Does anyone go SCUBA diving?
- Thread starter sim667
- Start date
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
PADI
I'm looking at completing open waters at Wraysbury Dive Centre, I want to get it done soon rather than later, but the earliest I can do it is end of January....... it'll be really sodding cold won't it?
Maurice Picarda
Actually, might as well flounce.
Did my open water cert in February at Wraysbury, which was horribly cold. Get a dry suit which is waterproof; mine wasn't.
Then did four dives in Belize in March, which was lovely and full of friendly sharks, also took a rather relaxed attitude to certification limits. Doubt I'll get a chance to practice again for a while - Sharm is apparently out, due to Mrs P not understanding statistics, and I left my well paying job to establish a business which is yet to pay me anything.
Then did four dives in Belize in March, which was lovely and full of friendly sharks, also took a rather relaxed attitude to certification limits. Doubt I'll get a chance to practice again for a while - Sharm is apparently out, due to Mrs P not understanding statistics, and I left my well paying job to establish a business which is yet to pay me anything.
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
As in it was a leaky dry suit, or you were wearing a wetsuit?
Maurice Picarda
Actually, might as well flounce.
Leaky dry suit. It was 4 degrees, so a wetsuit would have been madness. But ones hired by a PADI shop aren't likely to be impermeable.
We cheated a bit on the dive times, got all the requirements done in 10 mins and the examiner put it down as 20 mins. As he said, PADI are all Californians and aren't really thinking about what it's like in a freezing lake with zero visibility.
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
I might check with them I can do it in a dry suit, I think they will say i need to have a dry suit induction, but thats only a tenner.
What were you wearing underneath?
Did you have a head cover and gloves?
Sorry for the questions, I've never worn a dry suit, but I'm very familiar with wetsuits.
Maurice Picarda
Actually, might as well flounce.
Two layers of thermals, a dry-suit inner lining (kind of like a ski suit) and a couple of tshirts. They were all soaked though.
Yes, head cover and gloves - gloves make the various exercises on removing and redonning a BCD underwater pretty challenging, as they are essentially mittens.
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
I know, but its the main one, and well recognised.
I've got sailing quals coming out of my ears with the RYA, they're exactly the same. Infact I want to do my PWC license with them
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
Ugh...... Ill query them about that then..... To be fair if its a similar temperature to what it is currently, I'd be happy in my winter wetsuit...... but if we're breaking ice to go in, it may be a different matter.
Yes they are well recognised, what struck me in NZ is most of my relations dive and none of them have certificates or if they do they are dodgy.My sisters ex boyfriend has got all the gas mix certs yet has never done a basic course.
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
Far too cold in the UK, even in summer. Golden rule, if you need a wetsuit, fuck it off.
Eilat is 5 hours away and awesome.
Eilat is 5 hours away and awesome.
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
I'd rather have a basic level of training, rather than on the blag..... I know experience counts for a lot, but when you're learning is when you're more likely to drown I guess...
I'm going to need to do some prioritising and saving next year I think, I want to finish my PADI OW, do my RYA PWC License, and get RYA competent crew under my belt (and then find someone with a yacht lol).
Yes I agree,it's a bit different out there most of them are hunting and fishing mad so if you want to get some scallops or whatever you just borrow your mates kit jump in a boat and go do it,buddy system well that's for tourists.Obviously drowning is not particularly uncommon.
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
I used to windsurf all year round, I'm not *that* bothered by being wet and cold.
Bahnhof Strasse
Met up with Hannah Courtoy a week next Tuesday
Weirdo.
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
I have been diving for 25 years and used to teach it. Love it
Did my first dive with manta rays a couple of weeks ago. I knew they were big but I didn't realise how fuckin massive they actually are. Not scared of humans at all
My instructor was saying for the open water stuff, its not a bad idea to do it in the UK because of the bad visibility and shitty conditions...... it gives you that little bit of extra prep? Do you agree with that?
I didn't realise how many places there are to dive in the UK....... I could imagine going quite regularly, because I'm a total water baby anyway...... I just need to find a buddy
Supine
Newt Member
UK is a brilliant place to learn and all my best dives have been in UK waters. People think it will be rubbish but if you can get over the cold and wear a dry suit it is fantastic. It certainly makes diving in the tropics easier 
Over half a million ship wrecks in the UK. Including battle ships, submarines, trawlers, ferrys. Amazing stuff
Over half a million ship wrecks in the UK. Including battle ships, submarines, trawlers, ferrys. Amazing stuff
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
UK is a brilliant place to learn and all my best dives have been in UK waters. People think it will be rubbish but if you can get over the cold and wear a dry suit it is fantastic. It certainly makes diving in the tropics easier
Over half a million ship wrecks in the UK. Including battle ships, submarines, trawlers, ferrys. Amazing stuff
My main interest is wreck diving and underwater photography..... I'm not that interested in pretty coloured fish etc, I can see shit like that in an aquarium....
Although i think swimming with whales and dolphins would be something undoubtedly special.
Maurice Picarda
Actually, might as well flounce.
A shoal of vast, iridescent groupers, turning to face you and filling the entire wall of an underwater canyon that looms above. Shit like that you cannot see in an aquarium.
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
felixthecat
are we there yet?
I've logged almost 500 dives predominately in the Caribbean - well, when you live there it would be silly not to. Started off BSAC, converted to PADI, got to DiveMaster. Dived pretty much everywhere in the Caribbean over the time I lived there. I'm a fair weather diver though - not the slightest bit interested in this dry suit cold water low vis malarkey
felixthecat
are we there yet?
I love wrecks. St Pierre bay in Martinique has a whole load of wrecks that went down in 1902 when Mont Pelee erupted in depths from 9m down to 150m and deeper.Maybe I'm under exaggerating it a bit
But wrecks really fascinate me tbh.
My scariest moment ever underwater involved a wreck, rip currents and losing my mask and reg. Fun times...
