Description:
 

A 95-acre park with four natural habitats (woodlands, heath barren, salt water and pond); walking trails, the Dingle Tower with bronze lions at the foot, a sandy beach (unsupervised swimming), a wharf and a boat launch. The park was donated to Halifax in 1908 by Sir Sandford Fleming, creator of Standard Time. 

Dingle Cove consists of a sandy beach with stone steps leading down, and a small wharf on the east side of the cove. You can see marine life and may in the right conditions occasionally conduct ice dives here. It is a good site for Novice divers and does not exceed 60’ depth.

 

 

Entry/Exit:

This site has an easy entrance/exit with a short walk to the beach from the public parking lot.

 

Bottom Composition and Depth:

The bottom composition starts as sandy beach. Upon entering the water a diver will be on a small sandy beach, swimming over a section of gravel, and finally at 15 to 60 feet of depth heavy silt. The cove is fairly shallow and reaches a depth of 20 feet. The bottom then drops off to 35 feet to a depth of 55 feet in the middle of the North West Arm and rises back up on the opposite shore with another public boat launch/beach at the end of South Street.  There are golf balls, tires and old bottles littering the bottom.
 

The North West Arm is about 300 metres wide at Dingle Cove, narrowing to 190 metres in front of the Dingle Tower. The dock (44.630850, -63.597857) is at about 10 feet of depth but is removed from October to May.
 

White Mooring Buoy 40’depth (N44.63125 W63.59814) 140 metres @ 10° from stone steps

Red Mooring Buoy 40’ depth (N44.63159 W63.59891) 170 metres @ 340° from stone steps

Red/White Mooring Buoy 20’ depth (N44.63077 W63.59842) 80 metres @ 0° from stone steps

Red/White Mooring Buoy 20’ depth (N44.63102 W63.599) 120 metres @ 320° from stone steps

 

Visibility:

Visibility can be limited by weather, wave action and run off. 10 to 20 feet is normal for this site. Diving at slack high tide can improve visibility. A dive light can be of assistance and the bottom is easily stirred up further reducing visibility.

 

Facilities:

 Parking,

🚻 Bathrooms, located in build adjacent to parking

Playground,

Picnic Areas,

Public Wharf & Boat Launch (44.628885, -63.595348)

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Points of interest:

There was a wreck which was removed as a marine hazard. Marine life includes Common Sea Star; Anemone, Atlantic Rock Crab;  lobsters, and old bottles can be found here.

 

Hazards and Safety:

🔺 There will occasionally be boat at anchor in the cove and sailing in an out of the Northwest Arm.

🔺 This dive site is best during the off season and bacteria level should be considered during the summer months.

🔺 This dive site leads into the North West Arm. There is boat traffic. Sound travels faster underwater and boats will always sound closer. There is also a lot of residential development on the opposite shore and it’s only reasonable to expect some of these homeowners will have their own watercraft. A dive flag is recommended whenever you dive.

🔺 When conducting Dive Against Debris, handle broken glass with care.

🔺 If ice diving, always ensure the ice thickness is sufficient and remember it is salt water.

🔺 When ice diving, be aware of ice shifting position while you are under it.

🔺 Tides can vary the water height by as much as 6 feet. Tidal charts can be obtained on the web.

 

Emergency Assistance Numbers - 911

●      Halifax Regional Police \RCMP: 911

●      Search and Rescue: 911

●      DAN (divers alert network):(919) 684-8111 or (919) 684-4326

●      QE II Recompression Chamber:(902) 473-7998

●      Fire Station 6 - Spryfield, 245 Herring Cove Road, Halifax

 

QE II Hospital emergency number is 473-2043. The hyperbaric recompression chamber is 473-7998. The Chamber is located at the QE II Hospital and is manned Monday to Friday 7:00 am to 11:00 am. In an emergency phone 473-2043 and ask to speak to the oncall hyperbaric physician.

    

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