Divers? Anyone else?
Discussion
Great weekend of Diving this weekend, Woke up extra early sunday morning and chargwed down the M4 arriving at chepstow at 9AM, Assembled kit and were in the water at 10, vis was good and in my drysuit it was lovely and toasty. Only went to 18m but what a fantastic start to the summer!
Jamie VTS said:
Great weekend of Diving this weekend, Woke up extra early sunday morning and chargwed down the M4 arriving at chepstow at 9AM, Assembled kit and were in the water at 10, vis was good and in my drysuit it was lovely and toasty. Only went to 18m but what a fantastic start to the summer!
Have they got that zip-slide thing going at the NDAC yet?http://www.ndac.co.uk/thewire.htm
Ganglandboss said:
No! The wires are in place however I should imagine it will be up and running once they are into their summer season (1st April onwards) The new bar (the view) is pretty amazing and is going to be a lovely place to sit and fill in logbooks after a great day diving!
I've been diving a few years now. I wouldn't class it as a sport though. One of the great things about diving is that it is so uncompetitive. Everyone gets something a different from it. For me it's about the sheer beauty of nature and the feeling of peace that comes over me beneath the water. Here's a few pics:
Yes, we were in a cage.
![]()
Been to some exotic locations but the best dive by far has been encountering friendly seals at the Farne Islands. Wonderful, intelligent creatures.
Farne Islands
sorry for crappy camera work ad editing
Yes, we were in a cage.
Been to some exotic locations but the best dive by far has been encountering friendly seals at the Farne Islands. Wonderful, intelligent creatures.
Farne Islands
sorry for crappy camera work ad editing
Off to Mexico in a few weeks, going to do some diving in Cozumel so looking for any recommendations on good/bad dive centres.
I get quite bored on holiday so i find its nice to have an activity to break things up, i couldn't do liveaboards 3 dives per day etc. Takes too much out of me, i'm a "fairweather" diver if you see what i mean.
I get quite bored on holiday so i find its nice to have an activity to break things up, i couldn't do liveaboards 3 dives per day etc. Takes too much out of me, i'm a "fairweather" diver if you see what i mean.
On my trip to Egypt we are doing a nile cruise (well we just hired the whole boat for a few days so we decide where it goes) and I end up in Luxor for a night.
Then it was the decision of do we go to Dahab (1 flight to cairo then 1 to Dahab) or hire a car to Marsa Alam, decided to go to Marsa Alam.
I know nothing of the place, but would like some pointers to nice dive sites and companies to use that are fun, but professional at the same time.
only need them for 3/4 dives as we are going there to relax, not to go bat s
t crazy diving up to 4 dives a day again like I did last time.
Then it was the decision of do we go to Dahab (1 flight to cairo then 1 to Dahab) or hire a car to Marsa Alam, decided to go to Marsa Alam.
I know nothing of the place, but would like some pointers to nice dive sites and companies to use that are fun, but professional at the same time.
only need them for 3/4 dives as we are going there to relax, not to go bat s
t crazy diving up to 4 dives a day again like I did last time. My new wing setup!
DSC_0025 by Mustard Dave, on Flickr
The harness, weight pockets and wing are all Apeks but the backplate is custom made. The Apeks S/S backplate is £92 at DiveLife (very good mail online shop - they are based in Manchester so I tend to just visit the shop). I drew the plate using Draftsight and sent it to a local sheet metal firm to have it laser cut. It cost £65 and they supplied the 3mm 316 stainless steel. My dad is a sheet metal worker so he bent it for me. It was a bit of pissing about but it is nice to have my own unique plate. Sea trials will be on Monday night in the club pool!
I'll be getting a Frog Midnight wing for twins.
DSC_0026 by Mustard Dave, on Flickr
DSC_0025 by Mustard Dave, on Flickr
The harness, weight pockets and wing are all Apeks but the backplate is custom made. The Apeks S/S backplate is £92 at DiveLife (very good mail online shop - they are based in Manchester so I tend to just visit the shop). I drew the plate using Draftsight and sent it to a local sheet metal firm to have it laser cut. It cost £65 and they supplied the 3mm 316 stainless steel. My dad is a sheet metal worker so he bent it for me. It was a bit of pissing about but it is nice to have my own unique plate. Sea trials will be on Monday night in the club pool!
I'll be getting a Frog Midnight wing for twins.
DSC_0026 by Mustard Dave, on Flickr
It's an alternative to the jacket style BCD. Many feel they help maintain better trim in the water, although some say they do not hold you upright on the surface (those that use wings say this is nonsense).
The main advantage is it's a modular system so you can mix and match different bits. The wing (the inflatable buoyancy cell) can be swapped according to what cylinders you have on your back (a bigger one for twins).
You can change the harness system too. That is a 'one piece harness' meaning it is a single piece of webbing. You can get luxury harnesses like the one below with shoulder breaks, more padding and adjusters but a lot of tech divers (GUE in particular) prefer the simplicity of the one piece harness.
Because it is stainless steel, it weighs around 2.2kg so that is some weight off your weight belt (you can get aluminium or even plastic backplates too which are easier to travel with). I have added the Apeks SureLock weight pockets to the rig.
The main advantage is it's a modular system so you can mix and match different bits. The wing (the inflatable buoyancy cell) can be swapped according to what cylinders you have on your back (a bigger one for twins).
You can change the harness system too. That is a 'one piece harness' meaning it is a single piece of webbing. You can get luxury harnesses like the one below with shoulder breaks, more padding and adjusters but a lot of tech divers (GUE in particular) prefer the simplicity of the one piece harness.
Because it is stainless steel, it weighs around 2.2kg so that is some weight off your weight belt (you can get aluminium or even plastic backplates too which are easier to travel with). I have added the Apeks SureLock weight pockets to the rig.
Ganglandboss said:
It's an alternative to the jacket style BCD. Many feel they help maintain better trim in the water, although some say they do not hold you upright on the surface (those that use wings say this is nonsense).
The main advantage is it's a modular system so you can mix and match different bits. The wing (the inflatable buoyancy cell) can be swapped according to what cylinders you have on your back (a bigger one for twins).
You can change the harness system too. That is a 'one piece harness' meaning it is a single piece of webbing. You can get luxury harnesses like the one below with shoulder breaks, more padding and adjusters but a lot of tech divers (GUE in particular) prefer the simplicity of the one piece harness.
Because it is stainless steel, it weighs around 2.2kg so that is some weight off your weight belt (you can get aluminium or even plastic backplates too which are easier to travel with). I have added the Apeks SureLock weight pockets to the rig.
People claim they're more adaptable, so if you move onto twinsets and tech diving, you don't need to replace so much.The main advantage is it's a modular system so you can mix and match different bits. The wing (the inflatable buoyancy cell) can be swapped according to what cylinders you have on your back (a bigger one for twins).
You can change the harness system too. That is a 'one piece harness' meaning it is a single piece of webbing. You can get luxury harnesses like the one below with shoulder breaks, more padding and adjusters but a lot of tech divers (GUE in particular) prefer the simplicity of the one piece harness.
Because it is stainless steel, it weighs around 2.2kg so that is some weight off your weight belt (you can get aluminium or even plastic backplates too which are easier to travel with). I have added the Apeks SureLock weight pockets to the rig.
In terms of floatation, the air is all behind you, so there's more propensity to push you onto your chest and face than with a vest style BCD.
Most people learn with a BCD, some progress to a wing (a few start with a wing or go the other way, I guess), but if you'll only ever dive with a single tank, there's not a huge argument in favour of a wing as far as I can I tell (although it does tend to become a bit of a holy war on the diving forums - Think FWD vs RWD
).Interested to hear someone recently say they're aiming for Rescue Diver. I was going the PADI route, but it's pretty expensive. I joined my local BSAC group in January for less than a single PADI course and I've already learnt enough to justify the expense, in my view.
Working to convert over to Sports Diver, which should be done later in the year, which covers stuff that AOW doesn't (DSMB/SMB deployment and Rescue mostly).
Off for my first open water dive of the season tomorrow and two more in April, including a PADI Wreck Dive course on the Scylla!
I've got a week booked in September in Scapa Flow too and hoping to go somewhere warm and, at least mildly, exotic in the summer.
M.
marcosgt said:
People claim they're more adaptable, so if you move onto twinsets and tech diving, you don't need to replace so much.
In terms of floatation, the air is all behind you, so there's more propensity to push you onto your chest and face than with a vest style BCD.
Most people learn with a BCD, some progress to a wing (a few start with a wing or go the other way, I guess), but if you'll only ever dive with a single tank, there's not a huge argument in favour of a wing as far as I can I tell (although it does tend to become a bit of a holy war on the diving forums - Think FWD vs RWD).
Interested to hear someone recently say they're aiming for Rescue Diver. I was going the PADI route, but it's pretty expensive. I joined my local BSAC group in January for less than a single PADI course and I've already learnt enough to justify the expense, in my view.
Working to convert over to Sports Diver, which should be done later in the year, which covers stuff that AOW doesn't (DSMB/SMB deployment and Rescue mostly).
Off for my first open water dive of the season tomorrow and two more in April, including a PADI Wreck Dive course on the Scylla!
I've got a week booked in September in Scapa Flow too and hoping to go somewhere warm and, at least mildly, exotic in the summer.
M.
The floating face down isn't really an issue as the weight of your tank pulls you back, plus your body and your suit has it's own buoyancy. I wish I had bought a wing setup to begin with but I stuck with what I knew from my OW course. A wing setup is not very different in price to a decent jacket and there isn't much difference in the way you dive. What I really like about the wing and one piece harness is the movement you get. I find my stab jacket restricts the movement of my upper body quite a lot; I have trouble reaching my D-rings. With the OPH, my arms are completely free.In terms of floatation, the air is all behind you, so there's more propensity to push you onto your chest and face than with a vest style BCD.
Most people learn with a BCD, some progress to a wing (a few start with a wing or go the other way, I guess), but if you'll only ever dive with a single tank, there's not a huge argument in favour of a wing as far as I can I tell (although it does tend to become a bit of a holy war on the diving forums - Think FWD vs RWD
).Interested to hear someone recently say they're aiming for Rescue Diver. I was going the PADI route, but it's pretty expensive. I joined my local BSAC group in January for less than a single PADI course and I've already learnt enough to justify the expense, in my view.
Working to convert over to Sports Diver, which should be done later in the year, which covers stuff that AOW doesn't (DSMB/SMB deployment and Rescue mostly).
Off for my first open water dive of the season tomorrow and two more in April, including a PADI Wreck Dive course on the Scylla!
I've got a week booked in September in Scapa Flow too and hoping to go somewhere warm and, at least mildly, exotic in the summer.
M.
I know what you mean about the holy war but stab jacket vs. wing is nothing compared to:
- Hog-loop vs. bungeed long hose
- BCD vs. drysuit for buoyancy control
- Non-bungeed wing vs. bungeed wing of death
- PADI vs. BSAC
- GUE vs. every other agency
With the PADI vs. BSAC thing, I think both have their pros and cons. PADI are a money making outfit and you will pay more than joining a BSAC club but the training process can be horrendously slow. I don't think there is anything wrong with PADI standards but there are some horrendous PADI schools, mostly overseas, who give them a bad reputation. One thing that does concern me about PADI is the lack of DSMB training (unless you pay for the speciality). A DSMB is probably one of the most important bits of kit you can carry and I have one wherever I dive, be it in the sea or a muddy puddle. My advice to somebody starting out would be to go out and do the PADI open water course and get wet, and then join a crowbar-wielding beardy club to develop their skills.
Du1point8 said:
On my trip to Egypt we are doing a nile cruise (well we just hired the whole boat for a few days so we decide where it goes) and I end up in Luxor for a night.
Then it was the decision of do we go to Dahab (1 flight to cairo then 1 to Dahab) or hire a car to Marsa Alam, decided to go to Marsa Alam.
I know nothing of the place, but would like some pointers to nice dive sites and companies to use that are fun, but professional at the same time.
only need them for 3/4 dives as we are going there to relax, not to go bat st crazy diving up to 4 dives a day again like I did last time.
We went to Marsa Alam in May last year and stayed at the Shams Alam Hotel, it's not too bad as all inclusive hotels go and it has windsurfing as well as diving there which suited us very nicely, the clientele is mostly Italian with a few Russian, German and English, the food's okay and the atmosphere is very chilled.Then it was the decision of do we go to Dahab (1 flight to cairo then 1 to Dahab) or hire a car to Marsa Alam, decided to go to Marsa Alam.
I know nothing of the place, but would like some pointers to nice dive sites and companies to use that are fun, but professional at the same time.
only need them for 3/4 dives as we are going there to relax, not to go bat s
t crazy diving up to 4 dives a day again like I did last time. The dive centre there is called Wadi Gimal and is pretty sorted, I'd say just what you're looking for, they have a very nice house reef straight off the end of the jetty for just doing a single dive day as well as doing two dive boat days, there's lots of really nice diving with plenty of life and variety and the Egyptian food on the dive boat is superb.
Just completed my OW coarse in Coffs Harbour in Australia which was really good, saw lots of Turtles, Wobbegong Sharks etc. Then moved up to Cairns and went out for three dives on Hastings Reef, which was really lovely, although we did not see any Sharks or Rays which I was hoping for.
Whoops!![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/a0gXadMt.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/vcR7NjPf" Target="_blank">[img][url][img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/vcR7NjPf.jpg)
honest_delboy said:
Off to Mexico in a few weeks, going to do some diving in Cozumel so looking for any recommendations on good/bad dive centres.
I get quite bored on holiday so i find its nice to have an activity to break things up, i couldn't do liveaboards 3 dives per day etc. Takes too much out of me, i'm a "fairweather" diver if you see what i mean.
Dive the cenotes, Done it a couple of times and its awsome.I get quite bored on holiday so i find its nice to have an activity to break things up, i couldn't do liveaboards 3 dives per day etc. Takes too much out of me, i'm a "fairweather" diver if you see what i mean.
Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff