Staying Home Sucks, home
Coal Conveyors at Salem Harbor Station
Derby Powderhouse Wharf. Photo: Fletcher6, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Derby Powderhouse Wharf

Dive site · United States

Advanced divers and up

Is it worth the trip?

63Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

3 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 64 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
20°C

Tue 3 · 64 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
3 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
21°C

Wed 4 · 63 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
22°C

Thu 5 · 64 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
6 kn
Gusts
12kn
Air
21°C

Fri 6 · 63 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
20°C

Sat 7 · 62 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
14kn
Air
15°C

Sun 8 · 62 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
7 kn
Gusts
20kn
Air
13°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 165, good
  2. Mon 264, good
  3. Tue 364, good
  4. Wed 463, good
  5. Thu 564, good
  6. Fri 663, good
  7. Sat 762, good
  8. Sun 862, good
  9. Mon 964, good
  10. Tue 1064, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 14 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Advancedand up
  • Water 11 °C7 mm semi-dry or a drysuit
  • Faces Eswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Derby Powderhouse Wharf
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov65, good0.1 mflat4 kn7kn12°C
Mon 2Nov64, good0.1 mflat5 kn13kn20°C
Tue 3Nov64, good0.1 mflat3 kn9kn21°C
Wed 4Nov63, good0.1 mflat7 kn13kn22°C
Thu 5Nov64, good0.1 mflat6 kn12kn21°C
Fri 6Nov63, good0.2 mflat7 kn13kn20°C
Sat 7Nov62, good0.3 m7 kn14kn15°C
Sun 8Nov62, good0.2 mflat7 kn20kn13°C
Mon 9Nov64, good0.1 mflat2 kn9kn10°C
Tue 10Nov64, good0.1 mflat3 kn8kn13°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovHigh 03:39 +1.2 mLow 09:36 −1.2 mHigh 15:55 +1.6 mLow 22:22 −1.5 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 04:44 +1.2 mLow 10:43 −1.2 mHigh 17:03 +1.5 mLow 23:26 −1.5 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 05:48 +1.3 mLow 11:51 −1.3 mHigh 18:11 +1.4 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov7of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.

Map

the site, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of Derby Powderhouse Wharf

Salem Harbor Station Under Construction
Near Derby Powderhouse Wharf. Photo: Fletcher, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Salem Harbor Station Demolition
Near Derby Powderhouse Wharf. Photo: Fletcher, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Juniper Cove, Salem MA
Near Derby Powderhouse Wharf. Photo: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

More diving near here

2 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Derby Powderhouse Wharf

A reef dive. It goes down to 14 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces E: swell from the E reaches it, and wind from the W blows out to sea. 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 6.4 km away. The sea is about 5°C in February, its coldest month (drysuit), and 19°C in July, its warmest (7 mm wetsuit and hood). The town to stay in is Salem. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot and 2 dive sites.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 14 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres 1 dive centre or shop within 10 km, the nearest 6.4 km away.

Water about 11°C: 7 mm semi-dry or a drysuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility under 5 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb and Mar (under 5 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$858–US$1,570 each

about US$858–US$1,570 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to BOS, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$167–US$355
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$47–US$80
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$301–US$502
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Totalabout US$858–US$1,570

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Salem

Closest

Salem

4 min by car · 24 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 24 places to stay in Salem · Booking.com

About Salem its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$114 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 4h 55m

About 4h 55m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → BOS, direct, then 40 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week: visibility under 5 m, clearer than usual (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.

The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.