• Welcome to the DeeperBlue.com Forums, the largest online community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing. To gain full access to the DeeperBlue.com Forums you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:

    • Join over 44,280+ fellow diving enthusiasts from around the world on this forum
    • Participate in and browse from over 516,210+ posts.
    • Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
    • Post your own photos or view from 7,441+ user submitted images.
    • All this and much more...

    You can gain access to all this absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!

Marseille and nearby.

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
It can take a long time to get an up-to-date response or contact with relevant users.

oldfather

Member
Jul 11, 2013
61
9
23
I will be staying between Marseille and Aix-en-provence from middle April to Middle May.
I have a few questions for those of you diving regularly in the region:
1. will a compressed 3mm open cell be sufficient or do I need to pack the 5mm?
2. are there any of you willing to have me taga along?
3. how easy is it to find dive budies or dive groups around there?

I enjoy recreational freediving, but will be happy to partake in line diving or tagging along for spearfishing (in case someone needs a budy).
Merci beaucoup

Oldfather
 
Hi, i'm not a freediver but i practice spearfishing. I'm from Aix-en-Provence.

In May, the sea is about 18-20 degrees C. However we have a very windy area. If the prevailing wind ("le Mistral") blows, the water temperature can drop to 14-16 degrees.... So a 5mm would be better! Personnaly I use 7mm until March then 5mm until July or August. but when the mistral blows i take my 7mm, even in August July!!!

If you freedive i think it would be better to go in the "calanques" between Cassis and Marseille.
You can also rent easily a boat on a website like clickandboat, and go to the Marseille islands (le Frioul, le château d'If, Jarre, Jarron Maïre, etc).

PErsonnaly i enjoy spearfishing in "la côte bleue", which is located at the west of Marseille (Between Martigues and Marseille).

Beware of the boats: pay attention to have good signalization!

Have a good trip.
 
I take my 3mm only a very few day in the year ( twice in 2017!). But it' for spearfishing: i stay more than 4/5 hours in the sea.
 
18-20 degrees seems fine for 3mm open cell. I used a 3mm in October November in NY USA I believe the water temp was 15 degrees.
Used the 5mm at the end of November early December 90 min in the water and I was fine. Not cold

On the other hand I just did the scuba certification in Playa del Carmen Mexico. Water was about 20 24 degrees, but lots of wind from the north or east. I felt cold after 30 min.
But they gave me one of those closed cell wetsuits with zipper on the back. It was a 3mm one and looser than my mako 3mm and cressi apnea 5mm.
I think 3mm open cell may be enough .
You could get one of IST rash guards with 2mm neoprene on chest and back. You could layer it if cold.

Calanques are spectacular. Marseille is an amazing place. Never dove there, but I'd love to go back. Snubbed by mainstream tourism but simply awesome.
I'm envious!

Sent from my Moto E (4) Plus using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for all the comments.
5mm it is then. We have 18 degrees in winter and it is definately too cold for 3mm especialy with a cold breeze if you want to stay in the water for anything more than 30 minutes.
It is encouraging to hear there is good diving to be had. I still hope I can connect with a group to buddy up for some dives, otherwise I am back to square one, snorkling alone, wishing I could relax and freedive safely with a buddy.

O
 
DeeperBlue.com - The Worlds Largest Community Dedicated To Freediving, Scuba Diving and Spearfishing

ABOUT US

ISSN 1469-865X | Copyright © 1996 - 2024 deeperblue.net limited.

DeeperBlue.com is the World's Largest Community dedicated to Freediving, Scuba Diving, Ocean Advocacy and Diving Travel.

We've been dedicated to bringing you the freshest news, features and discussions from around the underwater world since 1996.

ADVERT