I was just 16 when I first started shore diving Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Back then, lobsters were the prime attraction — nearly three decades later, I’m still exploring Cape Ann’s waters, the only difference is I usually have a camera in hand instead. Packed for a several-day adventure, I have my drysuit, two steel 100s and my camera (and my lobster stick too, just in case) locked and loaded for a weekend of cold-water adventure.

In the Northeast, you’d be hard-pressed to find a ­destination with as many great dive sites and excellent ­conditions as Cape Ann.

A granite landmass that juts into the Atlantic at a northeasterly angle, most of Cape Ann is ­separated from the mainland by a saltwater estuary called the Annisquam River, which makes it more of an island than a cape. With dive sites on three sides as well as inside the immense, outer Gloucester Harbor (pronounced Glawstah Harbah in a Boston accent), divers can always find calm conditions for a shore dive. Today, however, I’ve opted to leave the sandy beaches and granite shores behind and venture outside the harbor on the charter boat Cape Ann Diver II.

Seals and Lighthouses

Capt. Steve Smith has been running Cape Ann Divers’ boat for as long as I can remember. Today he takes us out to a pair of small rocky islands called the Dry Salvages, where a year-round colony of harbor and gray seals frolics in the shallows. As we enter the emerald-green water, a big male buzzes by, letting us know who’s boss. Then the fun really begins, as younger seals investigate the bubble-blowing aliens in their backyard with games of hide-and-seek and “what is this thing made of?” — otherwise known as gentle fin-biting.

Next we hop over to nearby Thacher Island, home of iconic twin lighthouses, for a little bug hunt. Amid the boulder-strewn field between 10 and 50 feet, there’s no shortage of tasty North American lobsters. Even though I opt to carry my camera rather than my lobster stick this dive, it’s still great fun ­helping others seek them out.

Wrecks and Pinnacles

For easy access to the dive boats, we stayed at the Cape Ann Marina Resort, where early the next morning we load our gear on Daybreaker and head out. Matt and Marissa Marcoux run Daybreaker; despite their young ages, they are among the most ­knowledgeable Northeast ­divers you’ll find.

I pick their brains about ­rebreathers and dive sites for 10 ­minutes before we arrive at our first stop, the popular wreck Chester Poling, half of an oil tanker that went down in a blizzard 40 years ago. Its stern section sits upright in the sand at about 95 feet and is buzzing with life. Cod, hake, ­pollock and cunner make up the ­majority of fish here; on closer inspection, I find several varieties of nudibranchs and colorful anemones covering the structure. We luck out with clear skies and 40-foot viz — the combination makes it feel sunny and bright despite the depth.

After our exploration of the wreck, we embark on an hourlong boat ride to Halfway Rock, one of the area’s best dive sites, and aptly named, since it sits halfway between Boston and Gloucester.

The rock sticks out of the water about 30 feet and plummets to depths as great as 105 feet — clinging to its near-vertical faces are just about every kind of invertebrate you can find in New England waters. I manage to find one of New England’s most ­colorful ­invertebrates, the scarlet psolus — a sea cucumber variation — with bright red arms continuously feeding its ­hungry mouth. In the shallows at the end of the dive, I ride the surge as I wait out my safety stop with schools of curious striped bass surfing ­alongside me.

Rocky Shores and Cold Beer

Later that afternoon we head out by car to explore Folly Cove in Rockport. It’s a relatively easy shore dive, especially at high tide. On this afternoon, the cove offers us almost complete protection from the waves. As a result, conditions are flat calm. We ease our way in and follow a granite wall on the left as it heads out to deeper water. Where the granite cliff face meets the sand, a concentration of life gathers. Striped bass follow as we seek macro critters like pipehorses, nudibranchs and small fish. We find all of the above, some in the sand and others nestled in the granite crevasses. Of course we also find more lobsters, but this time I leave them be.

As we dry off after the dive, we head over to the Lobster Pool for dinner. It’s a postcard-perfect New England ­lobster shack that sits right on the ­water at Folly Cove. They supply the fried clams, steamed lobsters, picnic tables and view on the water’s edge, and we supply the cold beer. (Rockport is a dry town; most restaurants have a BYOB policy.) From here we watch the sun set over the water — something of an oddity on the East Coast, but from our position on the northwestern- facing shore, it makes perfect sense.

One Last Hunt

The next day we head to Cathedral Rocks for more shore ­diving. This site offers a steep drop-off ­covered with anemones.

On a perfect day you can giant stride in from some of the larger rocks, but on this day we decide the surge is a little too strong to exit with a camera, so we head instead to a site southeast of Cathedral Rocks called Old Garden Beach, one of my favorite shore dives in all of Cape Ann. You can get as deep as 50 feet here, but I prefer to stay in the shallows where it’s sunny and there’s lots of life. We find flounder, moon snails and rock crab in the sandy areas, and lobsters, lumpfish and striped bass in the rocky ones.

Toward the end of the dive, I spot a signature set of “white molars” ­sticking out from beneath a ­kelp-covered rock. The molars are the white, rounded nubs on the crusher claw of a big ­lobster. I pause and signal my buddy. As I hand him my camera for ­safekeeping, I produce my trusty stick from my side. He nods in approval as I go after this lobster. After several days of just looking at them, my appetite for the delicacy wins, and I catch a pair of lobsters for dinner that night. What better way to end a three-day dive odyssey at Cape Ann than a freshly caught lobster dinner?

When To Go

Most of the ­diving at Cape Ann is done from June through November, when the water and air temperatures are the best and the weather cooperates. Diving is possible year-round; however, cold water, air temperatures, wind and weather usually make diving the winter months hit or miss.

Dive Conditions

Around Cape Ann, the average visibility in summer is between 10 and 30 feet, and the water temperature at the ­surface gets as warm as 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The deeper you go, the colder it gets. Even in summer, bottom temperatures below 50 feet can hover around 50 degrees. Depending on depth, consider diving dry even in summer. If you just plan to poke around at 50 feet or shallower, a 7 mm suit (either full or two-piece) will suffice. Hood and gloves are a must. Three-finger mitts will keep your hands warmer if they tend to get cold.

Dive Operators

Cape Ann Divers (capeanndivers.com) has a pair of charter boats and a shop where you can get your tanks filled. Its shop is centrally located in Cape Ann, and the boats leave from Cape Ann Marina, as does Cape Ann Charters’ boat the Daybreaker (divedaybreaker.com). Undersea Divers of Beverly is only a 20-minute drive south if you need additional gear, etc. (underseadivers.com)

Permits

You must have a permit to collect lobsters in Massachusetts, so check local regulations first (goo.gl/vBtl5R), and be sure to adhere to the minimum and maximum gauge sizes, among other regulations.

Day 1

Load up with all the carbs you can eat during breakfast at Lee’s. Their homemade grilled banana bread and eggs will give you the energy you’ll need for a day of cold-water diving. Cape Ann Divers is located not far from there. You can check in at the shop, then head out on their boat for a two-tank dive. After lunch, near the commercial-fishing piers of downtown Gloucester, check out the Maritime Gloucester museum. Then head to Back Beach in Rockport for a leisurely evening shore dive to see squid and more. There’s a plethora of cool little bed-and-breakfast places right on the ocean along Cape Ann’s shores such as the Emerson Inn or the Bass Rocks Ocean Inn; if you want to be close to the dive boats, stay at the Cape Ann Marina Resort.

Day 2

Sign up in advance for a trip with Cape Ann Charters. Across the street from the marina, have lunch at the Causeway Restaurant — the fish chowder is a must-try — and stock up your cooler at the liquor store next door, then head down the road to Folly Cove for afternoon shore dives. After your dives, you can have dinner right there at the Lobster Pool, a quintessential New ­England lobster shack. It’s BYOB, so your stocked cooler will come in handy.

Day 3

For your last day, weather permitting, dive Cathedral Rocks, Rockport. If the conditions aren’t cooperating, you can dive Old Garden Beach. Then visit the artists colony at Bearskin Neck in Rockport, where you’ll also find eats and treats. Before you head out, take a stroll along Gloucester’s historic boardwalk, where you’ll find the Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial statue. There you can take a selfie with the iconic bronze fisherman to commemorate your trip.