Diving Qatar

[Gibb]

Roxanne/ Greg

Hope you have a great time in Qatar!

Unfortunately, I fell victim to the fate that can befall expats quite frequently in Qatar and got fired with three hours notice to get on the flight out three days before Christmas.

This means that i cannot help you - but do check out the club if you can. There are plenty there that will help you.

And all my possessions (including my dive stuff) are still over there (as the leaving notice was too short) so if your desperate let me know and I can hook you up with some loan kit, maybe!

Have a great time.

 

[anton]

Hi Gibb,
Heard 2-3 days ago about your fate from a dsac buddy... Sorry to hear. You make the third I know about over Christmas. I am looking right now but have been told I can continue past March 21 (my contr. date) Baby is due the 17th so it will be an exciting spring I am sure.

Roxanne/ Greg

Hope you have a great time in Qatar!

Unfortunately, I fell victim to the fate that can befall expats quite frequently in Qatar and got fired with three hours notice to get on the flight out three days before Christmas.

This means that i cannot help you - but do check out the club if you can. There are plenty there that will help you.

And all my possessions (including my dive stuff) are still over there (as the leaving notice was too short) so if your desperate let me know and I can hook you up with some loan kit, maybe!

Have a great time.

 

[Gibb]

Hi Gibb,
Heard 2-3 days ago about your fate from a dsac buddy... Sorry to hear. You make the third I know about over Christmas. I am looking right now but have been told I can continue past March 21 (my contr. date) Baby is due the 17th so it will be an exciting spring I am sure.

Thats Qatar for you!

**** happens - a lot!

I actually got fired half way through the Christmas party by phone, but didn't tell anyone as I didn't want to put a downer on the night. I just quietly slipped out the door!

Hope all works out for you, and good luck for the new baby! Sorry we never got to meet!

 

[PacketSniffer]

Hi TTA,
Lived in Qatar for a year (today). Bubble-og is correct that most diving here is shore diving. There are a few man made reefs (cars, boats, etc) at 12-18 meters and many natural reefs offshore at about 5-10 meters. There are many wrecks in the area but most are 30-100 kilometers offshore and require a quick boat to make the trip worthwhile. The visibility is normally 6-10 meters from shore unless you are lucky. That said, I dive here every weekend at a minimum and at night during the week now and then.
Once in a while dolphins come calling as well as turtles. Other than that, local marine life is grouper (known as Hamour locally), Big Blue Angels that are very tame, puffers, Fasker, King Fish, Jacks, etc. It is <not> like Oman but if your here...

In any case, let me know if you wanna dive

Anton,

Are you still in Qatar? I am here for about 6 more weeks. I got my gear wet this weekend down at Sealine. Of course, it's not too excited. Let's get together and do some diving. I'm in for boat, shore, inland sea, or anywhere really. You can reach me at +974.587.3194.

I'm trying to get something going with QDive this weekend. Although, I was told that the boat is in dry dock. The DM is checking with a friend who has a boat that we should be able to get on. He supposed to let me know during the week. But, of couse, that's "enshala".

Speak with you soon,

Richard


P.S. This goes for anyone else that is in Qatar. Let's dive! Give me a shout on my mobile.

 

[poleinahole]

Went diving in Qatar New Year 2006. The viz is usually poor because of lack of reef and sand particles in the water. The two main dive shops are Q-Divers (new operation with shiny new boats) and Pearl Divers (oldest dive operator in Qatar). Both have good quality gear for hire or sale. Nitrox available. Most expensive diving I have ever done. A one tank dive plus 4 wheel transport (2.5 hours each way--one other customer in car) set me back $110 with Pearl Divers. Most popular dive location is near the Sealine Resort which has purposefully sunk wrecks, cars, toilets, etc. It's shallow, viz is not so hot but they have chains which lead from one object to the other so it's easy to find your way around. Very tame fish--they feed them with bananas

Top side there is about two days worth of stuff to see, including the lnland Sea where you can also dune bash. If you go in the cooler months don't miss the early morning camel training.

Culture vultures should note that the well regarded National Museum is still closed for renovation--as is a lot of other stuff. Everything is expected to re-open this Fall for the Asian Games.

 

[poleinahole]

Went diving in Qatar New Year 2006. The viz is usually poor because of lack of reef and sand particles in the water. The two main dive shops are Q-Divers (new operation with shiny new boats) and Pearl Divers (oldest dive operator in Qatar). Both have good quality gear for hire or sale. Nitrox available. Most expensive diving I have ever done. A one tank dive plus 4 wheel transport (2.5 hours each way--one other customer in car) set me back $110 with Pearl Divers. Most popular dive location is near the Sealine Resort which has purposefully sunk wrecks, cars, toilets, etc. It's shallow, viz is not so hot but they have chains which lead from one object to the other so it's easy to find your way around. Very tame fish--they feed them with bananas. Some offshore wrecks too with better viz, but they only go out to these on Friday and Saturday.

Top side there is about two days worth of stuff to see, including the lnland Sea where you can also dune bash. If you go in the cooler months don't miss the early morning camel training.

Culture vultures should note that the well regarded National Museum is still closed for renovation--as is a lot of other stuff. Everything is expected to re-open this Fall for the Asian Games.

 

[poleinahole]

QATAR DIVE SHOPS: the following dive shops have Divemasters and Instructors who can show you underwater Qatar: Q-Dive, www.qdive.net. Tel. +974-437-5065. E-mail: info@qdive.net; Pearl Divers, www.pearl-divers.com, Tel. +994-444-9553 E-mail: info@pearl-divers.com.

 

[Snozza]

I've just arrived in Doha and want to dive!!! (and meet with the bsac club).
Please drop me a line on ks @ fullgaspromotions . com . au for details of dives that are being planned.
I've got all my gear here, minus tanks & weights and am up for anything!
Cheers,
KS

 

[PacketSniffer]

I've just arrived in Doha and want to dive!!! (and meet with the bsac club).
Please drop me a line on ks @ fullgaspromotions . com . au for details of dives that are being planned.
I've got all my gear here, minus tanks & weights and am up for anything!
Cheers,
KS

Head over to Pearl Divers dive shop. They have folks from the dive shop that go out frequently besides BSAC. You can rent tanks at QDive which is a little closer to the hotels on Al Corniche. QDive is across the street from the HSBC building located in a souk. They are a little hard to find on your first attempt. You can't really see them from a street. Get out and walk.

There are basically two locations to dive in Qatar: Old School Club Reef in Uhm Said (next to QCHEM plant) and the Inland Sea (~1 hour and 15 minutes from Doha in the desert. Don't go alone for fear of getting lost or auto trouble!!!)

Boat trips are expensive (from my experience) and are hard to get arranged. "Inshalla" (God Willing) is a common mantra in Qatar. BSAC is your best bet on getting on a boat trip. On my last stint there, I couldn't get a boat trip arranged for 2.5 months of trying. Doh!

I might be heading back to Doha in June and might be there for about three months. If I do head over, I'll give you a shout.

Give me a shout if you have any other questions.

Cheers,


Richard

 

[yessic]

There are basically two locations to dive in Qatar: Old School Club Reef in Uhm Said (next to QCHEM plant) and the Inland Sea

Are QDive and Pearl still the two preferred dive shops in Qatar?

Yessic