London Divers?

[WetPup]

If all goes to plan, I hope to be moving from Australia to London before the end of the year. Since I've been living in Aus since I got certified, most of my diving to date has been in the tropics. Obviously if I want to continue diving while in the UK it's going to mean getting used to cold water...

So, in anticipation of this move, can someone recommend a dive club in or around London? Or a reputable dive op that offers drysuit training? I expect I will be in Bristol fairly regularly to see family, so even something around there would be fine.

Thanks in advance

 

[dbulmer]

Send a PM to rivers.
I'm near London and if you need a hand with the drysuit I could help you out - I'm not an instructor just to be clear.

 

[drmwc]

I am with Hellfins, a pretty active club. We meet near Victoria on Wednesdays, and go diving pretty frequently. We have plenty of instructors who can help you out getting used to a dry suit.

There are plenty of other clubs in London - the BSAC ones are listed on BSAC's website.

Send me a pm if you want more details.

 

[WetPup]

Will I be mocked mercilessly by the BSAC clubs if I'm PADI certified?

Thanks though. Will follow up once I've googled these things. The move is still about 6 months off, but I figure I should probably look into these things!

 

[dbulmer]

PADI is not a problem in the vast vast majority of clubs - being from Oz might be

 

[drmwc]

No-one at Hellfins cares about agency. I trained with PADI initially, which is very common at the club. I also now have TDI as well as BSAC cards, and am toying with the idea of Fundies....

We even have some Ozzies!

 

[rivers]

Hiya from Bristol! Vobster is fairly close to Bristol depending where in the city your family is based 30-45 minutes. NDAC is also close to Bristol, but I have my reasons for preferring Vobster.
Depending where in London you end up, there's loads of clubs. Hellfins, Kingston and Elmbridge, London #1 are all BSAC clubs. There are loads more. Aquanaut Scuba in Kingston, Amphibian Sports in Norwood, Wraysbury, Vobster, etc all offer training. But to be honest, I learned more about diving a drysuit from a mentor than I did in the course.
No problem joining a BSAC club if you're PADI. BSAC are even playing nice with GUE now (I hold certs from PADI, BSAC, IANTD, AND GUE) and I'm. A member of a BSAC club.

Feel free to PM me anytime

 

[Phil_C]

To echo what has been said above - it does not matter whose cert you hold, BSAC will be welcoming.

I hold CMAS, PADI and then BSAC certs - in that order, and instructor certs from CMAS and BSAC, and I belong to three BSAC clubs and one CMAS one, (I'm on the club management committee for one of the BSAC ones), and none have a problem with cross overs or just other agency divers joining and diving on their current certs, you don't have to cross over, just so long as you join BSAC so your are covered by the club insurance policy.

You might get a little mick taking for being an Aussie, or a warm water diver, or even G@@ forbid a little ribbing for being a PADI diver, but I'm sure it would be good natured and in the right spirit in my experience.

Have fun and dive safe - Phil

 

[WetPup]

Yeah, figured the mockery for being an Aussie and warm water diver would be inevitable...

Cold water will be a new experience, but I don't want to give up diving just because Indonesia is no longer on my doorstep. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Will do some research into the clubs mentioned

 

[Little_One*]

What part of London are you planning to be in? There are several friendly London dive groups listed on Meetup which have regular socials as well as organise dive trips both local and abroad. For drysuit and other further training, group sessions are often organised throughout the year. These groups welcome anyone who enjoys diving, regardless of certification, and you will meet everyone from newbies or those thinking about getting certified to highly skilled tec divers.