traveling to Germany, want to dive in England while there

[gaffman]

Hello all, my name is Jay and I will be visiting family based in Germany the last 2 weeks in August. I would like to come to England and do some diving while I'm there. I am relatively new to diving, and I will be taking the Padi Advance Open Water course before leaving home. I'm not sure if I'll have this opportunity again, so I'd really like to dive a wreck or two. I will be on my own from August 19th through the 22nd which is when I would like to dive. Any advice?

 

[rivers]

Where have you dived before? What is your experience? Do you know how to put up a DSMB? Diving in the UK is great, but there are factors that come into play when diving in the sea. You may have trouble finding someone to dive with as the sea can be an unforgiving place. It's cold, vis can be questionable, it can be dark, etc.
I would post over on the The Dive Forum (www.thediveforum.com). It's mainly UK based, so you may have some luck. if you're going to be based in the southern part of the country, I would suggest somewhere like Portland Harbour to dive. Loads of wrecks, shallow, and the weather has to be really ****e to not get out. I would also suggest diving with Scimitar (Scimitar Diving | Dive Charters | PADI & SSI Dive Schools | Covering Dorset from Weymouth & Portland). Not sure if they hire kit though.

 

[chrisch]

I think the advice above is good. The best diving in England is in the South West as a general rule. Plymouth is a big dive destination and you will find centres there that will rent kit and help you with a buddy.

Try Aquanauts - Dive Equipment, Plymouth Diving and Dive Courses if you head in that direction. There are two easy wrecks there the Scylla (artificially sunk for divers) and the James Egan Layne (liberty ship) that are very popular and well worth the effort.

 

[Redshift]

Will you have any equipment with you? Do you dive dry? I guess it's possible to do some shallow dives wet in the summer, but brrrr...

 

[chrisch]

Sea temperatures in South West England in August will be 15-17C. (I wouldn't get wet mind you )

 

[rivers]

Sea temperatures in South West England in August will be 15-17C. (I wouldn't get wet mind you )

I think it will be a bit warmer than that. I had 18* in Swanage a few weeks back, and 15* in Plymouth. I'd say 17-20C depending. I still wouldn't dive wet, but then again, it has to over 30* for me to think about putting my shorty on.

 

[Redshift]

Under the Swanage pier you get 18, but if you go for a dip in the Kyarra (by the way, a nice wreck, gaffman) maybe it's a bit colder...

 

[rivers]

Under the Swanage pier you get 18, but if you go for a dip in the Kyarra (by the way, a nice wreck, gaffman) maybe it's a bit colder...

I was at 30m on the carentan

---------- Post added July 23rd, 2014 at 08:23 AM ----------

I also wouldn't suggest the Kyarra (or any 30m wreck in the UK), to a new diver who has no experience with UK sea diving. I think something like Portland Harbour would be more suited to his experience level. I'm guessing he has never put up a blob before, a skill that is essential if you're diving something like the Kyarra. Not as essential as the harbour, where you can come up the shot and you're in a fairly sheltered environment. But, at the same time, you're diving real wrecks

---------- Post added July 23rd, 2014 at 08:32 AM ----------

Checkout some of what Portland Harbour has to offer here: Shallow Portland - Divernet

 

[Redshift]

No need to go to 30m, there are shallower areas of the wreck. I only mentioned it because of the mention of Swanage. But he said he'd be doing AOW before and UK waters are not always the worst in the world. It depends on where he's been diving before. I've seen a lot worse conditions (viz in particular) inside Portland harbour. But there are other places with shallow wrecks, things like the Black Hawk bow. Inside the harbour he may be sheltered, but also may get a boat against his head. I think a blob is always needed
Or around Bovi, James Egan Layne, Scylla...

 

[rivers]

No need to go to 30m, there are shallower areas of the wreck. I only mentioned it because of the mention of Swanage. But he said he'd be doing AOW before and UK waters are not always the worst in the world. It depends on where he's been diving before. I've seen a lot worse conditions (viz in particular) inside Portland harbour. But there are other places with shallow wrecks, things like the Black Hawk bow. Inside the harbour he may be sheltered, but also may get a boat against his head. I think a blob is always needed
Or around Bovi, James Egan Layne, Scylla...

I still wouldn't suggest the Kyarra to a new diver. JEL is a great wreck and doable if he can put a blob up. And Plymouth is where the vis is at the moment. Conditions and vis are a bit variable at the moment in most places. If he can't put a blob up, then I agree, UK sea diving should be avoided. But if he is adamant, Portland Harbour at least has the option of always coming up the shot, and Smudge does a good job of patrolling the wreck when he has divers down.