Going to Sydney on business, want to dive also.

[Daryl Morse]

I'll be in Sydney on business in a month or so and I'd like to try getting in a few weekend or evening dives while I'm there.

I'm a new diver with OW/AOW. By the time I get there, I'll have done around 20 dives. Thus far all of them have been shore dives in a drysuit in the local Vancouver, BC waters which are cold. Most of the dives I'm doing lately are to 75 or 85 feet. I have personal gear, but I'll need to rent a BCD, reg, suit and computer.

I'd appreciate pointers on where to dive locally in the Sydney area and where to rent equipment. What is the water temperature in September? Is there any shore diving or will I need to get on a boat? If so, please recommend a good boat operator.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Roz Amos]

Hi Daryl

Sydney has heaps of shore and boat diving - a lot of the local stores run guided Saturday morning dives, where you just pay for gear hire - one that definitely does is Dive 2000 - www.dive2000.com.au, and they are not far from the city. There are a lot of shops, and boat dives can be arranged through all of them.

Also check out www.diveoz.com.au, there is a directory of dive stores, lots of info on sites and some pretty active discussion boards, including some arranging dives which may be of interest to you.

 

[grahamsp]

I'll be in Sydney on business in a month or so and I'd like to try getting in a few weekend or evening dives while I'm there.

I'm a new diver with OW/AOW. By the time I get there, I'll have done around 20 dives. Thus far all of them have been shore dives in a drysuit in the local Vancouver, BC waters which are cold. Most of the dives I'm doing lately are to 75 or 85 feet. I have personal gear, but I'll need to rent a BCD, reg, suit and computer.

I'd appreciate pointers on where to dive locally in the Sydney area and where to rent equipment. What is the water temperature in September? Is there any shore diving or will I need to get on a boat? If so, please recommend a good boat operator.

Thanks in advance.

If you have the time, I'd strongly recommend ProDive - they have probably the best boat in Sydney and the skipper (Phil) is a good bloke (if you do go, be sure to ask him about the dive in June when three humpback whales swam over his head without him seeing them!). Go to http://www.prodive.com.au/default.asp?pageid=68 to have a look. Note the price quoted is for weekend dives. If you can go on a Thursday, it's only A$65 (plus gear rental) for two dives (this is their winter special so hopefully it will still apply in September) tho' I think the weekend rate is still pretty good value. As for the water, it was 17 celsius when I last dived with them off Maroubra two weeks ago. The viz was outstanding (20 - 25 m) and we ran into two grey nurse sharks.

That said, if a boat dive is not to your taste I agree with Roz's recommendation to try Dive2000. Their Saturday shore dive is a good way to get an idea of what Sydney has to offer. For details, go to http://www.dive2000.com.au/index_files/Page575.htm

Either way, the thing to watch out for is, as ever, the weather. If the wind is coming anywhere east of south you can get some very big swells running which makes diving outside Sydney Harbour marginal to impossible. It can also cut the viz to less than 5 m if the swell goes on long enough. So wait until you get here and check the weather forecast before making any decisions.

I hope this helps.

Rgds,

Graham

 

[Daryl Morse]

Thanks for the replies. I'll check out the links. Hopefully it'll work out that I have time for diving while I'm in Australia.

 

[Daryl Morse]

It looks like I'll be in Sydney over the weekend of October 2-3. I sent an email to Dive2000, but the Prodive website is down. Are they still around?

Is the diving wet or dry? 17 C is warmer than here in Vancouver (currently around 12 C), but that still doesn't sound very warm.

 

[grahamsp]

It looks like I'll be in Sydney over the weekend of October 2-3. I sent an email to Dive2000, but the Prodive website is down. Are they still around?

Is the diving wet or dry? 17 C is warmer than here in Vancouver (currently around 12 C), but that still doesn't sound very warm.

Yes, they are still around. Try the link in my earlier post again - I just did and it works OK. Otherwise call the Australian toll free number 1800 820 820 (if you can).

Re conditions. My last dive was 10 days ago. It was 17º C at the surface and 15º C at 40 metres. I dived in my 6.5 mm semi-dry and was fine. It's should be upwards of 18º C by the time you get here though you do get eddies of colder (and warmer water) as the East Australian Current works its way south so it's all a bit of a lottery.

Graham