Why should warm water divers consider the UK?

[Jean R]

Last time I did the caves I entered from the tunnel-down bank and cross under the bridge. Puts you right at waters edge! That slope can be a killer!

 

[Hickdive]

...-I have no idea why people are not flocking here.

Quite possibly because on Loch Long and Loch Fyne, Argyll & Bute Council and the locals combine to make divers feel about as welcome as a bacon butty at a bar-mitzvah.

 

[FionaH]

Quite possibly because on Loch Long and Loch Fyne, Argyll & Bute Council and the locals combine to make divers feel about as welcome as a bacon butty at a bar-mitzvah.

other than at the tea-rooms ( which was always a rubbish dive anyway) I've never had a problem, as long as you treat the locals as you'd like to be treated yourself there's never an issue. However for the last 20 years I've lived in tourist areas, have had my driveway blocked by a camper van in the morning (city folk don't seem to realise us 'yokels' actually work for a living), come home to 30 twitchers in the garden etc, yes I can be grumpy, and will object

 

[Hickdive]

other than at the tea-rooms ( which was always a rubbish dive anyway) I've never had a problem, as long as you treat the locals as you'd like to be treated yourself there's never an issue. However for the last 20 years I've lived in tourist areas, have had my driveway blocked by a camper van in the morning (city folk don't seem to realise us 'yokels' actually work for a living), come home to 30 twitchers in the garden etc, yes I can be grumpy, and will object

I'm always very considerate of the locals however it seems to make no difference in their behaviour.

There's one elderly chap at St Catherine's who regularly accosts visiting divers with a bag of what he asserts is divers' faeces*. There's another bloke at Furnace who blocks the car park entrance with his car on a Sunday morning and then moves it away again in the evening just to stop divers parking and who can forget the Kenmore Point locked gate debacle?

At Strachur residents have taken to blocking the launch beach access with rocks and I know of one group who had their tow vehicle and boat trailer deliberately blocked in with locals' cars there.

I had one chap in bemoaning the fact that he'd gone for an evening dive, parked in a shore side lay-by, and gone to say hello politely to the land side resident who was pottering in his garden. He got such a tirade of foul-mouthed abuse in return that he very nearly produced his Police warrant card, even though off-duty, and arrested the guy for BoP. As it was he just moved off down to another site.

The Tea Rooms is perfectly usable without any problem provided you liaise with the owner with regards to parking. It's nice if you can also spend some money in the cafe too and don't take the piss by filling the car park so that customers can't park, soak his toilets by getting changed in them and then spend not a penny on food or drink.

No doubt there are divers who behave badly but they're a tiny minority. Unfortunately divers at sites with any residents nearby are increasingly subject to harassment.

*presumably he can tell it is because it fizzes in water.

 

[FionaH]

Strange, never had a problem - we occasionally used to use the tea-rooms for training, largely because of the availability of the tea-rooms themselves, always in winter anyway - just don't bother going there now ( I never rated the diving there) and neither do at least 5 or 6 other clubs - if we need additional instructors for training we tend to go to Ballachulish where the diving is better and the Clachaig is nearby.
Locally there is often someone appears at the slip to make sure we're ok, often offers of mackerel and crab etc and the other local fishing boats will always acknowledge us, as we'll often motor over to pass the time with them - I also sea-kayak and it's the same there - we're always welcomed, even had a mug of tea passed down to my kayak one day - not just one harbour, but Skerray all the way round to Dunbeath

 

[Centrals]

The remain(x7) of the Kaiser's High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow.
Interestingly, it is cheaper to fly to Kirkwall from HK than Truk as long as you book the flight well in advance!!!
Diving in 8C of water is.........

 

[Tigerman]

...
Diving in 8C of water is.........

... a good spring dive

 

[desert diver paul]

Why should warm water divers consider UK diving?

What is there to see? Crap vis, wrecks at 40 metres and deeper?
What 'cute' fishes are there?

Why go to the expense of getting kit in cold water?

PS this is a deliberately provocative question and equally provocative replies are welcome!

Apologies for the thread resurrection but...

These are the exact questions I find myself asking at the moment! I have discovered diving while living and working in Saudi, the Red Sea on my doorstep, but I have less than a year left here before I return to Blighty. I will have 2 years diving under my belt, and probably around the 150 dive mark in the log book, but they are ALL in the Red Sea, my coldest water temperature was 24 degrees, we complain when the water is below 26!

However, diving is now a true addiction, I will not stop, I am just going to have to bite the bullet, buy a drysuit (and some thermals) and get on with it! Gildenburgh is only 10 minutes drive from my house, so I have no excuses really, unfortunately the cost is a little further, but I am keen to see the UK from the underwater point of view!

 

[dbulmer]

Once you start doing UK stuff, you'll appreciate warm water even more
UK diving is primarily wreck diving and there are plenty of people who love that. I still prefer fish, mind you, but the one great thing I like about UK diving is the changeable conditions. Your first few dives here will be challenging - it's a head thing (yep mentral in all senses of the word ) but over time you relax and start to enjoy being in the water. You end up loving the small stuff you see and you often enjoy the company of divers as much as the dives themselves.
It's not for everyone but rewarding if you give it a chance.

 

[desert diver paul]

Once you start doing UK stuff, you'll appreciate warm water even more
UK diving is primarily wreck diving and there are plenty of people who love that. I still prefer fish, mind you, but the one great thing I like about UK diving is the changeable conditions. Your first few dives here will be challenging - it's a head thing (yep mentral in all senses of the word ) but over time you relax and start to enjoy being in the water. You end up loving the small stuff you see and you often enjoy the company of divers as much as the dives themselves.
It's not for everyone but rewarding if you give it a chance.

I have no choice but to give it a chance, like I say, diving is my addiction! I'm certainly going to make the most of my warm water while I've got it over the next 11 months! I will miss playing with Nemo on every dive too lol