UKC

I have tried the UK Diving forum to no avail so was hoping to find some divers on here. I am back in the UK for six weeks from early May and want to get some dives in. I will be with a new Open Water diver so want to stay less than 20m if possible. I am looking at heading to Portland harbor and then west to Cornwall to find the basking sharks and was hoping to find someone who can comment on my choice of locations and offer some general advise. I have only ever dived in warmer water, never the UK. Can push depth a little if required.

Thanks to anyone that can help!

In reply to timmy a: Lyme Regis is nice and shallow (with good scalloping) IIRC. There are some superb wrecks and reefs off the Lizard in Cornwall.

In reply to timmy a:

Hi Timmy

If you've only ever dived in warmer water go nice and steady I would. I've found colder temperatures to be initially unforgiving if thing's go wrong.

I can't really comment on venues mind but hopefully someone can.

In reply to timmy a:

I always find Yorkshire Divers more useful than UK diving.

http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/forums/forum.php

In reply to timmy a: Have you got/are you used to using a drysuit? I wouldn't fancy diving in the UK in a wetsuit.

In reply to Submit to Gravity: I'll be hiring gear unfortunately so will be sure to get a dry suit. The cold will be enough of a shock as it is! Thanks for your help, I will take a look at a Lyme Regis too.

Thanks for your help guys! I knew I would find like minded climbers/divers on here

In reply to timmy a:

eh? I'm sure you're aware you can't just 'get' a dry suit? Uncontrolled feet first ascent in a dry suit can be very dangerous if you don't know how to deal with it...apparently people have been known to leave the water, like a balistic missile

In reply to timmy a: Chesil Cove at Portland is an excellent shore dive with good parking and easy access.Mullion in Cornwall is very good.

I am a complete fair weather diver, anywhere that needs more then a shorty wetsuit then I am not so keen. My last UK dive was in a lake in North Wales, visibility was about 2ft, just enough to see the shopping trollies and beer cans. Give me Koh Tao and the Red Sea any day!!

In reply to timmy a:
Porthkerris is the best location I know of the combines what you are after it has a very good dive site which encompasses a very good reef at a reasonably shallow depth with many rare fish and soft corrals.

http://porthkerris.com/category/contact-us/customer-comments/

You can also see basking shark there.

I can't rate this dive site enough, it's known to be one of the best novice dive sites in the southern UK however being on the lizard also means it's unlikely to be too busy.

In reply to Tiberius:

Good point - using a drysuit is completely different to using a wetsuit. You use the amount of air in the suit to control your buoyancy.

In reply to Submit to Gravity:

The dangerous situation is dropping head down. The suit has vents generally in the chest, and can manually be vented from the wrist, and in an emergency from the neck. However if you end up 'feet up', then you can't vent...the air expands, you accellerate up with no way of stopping...it takes only a few seconds for oxygen embolism to rip your lungs apart, if you survive that, then the nitrogen will embolism will boil your blood.

Sorry if that's a bit graphic, but 'getting' a wesuit without training is about sensible of soloing Malham cove in the dark.

In reply to timmy a:

I'd suggest a decent semi-dry. Perfectly acceptable in british summer.

In reply to timmy a: My prefered forum is UK Divers http://ukdivers.com/community/ but as someone else said probably the busiest UK dive forum is Yorkshire Divers.

UK diving is very different to the clear waters you get in the Med or Red Sea and as such is much more challenging so you are right to limit your depth whilst you get used to the unfamiliar conditions. You also need to be confident with dSMB deployment as most boat operators will expect you to ascend on a bag.

Portland I have dived with Fathom and Blues and also been recommended Scimitar. Both will take bookings from buddy pairs rather than requiring you to fill the whole boat, which is great if you are diving as a buddy pair rather than a club.
I personally would recommend the Countess of Earne as a dive as she is well preserved and shallow, the only downside is that like most of the dives within the harbour you need good bouyancy to avoid kicking up the silt.