Diving UK

[OceansElwell]

I have yet to Dive in the UK, (Where i live) however, i do lots of snorkeling abroad and i am starting Freediving/Spearfishing. This year i travelled to Lanzarote, where the diving was simply Epic! 25+ vis and giant stingray, great barracuda, angel shark!... However.. My surfing trip to Cornwall sent me out snorkeling and i was Suprised by the amount off life! The vis was about 10m but the kelp beds and life was amazing, there were 30cm wide starfish and spider crabs lurking everywhere, including the occasional Bass and Mullet! I am totally hooked and wish to start diving in the UK!

However.. I am yet to complete my drysuit diving course.. and i was woundering if it is possible to dive in the warmer seasons with a wetsuit, probibally 7mm or something? I live near Manchester and would travel to Angleysea to dive as ive seen on some videos and articles that there is much life to see! Would this be possible then with a wetsuit?

 

[devondave]

If you mean scuba diving, then you can dive in UK waters all year round with a wetsuit.
I used to use a 5mm with a 5mm shorty over it.
The problem is not the diving, it's getting changed before and afterwards, taking off a wet suit in a driving, sleet-ridden January wind is not for the faint hearted.
Dry suits are the way to go for UK diving, even in the summer time, I would not use a wet suit these days.
Get your dry suit course done and stay toasty warm.
(You don't need to do the dry suit course but it does help iron out a few potential problems.)

Dave.

 

[OceansElwell]

Cheers mate! Ill try and get the course done! But in the mean time.. i think ill try it out using a 7mm then! if it begins to get chilly, then its drysuit all the way! I know some people who also used semi dry's and said it was ok!

 

[Old Man Dave]

I do 3 tanks a day for 8 hours total in my wet suit in the summer. I'm using my 5mm spearing suit with a 2mm vest underneath.

My buddy uses a specialist scuba wetsuit comprising 7mm one piece with 5mm shortie over the top. Both Cressi and Beuchat make similar suits and they are designed for water down to 11 degrees.

More than the water temperature it's wind chill out of the water after you're wet that often is the killer.

July to September in southern UK water at depths to 100 foot and up to 3 dives per day then wetsuits are fine.

When I dived commercially I used compressed neoprene MTM dry suits and they can enhance your comfort except when the sun is cooking you between dives and you gotta go pee pee. Then you wish you had a wet suit on.

Dry suits cost £400 - £900 where as scuba wetsuits are more like £200 -£350. Also a hole in a wetsuit makes little difference. Can't tell you' despite the £800 price tag and only 2 - year life, how many times my dry suit was a wet suit.

Just a few ramblings so make of it what you will.

Dave.

 

[OceansElwell]

Sounds like ill try out some wetsuit dives then cheers!

 

[OceansElwell]

Ive Ended up with a 6mm semi-dry and a 6mm shorty on top.. i got the lot with a hood, second hand for £65 quid!! chuffed! used it today.. was toasty

 

[Old Man Dave]

Nice one. Sounds like a deal. At the moment the water is around it's maximum temperature and if it's a sunny day then - bonus.

Dave.

 

[OceansElwell]

Yeh! Im going out with my dad on sunday at a quarry... vis isnt up to much but water seems fine! ... The manager of my dive centre said the suit is good as new, and the only reason he's selling it is because he was replacing all the others!!
Its in real good shape! Anyway, thanks for the info, it helped much.. I heard that people also don't fell as comfatable in drysuits... Cheers mate! Oli.