Any divers out there?

[narked]

Just wondered if any of you Mud-Clubbers are into Scuba Diving too. I haven't touched my gear since I moved to Wales over 4 years ago, but decided today that I'm going to get back into it.

Bloomin' daft when I think about it now, used to dive when I lived in Manchester, move to within 12 miles of the coast, and I stop! Going to get myself into a local club, save up the pennies for a new drysuit, and start all over again.

[L90OOK]

Yup

I do allot of diving...usually around 50-60 dives per year...I have been diving since I was 14  :lol:
Most of my diving these days is done in South Devon (scalloping) now although I have dived in many parts of the world.
I recently had a MTM commercial drysuit from ROHO.  Really good suit for the money.
Just wish we have bettter weather this year so I can get out more!

Only trouble with diving is it takes as much time & money as my Landy's  :roll: :lol:

[Skibum346]

First learnt to dive with BSAC in the mid eighties... qualified to dive open water 3 days before being posted to Belize...!  :dance: The diving was awsome! But I'm afraid it's made me a bit of a fair weather diver. If I can't dive in a t-shirt... I aint going!  [-X

More recently I re-qualified on holiday with PADI and had a fantastic time of the coast of the yucatan (Playa Del Carmen, near Cozumel).

Of the two organisations I prefer the training of BSAC (I felt there was too much important underlying knowledge missed on PADI course) but prefer the diving practices of PADI.

Never owned my own gear.. and no intentions to... but anytime I'm somewhere warm with a dcent dive shop... I'll be getting my tootsies wet!

[redhand]

My ex partner lives on Anglesey and is a keen diver. If your in that area I can put you in touch with her. if you want.

[Jas278]

Not the sort of diving I can talk about on here.........





IM HAVING A JOKE......................OK................. :lol:

[Disco Matt]

I have heard that there's a crashed RAF plane off Aberystwyth that divers have been known to explore. Not entirely sure of the details though - heard about it from the chap who runs the model shop on Pier Street. I knew a few people with PADI qualifications while I was at uni there so I'd be amazed if there isn't a club of some sort in the area.

I think I'd be happier sitting on a warm ship controlling an ROV than going down there myself!

[L90OOK]

One of the most memorable dives I had was when I dived the M2 submarine off Chesil Beach when I was stationed in Portland.
It's an early sub that used to launch a bi-plane seaplane via a steam catapult & recover the plane via a crane.
Really nice dive in right conditions, albeit for a more experienced diver.
More info HERE

As for PADI v BSAC I would go for BSAC initially...for the training alone...& they make you have a medical before you start diving!!
PADI is more Internationally recognised although i have never had a problem with the BSAC qualifications being accepted.

[Disco_Stu]

The M2 is a great dive, did it myself a couple of years ago :)

Hi, yes I dive to! Not had much chance since the baby was born in june but I'm not packed in yet. Was last in the water in may in Dorothea. If you get yourself sorted with kit and training we can do a dive/4x4 weekend! A quick dip then 40mins to llanberis and we're off road :)

I'm a BSAC diver myself but do a bit of  trimix and deep wreck diving these days, dove for about 10 years and was very keen at one point. Houses, cars and kids soon cut down your time and money though don't they ;)

Stu

[Disco Matt]

One of the most memorable dives I had was when I dived the M2 submarine off Chesil Beach when I was stationed in Portland.
It's an early sub that used to launch a bi-plane seaplane via a steam catapult & recover the plane via a crane.
Really nice dive in right conditions, albeit for a more experienced diver.
More info HERE

As for PADI v BSAC I would go for BSAC initially...for the training alone...& they make you have a medical before you start diving!!
PADI is more Internationally recognised although i have never had a problem with the BSAC qualifications being accepted.

Pulling the thread in a military history direction, IIRC that was the sister sub of the M1 (which mounted a huge gun instead of the seaplane hanger and sank after being hit by a surface ship which knocked the gun off).

[TDi90]

im a very keen diver too.
am now an advanced open water diver with PADI.
although i have never dived in england  :oops: but would love to sometime.
i dive abroad in the more warmer places around the world and have dived lots and lots!
my favourite dive would have to have been a second world war ship lying at 35m and we dived it in the dark... eeeerie, but most memorable for me.

 

Rob

[narked]

Yup

I do allot of diving...usually around 50-60 dives per year...I have been diving since I was 14  :lol:
Most of my diving these days is done in South Devon (scalloping) now although I have dived in many parts of the world.
I recently had a MTM commercial drysuit from ROHO.  Really good suit for the money.
Just wish we have bettter weather this year so I can get out more!

Only trouble with diving is it takes as much time & money as my Landy's  :roll: :lol:

Funnily enough I've been looking at the RoHo Commercial myself. Currently have an oldish Otter trilaminate suit, which was MTM, only not for me ;). It's one of my uncle's suits, who happens to be that bit shorter and that bit wider, so there's enough material there, just not in the right places! Also currently has a knackered neck seal. And annoyingly when he got the boots changed from size 9 to size 12 when he passed it on to me, they were done in neoprene, and air has a habit of gathering there and causing me problems when upside-down!

Phoning the contact BSAC have on file for the club in town tonight, possibly to arrange going to their pub meet tomorrow evening. Then it's a case of booking my reg and Buddy Commando in for a service, getting my cylinder tested, ordering the suit and off I go again! A mate of mine was interested in work today, as he did a basic PADI taster course on holiday last year. Then he asked how much a full set of UK-sensible kit was going to set him back, sharp intake of breath, then he changed the subject ;)

And as for you fair-weather-divers, shame on you! Though admittedly the most exotic place I've dived was Trearddur Bay, the UK has plenty to offer if you can convince yourself to give it a go. Sure, it's cold, it's dark, but it has it's own attractions. My first open water dive was at Capernwray (flooded quarry), middle of February, about 6pm. The water temperature was something silly like 2 degrees C, came as quiet a shock when I was asked to do mask clearing!

[narked]

All sorted, going into town to their meet tomorrow evening to get signed up. They want me to dig out my old training records, see what I've done, do a couple of assessment dives and then decide how much work I need to put in from there, rather than have me start all over again from scratch. Plus they've got kit I can borrow whilst I wait for mine to be serviced. Woohoo!

[LandRoger]

Ronaldo-Man u,  Fabergas Arsenal,  Anelka -Bolton  and the best Diver of all time Drogba - Chelsea, :dance: :dance: :dance:

[L90OOK]

M1


M2


Sun dodgers...not for me  :lol:

AP Valves do a great service on there buddy gear, stabs, Air2 etc... (reasonable rates too).
Personally I service my regs myself but you may need to get them done professionally (dependant on make).
If you go for the ROHO suit make sure they fit the AP valves swivel inflator.  Personally I like the cuff dump not the shoulder auto dump (but it's personal taste).
If you have a diving computer it would be worth having it serviced/battery chaged while your at it.
If anyone is in Devon & fancies getting wet then let me know...weather dependant  :roll:
A 4x4/diving weekend could be a good idea  :D

[Sharpshooter]

I did the same with Sea Fishing. I can see the sea from my house, but havnt Sea fished in 4 years. :)

[Disco Matt]

Yup, that's M1 and M2

M2 wasn't unique - the Japanese navy built a handful of larger subs that could carry seaplanes during WW2 (planning to attack the Panama canal). Post war, the USA experimented with cruise missiles (at first reworked V1s, then the Regulus missile) carried in a very similar manner.

Bizarre bits of information I have filed away!

[crazymac]

Learned to dive here in Pembs with the Fishguard Subaqua club (BSAC)

Had a few great seasons down here, then went to Kenya!!!!! OMG what a dive!! since then I've dived in Mexico, Thailand, East coast of America, etc and become a fair weather diver :oops: Ashamed to admit it, cos the welsh wreck diving is increadible!

[narked]

Regarding dive computers, I've got a new one, so won't be bothering with my old one anyway. The boss asked me last Christmas to order a couple, one for his missus, the other for her sister, only to find that his wife had bought the same one herself. So I was given one of 'em as my Christmas bonus last year. Only a basic computer mind, a Suunto Gekko (console version, with air guage), so no PC interface.

[L90OOK]

Regarding dive computers, I've got a new one, so won't be bothering with my old one anyway. The boss asked me last Christmas to order a couple, one for his missus, the other for her sister, only to find that his wife had bought the same one herself. So I was given one of 'em as my Christmas bonus last year. Only a basic computer mind, a Suunto Gekko (console version, with air guage), so no PC interface.

Cool...I have a Suunto Vyper.  Suunto are really good pieces of kit, easy to use & easy to replace the battery.  My Vyper will do Nitrox & Mixed gases.  Most of my diving is done on Air these days as  I have my own compressor  :lol:

[lee celtic]

Hi All

I have dived out in Greese   but not in the uk .

However in Llanberis where I live there is a very cool dive site in a flooded Quarry we call the blue lagoon this is not Dorathea quarry that has claimed a few lives in the past this is a controlled dive sight with a shop for gear and tank refills and on a weeked there are divers doing the circuit all day me and the kids go down to feed the hugh fish they have in there :D I think for diving you have to book a place and they have sunk stuff to play with VW Beatle, citron dolly and bits of machinery but if anyone is interested I will get more info for you...

[narked]

Although basic, the Gekko covers Nitrox, so if I take that route, I'll still be able to use it. And apparently the club I'm joining has their own compressor, so air fills are covered in the club fees!

Lee: that wouldn't happen to be Vivian would it? I've dived there a couple of times. Bit of a walk kitted up from the car park to the water, but on the plus side you can look forward to a meal at Pete's Eats afterwards!

On the subject of Dorothea, I was reading in one of the mags today about a near fatal incident recently. A diver was having bouyancy problems and started descending, passed out, and was discovered by a mixed gas diver ascending from approx 100m. He thought she was dead, so inflated her BC to get her to the surface. A group of divers on the surface, also thinking she was dead swam out to recover her, and started CPR. Amazingly she survived it.

So what is the current state of affairs regarding Dorothea? When I packed in over 4 years back, BSAC had forbidden any diving there, though I was aware there were plans to set up a proper centre on the site.

[narked]

Did my first open water dives with the new club yesterday, up at Vivian Dive Centre in Llanberis. Great fun.

Well, the second dive was, the first was a bit of a nightmare thanks to uneven weights, all the air in my suit going straight to my boots (resulting in cramp from struggling against my floating feet the whole time), and discovering that my suit has a fairly substantial leak on the right hand side.

Sorted out the weight issues for the second dive, borrowed a set of ankle weights, and endured the half soaked, half dry undersuit to have a great time. Water was 7 degrees, and even with a soaked undersuit I was warm enough.

Definately need a new suit though, not just due to the leaks, but once it's zipped up, I haven't got anywhere near the manouverabilty I need. Can't get my own fins on, can't zip up my hood, can't get my fins off, can't kneel down properly on the platforms as I can't bend my knees enough!

Been a good result with the club too. Relatively small, but committed. Yesterday we had over half the club turn up at Vivian, so we all had a good day out together. Just a shame that there's the 2 hour drive back afterwards, alright for the passengers mind (the lad I gave a lift to fell asleep about 10 minutes after we left, and I know others had the same problem!).

[delski]

The M2 that is a great dive.

I have been diving for years, started with Padi & then went down the TDI technical route to trimix. Did many hundreds of dives over the years before giving it up & buying a jetski.

Must admit though I still really miss it.