Spent the last 24 hours travelling home from Koh Samui, via Bangkok, Dubai, and Gatwick. All went fine. The last leg was slightly delayed, but it didn't seem anything to do with Gatwick
( Read more... )
Thanks! I was thinking of you, actually, since I knew you scuba. Where are good places to dive in the UK (and how cold are they)? Any thoughts on clubs, websites, and similar?
We saw many tropical fish, although my recognition skills are poor (I hear there's a course for that!). Ummm. Once my friend with the diving camera cleans up his pics, I'll share... if it helps any, we did our first two dives around Koh Tao (Mango Bay and Twin Peaks), although we mostly did our skills there, and the second two at Sail Rock, which is awesome for spotting marine life. A quick Google will give you an idea of what you can see there... if you ever get a chance to go, I recommend it!
Yeah, the main thing for spotting marine life is practice, especially in tropical waters where there's so much to see, if you want to go that way anyway; some people just like looking at all the fish and don't worry about what they are, though I like to at least know the general types. There's something about box and puffer fish, which you may have seen, that really amuses me. They look like cargo helicopters, only they're fish. Weird.
UK diving is mostly done in clubs via BSAC so it's more of a collaborative thing than a commercial one, which I think makes it more fun. You can cross over from PADI qualifications very easily, though - the main difference with BSAC qualifications is more in the way of rescue and safety skills, which can be a bit more important in UK diving. Being as how you're in London I would heartily recommend Clidive, the club I learnt with; they do a lot of diving, and a lot of interesting diving, compared to some other clubs
( ... )
I have heard it's best to learn diving in UK waters. Because people who learn in the tropics come home and, when they try it here, find the cold, the low-visability and the lack of colourful marine life to be disappointing and off-putting. And so tend to give up.
Oh I see the logic - if UK waters don't put you off, you're probably going to stick with it? Well, we shall see. If I don't get on with UK diving, I guess I'll have to put all my money and holiday towards diving in exotic places instead ;-)
Hahahahaha wow! One of our group did her PADI certification in the UK in November - again with the quarry, not sure where, though. Apparently, the water was 9C, and they gave her three wetsuits to wear on top of each other! Poor lass. She's tiny, though, so feels the cold easily.
Can you not hire those? OK maybe hiring a drysuit isn't fun, but not sure I'd want to own tanks, for example. Hmm, BSAC again, best go read up then!
Yeah, I'd love to see some wrecks! I'm looking at the other certifications you can do with PADI, and already have a list together... this could get expensive ;-)
It has, and you say that every time :-P I'm around, as per, so if you find some time do let me know...
Comments 15
Reply
Where are good places to dive in the UK (and how cold are they)? Any thoughts on clubs, websites, and similar?
We saw many tropical fish, although my recognition skills are poor (I hear there's a course for that!). Ummm. Once my friend with the diving camera cleans up his pics, I'll share... if it helps any, we did our first two dives around Koh Tao (Mango Bay and Twin Peaks), although we mostly did our skills there, and the second two at Sail Rock, which is awesome for spotting marine life. A quick Google will give you an idea of what you can see there... if you ever get a chance to go, I recommend it!
Reply
UK diving is mostly done in clubs via BSAC so it's more of a collaborative thing than a commercial one, which I think makes it more fun. You can cross over from PADI qualifications very easily, though - the main difference with BSAC qualifications is more in the way of rescue and safety skills, which can be a bit more important in UK diving. Being as how you're in London I would heartily recommend Clidive, the club I learnt with; they do a lot of diving, and a lot of interesting diving, compared to some other clubs ( ... )
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
I have heard it's best to learn diving in UK waters. Because people who learn in the tropics come home and, when they try it here, find the cold, the low-visability and the lack of colourful marine life to be disappointing and off-putting. And so tend to give up.
Reply
Oh I see the logic - if UK waters don't put you off, you're probably going to stick with it? Well, we shall see. If I don't get on with UK diving, I guess I'll have to put all my money and holiday towards diving in exotic places instead ;-)
Reply
Reply
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Can you not hire those? OK maybe hiring a drysuit isn't fun, but not sure I'd want to own tanks, for example. Hmm, BSAC again, best go read up then!
Yeah, I'd love to see some wrecks! I'm looking at the other certifications you can do with PADI, and already have a list together... this could get expensive ;-)
It has, and you say that every time :-P
I'm around, as per, so if you find some time do let me know...
Reply
Leave a comment