A wetsuit-clad mannequin has stood on the corner of Maple and Battery Streets for decades, marking the spot of Burlington's Waterfront Diving Center. Located at the corner of Battery and Maple since 1991—three years after first opening one block north—the Diving Center is a hub of aquatic activity that for nearly 40 years has been inviting locals and visitors into a deeper relationship with Lake Champlain.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, early August sun lit the bustling shop as customers came in for new diving booties, for hose repairs, and to learn how to manage long hair beneath a scuba cap. Two classes were getting underway, and a crew was preparing to head out to Shelburne’s Tugboat U.S. La Valle wreck, one of 12 wrecks in Vermont's Underwater Historic Preserve.
Amid the ado, owner Jonathan Eddy cleared a space at a thatched roof cabana in the sprawling yet cozy shop’s central room and took stock of the center’s essential role in sustaining a niche community of underwater enthusiasts.
Eddy has been diving in Lake Champlain for 55 years. Originally from Willsboro, NY, on the lake’s western banks, his first dive at age 13 enchanted him for life. “Every diver remembers their first time breathing underwater,” Eddy says. “People get hooked.”
Some of the best-preserved wooden shipwrecks in North America rest at the bottom of Lake Champlain. Operated by the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation and managed by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, the Lake Champlain Underwater Historic Preserve is a network of wrecks preserved for the pleasure and historical interest of divers. In addition to undated Abenaki dugout canoes, the oldest vessels lying in the lake's depths include the six-gun British sloop Boscawen, which was abandoned near Ticonderoga after the French and Indian War.
Eddy says diving is an educational family experience that, perhaps unlike visits to other historic sites, is “actually fun for kids.” He adds that in addition to diving’s historical significance, divers are also using physics and math when making their way through the water safely.
After educating novice divers in introductory trainings, the Diving Center works with a local charter captain to bring divers out and allow them to explore the wrecks on their own, while a dive captain remains on-board. The center runs local charters regularly throughout the warmer months, with single-tank “monotony-busting” midweek dives after work and two-tank dives on weekend mornings.
In addition to the charters, the center offers lessons in everything from basic scuba training to nautical archaeology and underwater photography. There's underwater pumpkin carving contests, New Year's Day dives, and Waterfront Diver Mixers. Each of these experiences helps sustain a strong community of local divers.
"There's now a second generation of divers coming through our programs," Eddy says.
The Diving Center helps further ensure future generations of divers by working with the Boys & Girls Club in Burlington and Camp Ta-Kum-Ta in South Hero, inspiring new passions in a unique, otherworldly pursuit.
Like many outdoor activities in Vermont, recent weather conditions have provided concerning challenges. Heavy storms wash significant runoff into the lake and cloud the water, making trainings more difficult and obscuring the view for divers. According to the Patrick Leahy Lake Champlain Basin Program’s 2024 State of the Lake, “the July 2023 storm delivered roughly half of the annual targeted phosphorus loading amount to Lake Champlain in one week.”
Despite the challenges and ongoing mitigation plans, Eddy says the general overall quality of the lake hasn’t drastically changed.
"We’ve come a long way in how we manage runoff,” he offers. Vermont’s Clean Water Act, passed in 2015, is one of many measures in place. The law instituted new requirements for managing pollutants entering the lake. Other efforts include renewed investments in watershed management practices, wastewater treatment, and outreach programs to help limit phosphorous concentration.
Well beyond the Champlain Valley, the Diving Center leads yearly group trips to the Caribbean and Mexico. Eddy says diving’s popularity has increased in recent years as folks look for more unique and less crowded ways to explore nature, and that the 2024-2025 trips to Bonaire, Cabo San Lucas, and the Cayman Islands he posted recently and are filling quickly.
He also notes that scuba certification is valid worldwide and is a lifetime certification, so divers who begin their experience in Burlington can continue exploring the hidden depths of any place they go — as long as there’s water.
