Perhaps the most frequented dive site in southern New England is Fort Wetherill, Rhode Island. Located on the southeast shore of Conanicut Island (Jamestown), this former military outpost, which stood guard over the east passage of Narragansett Bay and Newport Harbor, was named in memory of Captain Alexander M. Wetherill, who met his fate in Cuba during the Spanish American War of 1898.

Today, Fort Wetherill is a state park where visitors, standing upon once-proud bunkers overlooking rocky cliffs, can explore the ruins of a bygone era. Beneath the sheltered waters, divers can explore breathtaking walls and crags, and swim with marine visitors carried hundreds of miles north by the Gulf Stream. Only a 3.5-hour drive from New York City and a 90-minute ride from Boston, it's a location coveted by dive centers throughout southern New England, New York and New Jersey for open-water certification dives.

DIVING FORT WETHERILL

Some of the best diving at Fort Wetherill is along the shoreline, which forms a peninsula separating two coves. West Cove (named after David West) lies to the east of the peninsula, and Sandy Beach Cove is to the west. These sheltered coves each provide relatively easy access to calm waters with a gently sloping bottom. Although the ocean bottom in the middle of the coves is barren sand and mud, the steep walls of the shoreline offer a diversity of marine life.

The coves are devoid of currents, and although visibility depends on weather conditions and algae blooms, it is usually in the 20-30-foot/6-9-meter range. Water temperatures in mid-summer run up to 70 degrees F/20 degrees C. In the late spring and early fall, water temperatures are usually around 50 degrees F/10 degrees C. In the heat of the summer, a quarter-inch wet suit is more than adequate for shallow dives, but in the spring and fall, or for deeper dives, you'll want a full quarter-inch suit, or a dry suit, with hood and booties.

Entering Sandy Beach Cove from the boat ramp in the parking lot, you'll enter a shallow area with a gravel and eel grass-covered bottom which is home to pipefish and the occasional small lobster. This shallow and well-protected cove is probably the most popular for initial open-water certification dives. Heading south along the eastern shore, the water depth gradually increases as the rocky shore gives way to a vertical wall with deep cracks and fissures, and massive boulders adorned with kelp and brown anemones. As the depth increases to 60-80 feet/18-24 meters, you'll find soft corals and beds of mussels upon which starfish feast, leaving piles of empty shells. Rounding the southern point, the Irish Moss and kelp-covered wall continues northward into West Cove. Gracing the waters of Fort Wetherill are blackfish (tautog), cunner and the famous Maine lobsters. In the fall, warm-water gyres spin off the Gulf Stream, bringing schools of juvenile tropical fish.

Fort Wetherill is an excellent location for basic and advanced certification dives, offering ideal conditions for both compass and natural navigation, as well as night diving. The intrinsic beauty of this rugged shoreline, combined with relatively calm waters, makes it a perfect launching site for beginner and intermediate kayak diving.

AMENITIES

There are public phones and restrooms in the service building in the park's upper parking lot. Additional public phones and restrooms are about a mile north at the community center in Jamestown. Port-o-Lets are in the lower parking lot adjacent to the two coves. The only dive center on the island is Ocean State Scuba (800-933-DIVE) at 79 N. Main Road in Jamestown. Equipment rental, training and air fills are available there. Due to the number of divers who visit Fort Wetherill and other popular dive sites on the island, the local authorities are well-trained and equipped to handle diving accidents, and have a formal plan for dealing with diving emergencies. The phone number for local EMS is 911. They, in coordination with Divers Alert Network (919-684-8111), can help arrange hyperbaric treatment.

DIVERSIONS

Fort Wetherill offers a number of diversions for the nondiver. Roads and trails throughout the park provide panoramic views of Newport, Narragansett Bay and the Newport Bridge from the cliffs overlooking the east passage. The park offers numerous picnic tables and grassy shaded areas for family outings. Kayaks can be rented in town for a better look at the convoluted rocky shoreline and the many winged and finned inhabitants.

For the history buff, there's lots to see as well. While the original fort is reported to have been built during the Revolutionary War or before, the fortifications seen today were originally constructed in 1905-06, with further expansion and development during World Wars I and II. You can still see the footings where 3-inch and 12-inch gun emplacements guarded the passage, and there is evidence of an anti-submarine net which stretched across to Newport.

GETTING THERE

To get to Fort Wetherill from Route 1 or I-95, take Route 138 East. Cross over the Jamestown Bridge and continue on Route 138 to the east side of the island. Take the Jamestown exit and proceed south along the coast through the town of Jamestown. About 1 mile/1.6 km south of town, bear left at the fork where the sign says "Fort Wetherill." The park is about a quarter-mile/400 meters away on the right.