|
|
|
|
So you are
interested in scuba diving
What does it involve and where do I start
Well many questions are asked of us, here is a very good example with some excellent answers extracted from our forums you can read the whole thread by clicking here.
This is a summery of the questions and answers (edited to keep this page clear and directly to the point): |
 Question Posted by Martin: |
| Want to learn to dive, but a bit lost! |
Diving is one of those things that I have been meaning to learn for many years now, but never manage to get around to.
Came close when I lived in South Africa by buying snorkeling stuff for a starter, but since moving to the UK, have put the idea on the back-burner.
My question(s) is (are), what on earth do I actually NEED to learn??
I have looked at a few web sites offering tuition, and the array of courses on offer is simply mind-boggling.
My aim with wanting to learn (if this helps?) is purely something else to do when on holiday etc.
i.e. I don't want to be a professional of some sort, just see "stuff" underwater.
I managed to work out that I need to do a PADI Open water firstly, but after that I lost it!! I also seem to recall in SA that there was another organisation similar to PADI??? Any differences between the two?
So, my next question. If I were to do a taster course of some description, and found that I liked this diving malarky; what do people tend to do equipment-wise???
Does everybody own everything you need, or just certain bits & hire the rest on-site?
I quite like having gadgets & gear for various other pass-times, so expect that I would end up buying all my own gear. Is this right/silly/exorbitant?? |
 Answer Posted by Ellie: |
You were kinda right... All you need is to get your PADI Open Water cert... To get this initially all you need is money and PADI medical form signed off by your doctor ( if you tick yes to any of the questions on the form ).
If you were to do a taster then carry on, the dive school will provide all your equipment but most peeps tend to buy at least their own mask and snorkel so they get one that's comfy.
Buying all your own equipment is pretty expensive so I guess it depends how much diving you will do and where. If you were only going to be an occasional holiday diver then its maybe not worth it. A lot of peeps ( me included ) do own their own equipment, but these peeps tend to dive in the UK or do lots of holiday diving. But then you can still buy things you may use on hols. |
| Answer Posted by Pete: |
Ellie covered most of it, I would say the best thing is to do your OW where the club will supply the kit, then maybe take a few specialty courses to get some extra diving experience under instruction, by then you should know if your going to take to it or not.
Once you have made that decision then it will be worth investing in some kit, like Ellie says get the basics like mask, fins, snorkel etc, this stuff you can always use again even if you don't take it up full on. |
|
|
| Answer Posted by Annie: |
Your main choices are PADI or BSAC - and there are pros and cons for both. There are also others such as SAA or SSI (My main difficulty with starting through BSAC was that I had to buy ALL my kit before I could even get wet. That was too much money for me to spend on something that I had no idea if I would take to. I do know that some clubs have loan kit though.) I stayed with PADI because I couldn't find a club local enough to me that met at a convenient time for me.
Have a look and see what is in your area. Book a try dive. Don't necessarily go with the first place you look at. Make sure you are comfortable with whoever it is that will be teaching you. As Ellie said, most PADI schools will supply kit for you while you are doing a course. The natural progression is to buy your own kit rather than hire - cheaper in the long run and you are more likely to go diving more often (if only to justify the expense!)
There will be LOTS of shiny new toys for you to add to the collection and I predict you will, like the rest of us, be totally addicted before long!! |
| Answer Posted by Tommo: |
| Hi Martin and welcome to UKDivers, I think you are in the right place for dive info etc, I think the guys have covered anything which I may suggest, just book a try dive and go for it, you will love it i'm sure, and there's loads of dive sites around the place, I'm never stuck for a dive buddy when I visit places, and I'm sure you will be the same when you get sorted. |
| Answer Posted by Whacky: |
the only thing I will add is make sure you find an instructor/club/school your comfortable with. Whatever agency you choose to learn to dive with you will have set requirements that have to be met. An instructor that you feel comfortable with can have a laugh with makes it all the more fun.
|
| Answer Posted by Harry: |
As others have said above, if you want to dive mainly in the UK, you are probably better served by joining a club, be it SAA or BSAC. UK diving is more a team sport, launching RIB's, hiring hard boats for off shore wrecks, running compressors in remote locations, are all things that are much more practical in larger groups. Adds to the fun as well .
UK does have some superb diving, but is cold, tidal and sometimes our unreliable weather is a challenge.
If you are more inclined to gentler and warmer outings in foreign climes PADI certification is a very reasonable approach, it's accepted pretty much anywhere worldwide. It's also generally accepted as a starter qualification by UK diving clubs.
You don't need to make that decision immediately (or ever really, there is nothing to stop you following both roads) but in straight speed and cost terms, if you plan on following the PADI route, you can get a crew pack and video in the UK and do the Open Water paper course work and watch the videos in your own time and pace in the UK, then complete the in water training and take the final exam as part of a foreign holiday.
If you are already a fairly experienced snorkeller there should be nothing particularly challenging in an PADI Open Water diving course.
Assuming that you are fairly convinced that you want to take up diving, a crew pack and video can be bought for around £50, and is in and of itself quite interesting ( and you can get clarification here for any points that drift past you )
That would let you do your try dive and if that suits you your open water course as part of a week or so's overseas holiday.
Facilities that offer warm water training are available all across the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, Maldives, Thailand and Dominican Republic, at least, basically wherever you fancy a holiday.
In the Maldives or Thailand at least you would be OK in a shorty we suit.
Alternatively you can do the paper work AND the confined water dives in the UK, and then get "Referred" to a dive school in warm climes to do the open water work. This will cut the overseas course down to just four dives, about two days worth.
Or you can do the lot with a UK dive school. That will probably take you longer than the overseas course and probably cost more, since it involves multiple outings to (probably) UK quarries, and rather more serious environmental protection.
Doing your Open water in the UK would possibly better prepare you for UK conditions, though IMHO doing an Open Water course overseas in easy conditions, and then facing the dragons in UK quarries for your Advanced open water/SAA or BSAC training course is a better plan if that's the way you want to go.
In my experience you need not fear that the diving instruction overseas is not of a satisfactory standard. I've had direct experience of around a dozen PADI instructors, and all have been extremely competent and professional. Watching a group of instructor candidates training at DiveMed was enlightening. The standard set is high. I can't say the same about all the DM's I've run across though.
If you start diving seriously you will find you want your own kit. It becomes "part of you", fine tuned to how you like it set up. It's also your life on the line if it fails.
Hiring regs and BCD for your Open Water course is probably a good idea, to give you some background to judge kit against, but if you go further with diving you will almost certainly want to get your own.
|
|
| Answer Posted by Pete: |
I would suggest that you give a few centers a ring & see who can offer the choices that best meet your needs.
Regardless of who you choose, initially, go along and do a try dive (DSD - Discover Scuba Diving)) to see if it is for you and that you feel comfy with the centers methods and approach. |
| Question Posted by Al1x: |
| I just wondered how BSAC compares. Do you pay for courses like PADI (but cheaper!) or is it much different? I heard there is a yearly fee to dive with BSAC.. is that right? |
| Answer Posted by Ian: |
PADI is a commercial organisation that will sell you a course for cash. You then do the course, and get a certificate if you pass. Mostr training prices include air fills, site/boat fees, kit hire etc. Most courses require 2-5 dives and can be done in 2-3 days, until you get to Dive Master level. There are also PADI affiliated diving clubs, some of which are run as businesses and some as members clubs. Many PADI centers can hire you kit, and often you can hire kit from the same center if you dive with an affiliated club.
BSAC is a national diving club. To be a member, you pay dues to BSAC. Most activity takes place within a local branch. You pay fees to the local branch too. Some branches have their own boats, compressors etc. My branch has one RIB, and charges about £30 a year for membership. BSAC costs about £45 a year for membership which includes third party liability insurance and asubscription to DIVE! magazine.
Training within BSAC branches is free, and the instructors are fellow members who volunteer their time. That said, you will need a training pack (usually £20-30 for a course) and you will need to pay your own site/boat fees, air fills etc. Some but not all BSAC branches can rent kit to you, but you will have to pay for this too. BSAC training takes place in peoples homes and on club trips, and it very experience based. Expect to take weeks or months to complete a course and gain the required experience, not days. My Sport Diver qual to 6 months, Dive Leader took a year.
Quality of instruction is extremely variable both within BSAC or PADI. It varies more between instructors than it does between organisations though. The main accepted difference is that BSAC is more geared specifically to UK conditions. Things like Drysuit and DSMB use are included as standard in the training.
For a new diver, getting PADI Open Water and BSAC Ocean Diver will actually cost a similar amount usually, taking into acount joining fees, kit rental etc. I have found subsequent courses to be much cheaper (cost of course pack + air fills) with BSAC than with PADI.
Different routes suit different people - I thought my PADI initial training was great, but my BSAC training has been great for building in-depth knowledge, experience and confidence that I (personally, with my learning style) would never have got from PADI style training. That said, I would never have started out if I had to go through BSAC Ocean Diver over several months!!! My advice would be pick clubs and training that suit you, and treat agency affiliation as a deeply secondary thing! Mix and match where necessary!
|
|
|
| |
| If you have other useful hints
and tips you think would be of interest to
someone thinking about taking up recreational scuba diving make a
posting to our forums and I will endeavor to work your insights into
this article. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
