Any Other Scuba Divers On Here?

[Simon Mac]

So you don't want an underwater Esprit then ?

 

Nope still an Elise man at heart:

 

[rocketian]

Quite a few of us then - mine are mostly in Stoney / Dosthill together with Lanzarote.

 

Anyone recommend a local dive club - Used to go with the Dive Shop in Stourbridge but it's closed and the nearest I've found is Immerse in Telford.

My club is in Bromsgrove, bit of a trek from Dudley.  Very active, about 50 members, own boat see http://www.mercian-divers.org.uk/ It is a BSAC club but welcome people from any training agency.  Club night is Monday, meet at the Dolphin Centre at 8 ish, wet session from 8:45 to 9:45 followed by pub

[TimSportsTourer]

Since I'm a diabetic, I've never been able to learn to scuba dive. Shame – it's the sort of thing that would once have appealed to me a lot. I have been to the Silfra rift, though. We went snorkelling there, in the dark of January. The water was much warmer than the surroundings, but that's not saying much. They gave us lovely fleecy jumpsuits and a drysuit, and so it was pretty warm and toasty, apart from those few millimetres of lips between your hood and the snorkel, which felt as if they had gone blue within seconds. It was an astonishing experience, though – way better than snorkelling in the Caribbean of some tropical paradise. Seriously. Can't recommend Iceland highly enough as a holiday destination. The weirdest thing was flying there – you take off from London (or wherever) and follow exactly the same route you follow on a flight to America. The same transition into transatlantic airspace and everything, but in a 737. I couldn't help feeling weird, knowing full well that a 737 can't make it that far. I travel that way a lot for work, but in more grown-up aircraft. Rationally, it's all obviously fine, but it did feel somehow nerve-wracking. 

[rocketian]

Since I'm a diabetic, I've never been able to learn to scuba dive. Shame – it's the sort of thing that would once have appealed to me a lot. I have been to the Silfra rift, though. We went snorkelling there, in the dark of January. The water was much warmer than the surroundings, but that's not saying much. They gave us lovely fleecy jumpsuits and a drysuit, and so it was pretty warm and toasty, apart from those few millimetres of lips between your hood and the snorkel, which felt as if they had gone blue within seconds. It was an astonishing experience, though – way better than snorkelling in the Caribbean of some tropical paradise. Seriously. Can't recommend Iceland highly enough as a holiday destination. The weirdest thing was flying there – you take off from London (or wherever) and follow exactly the same route you follow on a flight to America. The same transition into transatlantic airspace and everything, but in a 737. I couldn't help feeling weird, knowing full well that a 737 can't make it that far. I travel that way a lot for work, but in more grown-up aircraft. Rationally, it's all obviously fine, but it did feel somehow nerve-wracking. 

Tim

 

Being diabetic is not a problem - we have one in my club.  All she has to do is get a cert from a Diving medical referee every year - she is insulin dependant

[Simon Mac]

Tim

 

Being diabetic is not a problem - we have one in my club.  All she has to do is get a cert from a Diving medical referee every year - she is insulin dependant

 

Same is true in the world of PADI. 

 

A friend of mine, got a doctor to sign him off so he could do a discovery dive.  He's a steeplejack as a profession, turns out fear of heights and fear of depths aren't correlated

 

Interesting article.

 

http://precisiondiving.net/blog/diabetes-and-scuba-diving-not-a-contradiction/

 

 

Far more advanced stuff than I'd do. I've only done one "deco" dive, and don't really want to do any more, I'm happy enough sticking inside the recreational tables.

[rocketian]

Same is true in the world of PADI. 

 

A friend of mine, got a doctor to sign him off so he could do a discovery dive.  He's a steeplejack as a profession, turns out fear of heights and fear of depths aren't correlated

 

Interesting article.

 

http://precisiondiving.net/blog/diabetes-and-scuba-diving-not-a-contradiction/

 

 

Far more advanced stuff than I'd do. I've only done one "deco" dive, and don't really want to do any more, I'm happy enough sticking inside the recreational tables.

I very rarely do a deco dive as well.  Most of my diving is around 20m and you run out of air before bottom time. 

 

I did dive the M2 (1930s submarine off Weymouth) this year - about 35m - did that as a deco otherwise you only get 11minutes on air, but even then only did 5 or 6mins deco

[Simon Mac]

I very rarely do a deco dive as well.  Most of my diving is around 20m and you run out of air before bottom time. 

 

I did dive the M2 (1930s submarine off Weymouth) this year - about 35m - did that as a deco otherwise you only get 11minutes on air, but even then only did 5 or 6mins deco

 

Pretty consistent with my diving TBH. I'm very conservative, I always do my safety stops, come up very slowly, especially the last 5 metres, whereas loads of people see their computer clear the safety stop , and pop straight to the surface at a rate of knots!

 

Saying that my kit isn't really up for anything more extreme, I don't dive with a twinset, or pony, so straight ascent to surface for me.

 

I have a KISS policy with my kit, in fact I'm still using my first ever "school kit style" non-integrated BC... Seen people loose integrated weights far too frequently! 

So it might not have enough lift for a twinset, or air actuated tank closure (or whatever other "must have" gadget of the month is), but otherwise it's light enough for travel, works perfectly well for training, and no issues with everything from a drysuit to 3mm shorty.

[SMP]

My club is in Bromsgrove, bit of a trek from Dudley.  Very active, about 50 members, own boat see http://www.mercian-divers.org.uk/ It is a BSAC club but welcome people from any training agency.  Club night is Monday, meet at the Dolphin Centre at 8 ish, wet session from 8:45 to 9:45 followed by pub

Thanks Ian - I'll do some digging and be in touch !

 

My two daughters (13 and 11) are also qualified so you may be getting 3 new members soon :-)

 

Simon

[DanP]

Just landed in Okinawa. Going diving tomorrow!

[macey]

Hello, my wife and I are both divers. BSAC advanced. Don't do much in the UK now as prefer warmer waters these days. Done our time at Stoney Cove.. We live in SE Asia 6 months of the year so will be diving around Bali and the surrounding islands soon.

[DanP]

Loving those old celicas and skylines in Okinawa.

 

 

The diving is ok too. But humpback whale season is the time to come.

 

Plus, everyone else is a squaddie. Conversations is dominated by talk of pax rides in f15s and the like.

 

Hello, my wife and I are both divers. BSAC advanced. Don't do much in the UK now as prefer warmer waters these days. Done our time at Stoney Cove.. We live in SE Asia 6 months of the year so will be diving around Bali and the surrounding islands soon.

Hi Macey

 

I spend a lot of time in Asia too.

 

Bali is a good all round holiday . Easy to get to, good facilities, some outstanding sites. But Lombok is more pristine, with a chilled out vibe. Spent 2 weeks there (Bali, and the Gilli Islands, off Lombok).

 

I really rate the Philippines- Malapasqua for the thresher sharks, Manado for the macro life (Edit: except I've just remembered manado is in Indonesia:-)). But you have to be a little bit more adventurous to get there.

 

We were going to do Palau and Sipadan (edit for spelling!!). But figured they were, if not overrated, then pricy given what was on hand in the Philippines.

 

Have fun！

 

Dan

[Simon Mac]

Just landed in Okinawa. Going diving tomorrow!

 

I'm officially jealous!

[macey]

Simon, yes we dived Bali (Nusa Lembongan) in March. Was very good. Planning to go to the Gillies this time out here.. Interested in your Philippines recommendations.

[DanP]

I'm officially jealous!

Don't be jealous, at least on the diving front - humpback whale and hammerhead season isn't until January-March.

 

I'm living next to a U.S. Air base. It's like farmbrough air show, with f18 Hornets and chinooks flying past my window. Cool.