boring and stupid questions about diving in the UK

[UFOrb]

@UFOrbno worries , i am looking into BCs so i was curious, its good to hear peoples issues to get an idea of potential problems i may get.

spot on, its getting that itch to go and not being able to or having to wait months to go away that makes me want to take it up in the UK but the waters don't seem ideal. i have't even swam in the channel since i was a kid let alone dive.

i passed in 2010 but didn't dive again for 4 years (my buddy got run over by a car after crashing his motorbike and had to have his leg rebuilt) and didn't have the bug but then we went away twice in 3 months in 2015 the first one we did as a holiday with 2 days of diving and the second was full on dive holiday, diving everyday. been hooked since and all my holidays are dive holidays.

let me know how you get on in Asia, i have been looking at going somewhere that way next year but haven't decided on a set destination yet, Malaysia and Thailand are a couple i am considering.

have you been to the Canaries before? i have been to Costa Teguise in Lanzarote for the last 2 years (December 2015 and November 2016) there's a great dive center there and i saw a fair few rays and angel sharks in November. December i didn't see as much so October will be even better. i am looking at Tenerife this November as a bit of a change up

@Gareth J thanks for the tip, i looked into the one you mentioned when you posted originally, its on my way home from work so i am going to check them out and have a chat on their social night (next Wednesday) see how i get on with them and if they are the right fit for me

We've dived in Thailand a few times (my wife's Thai) and learned in Malaysia. I'm curious about the canaries so I'll PM you when I get a chance later to swop info if you like? Can give you the lowdown on what I've learned about travel BCs too.

I just looked up the Sussex BSAC club website...I may check them out too. A dive or two round Brighton pier could be a good starter as I can pretty much see it from the top of my road

 

[Antmany2k]

We've dived in Thailand a few times (my wife's Thai) and learned in Malaysia. I'm curious about the canaries so I'll PM you when I get a chance later to swop info if you like? Can give you the lowdown on what I've learned about travel BCs too.

sounds good, would be good to get some advice on bcs and locations and other stuff and i am happy to tell you what i know of the Canaries or anywhere else if i can

i am looking at either the group in shoreham (i work in portslade) so its on my way home or the worthing one as the pool they practice in is down the road from me and the social club they drink in is a 2 minute walk from my flat but they dive out of littlehampton which is a mission whereas brighton and Shoreaham are closer. guess it doesn't hurt to try them all and see which works for me. and the the Pier would be really interesting to dive i think

 

[Gareth J]

Another good overseas country to look at is Malta.
The majority of the dives are shore dives. A relatively inexpensive country to visit. Plenty to do and see, especially for the none divers. They supposedly drive on the correct side of the road (the left), be careful, they mainly drive in the shade!

The food is a mix of British, or Italian based. Lots of pasta.

Diving is a big part of their tourist business, so they are structured for it. If you are suitably qualified you can dive in supervised. However, at least for the first trip I would suggest a guide to show you the sites.

There is no coral and the fish life is not as prolific as the Red Sea. But certainly on a par with the Canaries.

Gareth

 

[BoltSnap]

Another good overseas country to look at is Malta.
The majority of the dives are shore dives. A relatively inexpensive country to visit. Plenty to do and see, especially for the none divers. They supposedly drive on the correct side of the road (the left), be careful, they mainly drive in the shade!

The food is a mix of British, or Italian based. Lots of pasta.

Diving is a big part of their tourist business, so they are structured for it. If you are suitably qualified you can dive in supervised. However, at least for the first trip I would suggest a guide to show you the sites.

There is no coral and the fish life is not as prolific as the Red Sea. But certainly on a par with the Canaries.

Gareth

I have been to Malta MANY times in the last couple of years and it isn't what you say. It is one of the most expensive places in Europe, BORING island, diving is OK but boring after a week. Food is HORRIBLE and expensive (mostly British influence with some greasy Italian contribution, neither are any good)!! What is good about diving and going to Malta is that there are a couple of great technical diving instructors there who are among the better instructors in Europe. It is also very convenient to run technical dive classes there because of availability of shore diving. I'd go there to dive because of the two instructors there but not go there as a dive vacation.

 

[KenGordon]

We've dived in Thailand a few times (my wife's Thai) and learned in Malaysia. I'm curious about the canaries so I'll PM you when I get a chance later to swop info if you like? Can give you the lowdown on what I've learned about travel BCs too.

I just looked up the Sussex BSAC club website...I may check them out too. A dive or two round Brighton pier could be a good starter as I can pretty much see it from the top of my road

I believe the pier is best done from a boat.

There are several good boats in brighton. Channel Diver (Steve) is my favourite day boat anywhere. In Shoreham there is Buccaneer (Chris). Both these skippers are top class. They both do trips to sites suitable for newer divers have a google. Get yourself to a club and pick up a buddy. If that is too hard let me know and I will come down for a day with sufficient notice/arranging.

 

[Antmany2k]

thanks for those recommendations @KenGordon i will check them out.

@Gareth J i went to Gozo (just off Malta) in 2015 and really enjoyed it. it was a holiday with a couple of days diving thrown in as opposed to a proper dive holiday so did some sightseeing on land as well as underwater and i agree it was a nice place. i imagine any more than a week would get a bit boring though. and while there is a lack of fish and coral (i am well aware i was spoilt by learning in the red sea and nothing in Europe will compare) the dive sites where still exciting for me as i did the blue hole and out under the azure window (such a shame that has now been destroyed) the inland shore which i guess is not really a cave in a way that a cave diver would dive but like a novice cave? was a first for me and i also did my first night dive and wreck dives out there so i really enjoyed it. only thing i didn't like was the entry points, they didn't feel safe, maybe its just me. one that comes to mind, we kitted up and had to walk over this jagged uneven volcanic type rock about 20-30ft about sea level and below was a big flat bit of reef/volcanic rock slightly submerged by a few inches of water and if you lost your footing and fell you would seriously injure yourself or possibly worse. guess they can't have had any accidents or they would have put a railing up or something.

 

[Gareth J]

I have been to Malta MANY times in the last couple of years and it isn't what you say. It is one of the most expensive places in Europe, BORING island, diving is OK but boring after a week. Food is HORRIBLE and expensive (mostly British influence with some greasy Italian contribution, neither are any good)!! What is good about diving and going to Malta is that there are a couple of great technical diving instructors there who are among the better instructors in Europe. It is also very convenient to run technical dive classes there because of availability of shore diving. I'd go there to dive because of the two instructors there but not go there as a dive vacation.

It's interesting to see an alternate view.

We normally go once or twice a year for some sun and a bit of diving. Normally early or late season. Mainly because its relatively inexpensive, (compared to a liveaboard in the red sea later in the year,) the diving is easy, and we can dive at our own pace and pick our own sites, a bit of Spring or Autumn sun is always nice.
That said we normally stay south of Valletta, away from the main tourist areas. This year we're trying Gozo for a bit of a change just before Easter.

 

[BoltSnap]

It's interesting to see an alternate view.

We normally go once or twice a year for some sun and a bit of diving. Normally early or late season. Mainly because its relatively inexpensive, (compared to a liveaboard in the red sea later in the year,) the diving is easy, and we can dive at our own pace and pick our own sites, a bit of Spring or Autumn sun is always nice.
That said we normally stay south of Valletta, away from the main tourist areas. This year we're trying Gozo for a bit of a change just before Easter.

Perhaps coming from the UK shapes a different prospective from coming from sunny Libya

 

[REP]

hi, so a few people on here have recommend that i join a local club and dive here in the UK but i have some questions and reservations and haven't found any answers on the search bar or on youtube. some are based on conditions, some on training and some on equipment. id rather cover it in one post than spam the forum with multiple questions.

1. Are drysuits easy to use? Youtube shows me lots of videos on how to put one on or take it off but not so much on how to use it or how it works ( yes i know that it keeps you dry) i.e valves and hoses and stuff.

2. how important is fitting - if i take the plunge and do a few dives in the UK and enjoy it then i would look to get my own drysuit as renting will work out more expensive in the long run (equipment hire at the local lake is £50 for everything plus £10 entry. with my own equipment i can cut that down to £10 entry and £9 for air + tank. problem is i am a bit of a yo-yo-er in the weight department so i gain and lose the same 14-18 pounds regularly. so if i got a suit and i lost or gained weight would it make much difference? presumably the seals will be tight on the wrists and neck no matter what so as long as the suit fits it should work? - but if i lose weight and its baggy does that cause a problem with too much air in the suit?

C. The cold - Ok so the water is cold, that puts me off, a dry suit solves most of that problem but you are still partially exposed - hands, head, face. now you can get a thick hood and gloves but i guess these are not airtight as with a hood that would make equalizing a problem? does the gloves and hood make you warm or just make it a bit more bearable? and your face is partially exposed so again how bad is it? do you forget about it once you are down there or is it something you have to grin and bear?

4. do you need a lot of extra weight for a drysuit dive. i need 10kg with a thin wetsuit ( i am big but even when i did my OW and was 5 stone lighter i was stupidly buoyant, always have been (did a try dive as a scrawny 10 year old and they had to load me with led to keep me down) i am worried that if i do use a drysuit i am going to need tons of weight to keep me down and that gets exhausting lugging it around before you get in the water and getting out of it if you have to board a boat. 10kg i can carry with ease (i am fairly fit) but if i have to double it its going to be an issue either to carry or for me to buy the poor captain a new ladder for his boat after it breaks off and becomes a new dive attraction

5. Trim pockets - I am looking to buy a Cressi Aquaride (anyone used it or have any thoughts on it?) and it has trim pockets at the back are they worth using? my trim is pretty good and i stay horizontal with ease but i currently need 10kg with 5mm long wetsuit and go for 4kg on each integrated weight pocket and 1kg in each of my bcd side pockets. would it make a massive difference to move the 2 kg to the trim pockets to free up my main pockets?

6. Aqualung core regs - i was recommended to get these and it says they are ok for cold water, does anyone have them or used them in cold water? any problems with free flowing?

7. scapa flow - So like most people on here in the UK i want to dive Scapa flow now as you may have guessed from the questions above i am really apprehensive about diving in the UK. but if i do and i do a deep dive qualification is it possible to do scapa flow on air? the battleships are around 42m so according to the dive tables i have a maximum no deco of 10 minutes at that depth. My Zoop being conservative probably won't give me that but a battleship is huge!! you can't get around it in 10 minutes or probably even 40 minutes i imagine but what do you do? do you start of at 40m and then ascend every few minutes as you go around to keep in no deco or do you need to learn how to use nitrox to get the full benefit?