I am going up there to do some
diving (I live in Binghamton 2.5 hrs south of Alex Bay).  The types of wrecks
range from old wooden schooners to huge steel freighters.  

Other areas you may want to consider are Seneca Lake, Cayuga Lake, or Oneida
Lake.  I have only been in Seneca and Cayuga.  Last weekend I was in Seneca
with some friends and the vis was about 40 - 50', which isn't bad for that
lake.  There are some fair wrecks in Seneca and Cayuga.  The last time I was
in Cayuga was in February, it was clear but pretty cold (33).  Some friends
of mine were there last weekend and said that the temp was about 37 and the
vis was about 40 - 50 feet.  However, from Utica you will be the closest to
the east end of Oneida Lake. I have never dove there, but I will check with
some of my dive buddies.  I do have a rough map of points of interest in
Oneida.  It is pretty shallow, max depth is 55 and average is 22.  Seneca, on
the other hand, gets deep really quick (up to 800 and some odd feet).  

If I had my choice, I would go to the St Lawrence.  The wrecks are great, the
vis is much nicer than the lakes, and it is not too far from Utica.  I try to
get up there every weekend, so let me know when you will be up here and if
you are interested in going up there maybe we can arrange something.  I will
be in Fl at the NSS-CDS workshop on the 24 - 27 of May, but other than that I
should be able to go just about anytime.  If I can't go, then I will try to
hook you up with someone or atleast some good spots to dive.  

Take care and Safe diving

Mike
Tennantm@ao*.co* 

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