Hi everyone,

Just because winter is coming an the temperatures are dropping, doesn't mean you have to pack all your kit into the attic and sit huddled up in front of the fire for the next 5 months.

I started out just as a warm water diver, only diving whilst on holiday in the tropics. Slowly I moved up the ladder until I found myself as a divemaster. My first DM'ing was done at Wraysbury helping Simon out. The water was 9C and I borrowed a 7mm wetsuit. I was in the water for 45 mins in the morning and 50 mins in the afternoon both Sat & Sun - damn it was cold.

The next few DM'ing sessions I did at Wraysbury were not much different, except I wore my 5mm long wetsuit with my 3mm shortie over the top - I just wanted to dive and that is all I had - it was cold but I was manly about it and just got on with the job in hand.

Eventually, I was able to afford a drysuit, this was the best investment I can remember and all the DM'ing was much more pleasurable but I still feel for the students sometimes - Remember students, we have all been there too but we do our best to get you in, checked and out as best we can !!

Since getting my drysuit, I have dived at Vobster in 4C water with Kieran, Chepstow in 8C. I even did my Instructors Exam at Vobster in 9C water.

So my advice is - look into getting a drysuit and do the spec (Simon can help you out with both these) and lets do some winter diving !!

Happy diving.

Tags: UK Diving, Spec, Drysuit

Hi All,

I'm sure one of the other guys will post a detailed report on the club trip up to chepstow, so I though rather than repeat that I would cover (slightly tongue in cheek) what we learned on our trip away!

• If you call a two day trip away a holiday enough - it will actually feel like a holiday.
• The number of people to actualy come on a dive trip can be calcualted by:
  Number of people who said they will come - People who suddenly have to work one day + Last minute extras = Number of Divers (this number will always be one less than the number of beds booked at the hotel).
• It is possible to get 3 divers + all tanks, weights and kit inside one Vauxhal Astra and get from Lingfield to Wales and back on one tank of fuel.
• Fraser appears to develop automotive torrets at about 35mph - this is funny for 5 miles and then irritating for then next 290 miles.
• When a hotel is billed as a 3 Star, it will not have hair dryers, conditioner, free stuff - please remember to take your own or ask your room mate. It's not possible to have a shower using the hand wash!!
• Gordon Ramsey does not work at Weatherspoons! However there will be a lot of food, it will be cheap and the company will be great.
• Ken can safely be assumed to be turning up 3 hours after whatever time he has said he will - don't wait for him before ordering dinner.
• Do not take Fraser out for a curry the night before you are planning to stay in a hotel with him!
• Chepstow Dive Lake has to be one of the best inland dive sites in the UK.
• The staff are very understanding and helpful when divers surface demanding lifts, air fills and coffee - not always in that order.
• The battery on any camera will give up 1 second after you have lined up the best fish photo of your life, and 1 second before you actually pressed the shutter.
• Lindsey is a highly competent dive professional - until tanks and weights have to be moved - when she becomes all girly and gets the men to do it.
• UK diving can look like the Med with a little sun and a lot of imagination.
• Audi should only make one car, with one set of options and in one colour - this would save a great deal of argument on road trips. Whatever car they make will not be suitable for diving - LIVE WITH IT!! (this is a bit of an in joke - as Fraser / Lindsey to explain - Kieran now develops a nervous twitch whenever an Audi is seen or mentioned)
• Car sharing is a great idea - it's good for the environment, makes up for your own cars inability to carry anything bigger than a snorkle and a great way to learn all about your co-passengers hopes / dreams / sexual preferences!!
• Fraser can safely be relied on to offer to share the driving 2 seconds after you have pulled out of a garage / service station where there is no possibility of switching drivers for 60 miles.
• It is possible to eat pizza at 70mph while driving, but only where your passenger is willing to act as the air hostess and service it on a tray made from the box lid.
• It is not possible to stop your passengers dropping it all over your car!
• The fuel gauge failing on the homeward leg of the journey will cause panic in your passengers who suddenly have visions of spending the night on the M25 in the rain.

I'm sure my fellow divers will add comments about this, but before they do:

• Fraser, Lindsey, Simon G and Ken are some of the best guys ever to go diving with, really do make two days feel like a holiday and you are garunteed to love every minute of the trip. Thank you to all four of them for amking it such a great few days.

Safe diving

Kieran

Tags: UK Diving, Dive Club, Chepstow, Dive Trip

My first shore dive...  A great experience and one I will not forget in a hurry. A big thanks to all you guys who were there for a fab day.

Tags: Dive Trip, UK Diving, Shore Diving, Newhaven

After I don't know how long, on Oct 11th, we finally managed to get out and do a fun dive. This trip has been delayed, cancelled, put off and just about everything you can think of but we got it done in the end !

We went down to Newhaven and with the Help of Glenn & Richard of Newhaven Dive Centre, managed to get off dry land and headed out about 5 miles on to a choppy English Channel in a rib.

The dive was great, we did a wreck dive on the Brisbane which lies at about 25metres on a sandy/rocky bottom. It is mostly just a shell now as a lot of it has rotted away but there more aquatic life to see than I had imagined even though the vis was about 3-4 metres. The water temp was 15°C - not too bad !

All in all, we all had a great day, photos in the gallery section.

It won't be too long 'till the next one !!

Tags: Newhaven, UK Diving, Dive Trip