hi from South Devon/England

[SOUTH DEVON]

Okay, time to introduce myself , I'm Steve and passed my open water about a month ago, I have been diving every weekend since, and have been surprised of some of the things I have seen from just shore diving locally,(1.5 m white starfish on Sunday).
I have been hiring the equipment, but I have now decided to buy my own and have every thing except my dry suit/fins and weight belt .
I have found this site very helpful in deciding what equipment to purchase for my needs, and have enjoyed reading through the archives, so thanks everyone,
Steve=-)

 

[Diversauras]

I am presently in the middle of nowhere as far as diving goes and remember the cliffs and pubs at Beer, wasn't diving then but I'd assume it is pretty good there where you are.

Welcome to the board.

 

[Jamied6]

Hi Steve,

Just thought I'd let you know I just bought a 7mm neoprene drysuit from these people:

http://www.othree.co.uk/

They're based in Weymouth and if you can get there for a fitting, they'll sometimes be able to tailor an off-the-peg drysuit a bit for you.... means you get a perfect fit drysuit at a fraction of the price of a tailor-made one.

Thought you might find the info useful... good luck with the diving

James

 

[Victoria]

Hey Steve!
Much braver than me, I stick to diving in the warmer parts of the world! Im not sure if they do Dry suits but Second Skin are based down your end of the Island... may be worth looking them up... have a good rep for custom made suits...
1.5m Satrfish? Monster! Do you get Basking sharks down there?

 

[SOUTH DEVON]

Wow, thanks for the welcome!
Diversauras - yes the diving seems to be quite good in South Devon, better than I had expected, but you need to wait for the visibility to be reasonably good as it can be difficult to see your hand in front of your face on a bad day, which isn't much fun , most of the time you can find somewhere with good visibility up to 15m.
James-thanks for the link, I found an interesting article on the pee valve, which I'm considering having fitted on my drysuit when I get measured up, I'm surprised you need a 7 mm wetsuit for Australia, that's what I'm currently using in the UK , unless you're diving over here
Victoria- Hey , what part of the country are you from?
The sea temperature is fairly moderate at the moment, and apparently stays reasonably warm until January, I'm currently diving for 1 1/2 hours in a 7 mm wetsuit and probably in the water for about two hours and haven't felt cold yet !
Yes apparently we do get basking sharks, although I've never seen one, and that starfish was great to see
I know what you mean about diving in warmer countries though, I dived Barbados a couple of years ago before I was qualified and
WOW -I was totally amazed , it was like swimming around in a well-stocked marine fish tank !
Thanks for the welcome/Steve

 

[wapyaly]

Welcome to the site, its fun!

 

[dlegros]

Here's a big hello from Europe's new shopping capital - Birmingham, home of the Bullring.



Dom

 

[coquito]

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the board. I am a newbee too,

I am going to Barbados next spring. Hopefully, I'll be certified by then. How was your diving experience there? Any good spots you would like to recommend?

 

[SOUTH DEVON]

hi Coquito

Well practically the whole of the West Coast of Barbados is great for diving, ask the locals where the turtels feed, you can buy frozen bags of fish on the beach(in a type of treehouse) and feed them, but watch your fingers and hands, as I can personally say they have a sharp bite and can swim towards you very fast, which can be a bit scary as the adults are probably about 1.5 m along , they are friendly though and only bite by accident if you're feeding them.
You will find reeves everywhere on the West Coast , just look for the dark spots, and lookout for diving boats, as they usually all clamp together above shipwrecks, which are easily swimable from the beach, and safe to swim through.(they are deliberately sunk for divers)
Avoid the East Coast as everyone drowns their, you will notice miles of barren beaches, and be wary of the South East Coast as you can certainly get into trouble with the strong currents, totally unsuitable for diving anyway, the West Coast totally calm , with no currents to worry about, and loads to see, even snorkelling of the beach is great !
The nightlife is at St Lawrence gap, South West .
Totally amazing you will have a great time/Steve

 

[coquito]

Thanks for the pointers, Steve. It sounds awesome. Feeding the turtles - can't wait. I appreciate the warnings too. I'll will be newly certified diver (crossing my fingers), and the East Coast sounds like what I am looking for - calm waters and lots to see. Thanks