Pool Practice Diving in Melbourne

[funfilledfrog]

Hi guys,

I'm fairly new to Melbourne (and Australia for that matter).

I've picked up some dive gear and would like to do some practice pool dives to get acquainted with it. I would also like to practice buoyancy control, trim and smb etc.

Coming from Dublin, Ireland; we had regular meetings at the local Aquatic Centre where various dive clubs would get together and practice skills. I would have thought there would be something like that here but I haven't had any luck finding a place.

I was wondering if anyone here would be so kind as to point me in the right direction.

Many thanks!

 

[Marie13]

Just a couple general suggestions that apply here in the US.

Call the local dive shops. See if they have a pool on site you can use for a fee. Or see if you can piggyback when they have a pool session for an OW class, even if they have to rent pool space (in a community pool, for example).

 

[stiebs]

Where in Melbourne are you?

 

[MA]

People generally practice those sort of skills under a pier where conditions are generally pretty easy. The best bet is to get involved with a dive club and there will you meet plenty of buddies to do this with. Diveline and ocean divers are a couple of great shops to try.

 

[stiebs]

Rye pier, Blairgowrie yacht club and flinders pier are all popular locations, and also a bit to see. Flinders is the shallowest, maxing out at about 5m, and of those ones Blairgowrie the deepest, where you can find 8m if you bring a shovel.

Definitely pay Ocean Divers (oceandivers.com.au) a visit, especially if you're in the south East. They run regular club shore dives.

 

[funfilledfrog]

Hey guys,

A very big thank you for all the responses!

I'm living in Elsternwick at the moment.

I've already emailed Ocean Divers and while helpful they weren't able to shed any light on some local pool diving. I did say I would stop by for a chat as I would like to integrate into the diving community. I don't know why I thought pool diving would be a common thing around here. Unfortunately Dublin shore or shallow dives usually consisted of poor visibility and a fairly rough water making practice quite hard. The West Coast and North is where the good diving is at.

I've read somewhere that pools don't really like divers because they can damage the pools which makes sense I guess.

Rye pier, Blairgowrie yacht club and flinders pier are all popular locations, and also a bit to see. Flinders is the shallowest, maxing out at about 5m, and of those ones Blairgowrie the deepest, where you can find 8m if you bring a shovel..

Hey Stiebs, thank you for the suggestions. I'll scope out those locations and give it a shot. I think Ocean Divers is the way to go as I'll still need to rent air and weights and that makes the most sense.

I also came across the MUUC (Melbourne University Underwater Club). It seems anyone can join the club and their gear hire is more than fair. Any suggestions?

I really appreciate all the help!

 

[nato]

Hey FFF,
Im always about somewhere underwater around the Mornington peninsula. Rye, Rosebud, (all the usual suspects)
I know the guys at ocean divers. Great dive shop with even better staff. Also get out on the local wrecks if that is of interest.

Feel free to drop me a line some time to catch up for a dive. Always looking to expand my network of divers.

Have a group of people ranging from fresh out of OW to tech certs.

Happy to do some drills at the end of a dive ect.

If this sounds like your thing ill pass on some contact details.

Cheers

Dive safe

Nath

 

[funfilledfrog]

Hey FFF,
Im always about somewhere underwater around the Mornington peninsula. Rye, Rosebud, (all the usual suspects)
I know the guys at ocean divers. Great dive shop with even better staff. Also get out on the local wrecks if that is of interest.

Feel free to drop me a line some time to catch up for a dive. Always looking to expand my network of divers.

Have a group of people ranging from fresh out of OW to tech certs.

Happy to do some drills at the end of a dive ect.

If this sounds like your thing ill pass on some contact details.

Cheers

Dive safe

Nath

Hey Nath,

That sounds great! I'm really keen to expand my network too.

I've dived a couple of wrecks in Portsea but that's about it so far.

I'll call around to Ocean Divers this weekend to have a chat with the guys and introduce myself.

I would be really keen to join you on any dives and meet anyone else you bring along. Give me an idea of your schedule and we can work something out. For now I'll have to rent the remainder of my gear but it shouldn't be long until I have everything else I need.

 

[nato]

Ive dropped you a Private message,
im generally available on weekends but can do a mid week after work dive. pretty easy when it comes to diving.

Have all my own gear so can dive on short notice.

 

[elmo]

Hey guys,

A very big thank you for all the responses!

I'm living in Elsternwick at the moment.

I've already emailed Ocean Divers and while helpful they weren't able to shed any light on some local pool diving. I did say I would stop by for a chat as I would like to integrate into the diving community. I don't know why I thought pool diving would be a common thing around here. Unfortunately Dublin shore or shallow dives usually consisted of poor visibility and a fairly rough water making practice quite hard. The West Coast and North is where the good diving is at.

I've read somewhere that pools don't really like divers because they can damage the pools which makes sense I guess.



Hey Stiebs, thank you for the suggestions. I'll scope out those locations and give it a shot. I think Ocean Divers is the way to go as I'll still need to rent air and weights and that makes the most sense.

I also came across the MUUC (Melbourne University Underwater Club). It seems anyone can join the club and their gear hire is more than fair. Any suggestions?

I really appreciate all the help!

I think pools are often worried about duty of care. Instructors can organize access for courses because they have insurance for that. Otherwise it's much harder but not unheard of. Unfortunately I only tool up diving after university, but I've heard very good things about Melbourne (and Monash) dive clubs, and universities have pools so access might be easier.

The dive shops already mentioned are great. As are the pier dives. Rickets Point is closer to you if you don't want to drive >1hr just to check waiting. I haven't dived it myself but I think OD would. A bit shallower than the others I believe.