Local diving in Finland?

[Trizza]

I'm an English speaker living in Finland, so it can be a bit hard to dig up information - hopefully someone here can point me in the right direction!

I live in Espoo, just recently got my AOWD, but I've only been diving in warm places so far. Great Barrier Reef, Florida, Cyprus. I've decided that I care about being underwater much more than I care about seeing colourful fish, so I want to give diving locally a shot. I'm on the lookout for folks that go diving locally regularly that I could hook up with. So far I've found a couple of the shops organising full weekend trips to Hanko, which sounds nice, but it would be cool to be able to dive regularly closer to home, too.

Any tips? Are any of the clubs English-speaker-friendly?

Cheers!

 

[Redshift]

Hi,

I'm also living in Espoo.
I'm sure you've noticed most people here speak English...
I've moved here recently and so far have only dived also in Hanko. Also know of a dive centre in Helsinki.
But I know there are also dive clubs here.
I still need to explore the possibilities but here are some Espoo links:

Sukelluskoulu Dyykki.com
Cetus
Diverite beuchat suunto cressi sub coltri sub mc nett ursuit apeks aqua lung miflex

And maybe you should start looking at dry suits...
Nearby shop with good equipment (and a (not as complete) website in English): Laadukkaat merkit edullisesti ulkoilijalle, sukeltajalle, kiipeilijälle, matkustajalle ym. - Varuste.net | Varuste.net

 

[FinnMom]

Diving here is very club-based. Check out and get aquainted with the dive clubs in your area.
Info here: Sukeltajaliitto ry - Seurahaku
NOTE: You must click the Uusimaa area on the map to see local clubs!
You can read the club's homepages using google translate. Contact them by stopping by when they have their regular swinmming hall time or by sending e-mail to the contact addresses listed.

When you find a club you like, join & take an active part in club dives and other activities. Club diving is all about diving relatively inexpensively, meeting friends that dive and having fun w/ your new sport. Clubs will also offer training for club members, nitrox, rescue, etc. and sometimes even very advanced classes such as trimix.

You can also try snorkkeli.net (gotta sign in to see posts) to search for dive buddies, read news/discussions/other posts and buy or sell used equipment. Lots of folks post there in English, don´t worry about that.

 

[Subcooled]

Yes, indeed, get an account at Snorkkeli.net - Snorkkeli.net, sukellus ja vedenalainen maailma (the "Rekisteröidy" link in the right hand upper corner). Write in the subforum "Haen sukelluskaveria" (="looking for dive buddy").

Also that Sukeltajaliitto ry - seurahaku is a usefull place to locate links.

Helsinki is not that far away, so you should also consider clubs in Helsinki. This is one random option: English They seem to have a ship Tukialus I don't really know any clubs in that area. Good luck with your search.

Sooner or later you will want a drysuit, though I have heard anecdotal evidence of wetsuit ice divers. Haven't seen one, though. Maybe it is a sign?

 

[FinnMom]

By the way, look at the Swedish-language clubs too. Many swedish-speaking persons have excellent English. Once they realize your not a Finn they are much happier to speak English with you. I think this is because they feel that Finns should be both willing & able to speak Swedish, but others have so such responsibility :blinking:

Divers as a group also tend to be fairly well educated, which frequently means that they have better English that the average person their age. Finns don't like to do something they know they can't do well. IMHO this is a large part of why they will often claim to have no/little English when they are actually more than capable. Once a group gets to know you, the number of English-speakers will magically begin to rise.

 

[bertiebasset]

Hi guys and girls same situ here been living in Helsinki two yeas puhu vahaan but trying to break in agree wonderful people little shy working on my skills bringing Finns out of their privacy pm me if anyone would like to talk and drink great coffee and maybe home made pulla Robert was English once .

 

[tracydr]

Pulla! I'm Finnish on my mother's side and even know how to make pulla. Someday, I'd like to travel to Finland and maybe even try diving there.

 

[altaskier]

Hey all - I might have a work trip to Oulu in November 2015. I like to dive any place I can, and cold water doesn't stop me; I am happy to bring my drysuit and my lowest temperature thus far is 2C in Iceland (plus i frequently dive Lake Michigan wrecks in water temperatures as low as 4 C). Questions:
- What do people suggest about diving in Oulu, versus Helsinki?
- Whom to dive with in either place?

Thanks in advance!