Trying UK Diving

[Phoenix]

yeah i heard wraysbury was pretty warm last week
and had great vis
that was probably due to it being mid week and less busy

stoneys still cold tho, i think i clocked about 14 - 17 last time, 5 - 9 the time before! :/

 

[clootie]

*hic*, I'd probably be up for that.

I'd also love to join you all for a nice easy shore dive, but not sure I qualify even as a novice yet in cold water.... 170 odd dives under my weight belt, but only 4 of those were below 26 C.

I'll need to get some training in a drysuit first, or borrow something a little thicker than my current 3mm. And I don't know how easy it is to rent dry suits in my size (I've seen S,M,L, but not "shortarse"). But if not before my rescue course in August (I think in Wraysbury), I'll hopefully still be up for it afterwards - and happy to join in car hire etc.

Jonathan - whereabouts do you dive in Japan? I once went all the way to Ishigaki from Tokyo with friends who were desperate to see mantas. It was certainly the most expensive diving I've ever done!! And the weather stopped us getting to the manta site - just bog standard reefs which the divemaster kicked ten shades of cr$p out of

 

[Rage]

Hi Guys,

What I meant was when I started diving all I needed were MSF. BCD, regs. Suddenly I need all this new kit! Its cheaper for me to fly abroad and dive warm water than dive here (trains, fills, beer, B&B, eating out, beer , boat fees). Don't forget servicing!

Been to Stoney, but the reason I am doing lakes is for practice, not pleasure. Wraysbury was quiet last week. 18degC on the bottom and vis was not so kicked up. 8M some places, others 0. I've had my Vyper tell me it was 3degC in there once!

Connor- Great idea. There has to be some selfless experinced UK divers out there? I'd be up for a dive to the coast, (hey even an inland site if its going to be a 'social'). Though unless someone is familiar with the area, I'd rather dive from a boat with a skipper. (Can be as shallow a 7M). Anyone interested PM me and I'll give you details of what I have in mind.

Clootie - Drysuits come in all shapes, sizes and cuts, so try them on and bring a friend who dives dry. I tried on various manufacturers till I found 2 that only fit me. Beaver and Bodyglove. MTM is probably worth the money. I hated hiring suits as each one has different bouyancy characteristics, also an illfitting suit is horrible to dive. Thats why I bought my own.

Sish.
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[clootie]

Sish - thanks for the advice on dry suits. I'm going to chat with the LDS and try a few out, but eventually I'll probably choose to go for Made to measure, once I've made sure I'm going to dive cold enough to warrant it.

I haven't given up hope on off the peg, I looked at some size charts for a giggle, and none of them offered anything for an adult under 5'......

 

[Jonathan]

Clootie and check out O'Three

Must chanse them to find when my suit is coming. I am not Hobbit shape but neither am I an off the peg shape....

 

[MrMojo]

Excellent last time people talked in this section it was about the dive show.
I do quite a bit of Uk diving and mainly like to get up to stoney during the week or up to Gildenburgh at weekend as stoney way to busy.
I am a member of a SAA club who do more drinking than diving so always looking for buddies to dive with i live in N.Finchley North london and i have wheels but with all the gear and tanks usally only take me and buddy .
The only problem is i am pretty booked up at the moment as i will be up stoney on the 4th July and then of to Sharm on the 10th for two weeks .Been down to weymouth and portland at the end of last year and had some great dives but the problem is it has a three hour drive to get there and the boats start early in the morning so for two days diving ends up as a 4 day break.
If i can help in any way please let me know,as it sounds a real good idea as i need more dive in the channel or more dive full stop

Regards,

MAL..

 

[Conor]

Howdo

Was the post asking people to PM you in order to sort out the newby diving day or something else ? If it was then sign me up, but it would be good to put some info up on this thread to give people an idea.

Cheers

Conor

 

[Rage]

Conor once bubbled...


Was the post asking people to PM you in order to sort out the newby diving day or something else ? If it was then sign me up, but it would be good to put some info up on this thread to give people an idea.

Something like that. Unfortunately I may have a rather full schedule now...

What I was thinking was either:

Having a small number of people (preferably experienced, but new UK conditions) to go for a dip in fresh water. That way people with can have a taster of cold and murky water, and look and or play around with kit (eg dsmbs, reels, drysuits, ponies, and other kit not normally associated with warm water divng), without the expense of extra courses, or club membership. I am not a professional or anywhere near a seasoned UK diver so I'd only be able to confidently guide someone around one or two lakes. Ideally I would say Wraysbury cos its uniformally shallow mostly 7 - 9m and has easily obtainable 0vis.

Or if people are clued up on DSMBs, etc, then go for a shallow dip off a boat (south coast, likely weekday, weekends possible but are usually booked up in advance).

If anyone is seriously interested I can try to sort something out. I am fairly busy (away) for the next 10 - 14 days. After that I am planning to go away for a month or two. But exactly when and how long for depends on the availability of flights. ;-0

Sish.
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[ScubaBaby]

sarahboo once bubbled...
lakeside (fine for shopping but do i want to dive in a lake people chuck up in every weekend?).

sarah.....I've dived in Lakeside lake....lasted a whole 6 mins before I couldnt taken the smell, the vis and the general "bits" floating past!!!

 

[Conor]

Rage,

That sounds perfect to me, having never used any of the UK paraphenalia, count me in. The only catch for me would be getting the gear and getting it to the shore. I have all the warm water gear I would need, but would need to get tank, weights, DSMB etc. I could struggle through london with most of the gear by train, but wouldn't like to add a tank to the mix.

Any othe takers ?