UKC

I've done a few dives on holiday with an instructor and always wanted to learn to dive properly.

Does anyone know of anywhere you can learn that is close to Leeds?

Also, do you generally need your own gear? My local club back home said that after a few lessons I'd be expected to buy my own kit which could be about £1500...

In reply to James Malloch: if you do a course, they`ll provide you with tank,belt regs & jacket, you`ll be expected to provide your own wetsuit fins mask & snorkel, although they may hire them to you.

you should be able to get a good 7-8mm semi-dry/wet suit at a reasonable price, personally i wouldnt bother with a dry suit as they really arent necessary, unless you are planning on doing technical deep (50m+) diving year round, ive always used wetsuit or semi-dry (& ive atlantic in winter & scapa flow)
not sure on dive centres in leeds.

In reply to skarabrae: actually, ive just remembered, my old dive buddy may have all his kit for sale,(he had to quit diving for medical reasons) its a few year old & will need servicing, but is perfectly safe (i`d happily use it)
he lives in newcastle tho.
if interested, e-mail me via the site & i`ll forward you his number.

davey.

In reply to James Malloch: Try http://www.padi.com/scuba/locate-a-padi-dive-shop/default.aspx - five came up by searching for "leeds".

All the PADI schools I've been to have provided the gear you needed.

In reply to James Malloch:

You can join a BSAC club and get taught quite cheap. It works on a volenteer basis with people teaching for free. Most clubs have kit to hire and you can gradually buy your own. Kinda like joining a local climbing club.

PADI is a commercial scheme sold through shops. Generally quicker, but more expensive. Kinda like going on a climbing course at PYB or similar.

Rapidly growing in the UK is GUE. They mainly teach advanced helium and cave diving courses, but have arguably the best basic course in the world (GUE Rec 1). The emphasis is about real skill in the water with bouyancy and movement control, not just the usual mask clearing etc. Kinda like having Neil Gresham teaching you to climb on a 1-1 basis for 10days.

I know John Kendall, GUE instructor will be doing a meet and greet session at Diving Lesuire in Leeds on 7th Dec. Might be worth a chat if you're tempted by it.

Give me a shout if you need any more info.

In reply to James Malloch:
I know a few people who learnt to dive with the army as civilians who really rated the course. I get the impression the style of teaching isn't for everyone but they said it was very good and pretty cheap. I don't know if the courses are available everywhere though.

In reply to James Malloch:

Think this is more of a question for the yorkshire divers forum (google it). There's loads of guys on there from all other the world and I'm sure there'll be people from a number of the leeds based clubs who are happy to help.

Regarding gear to start with you'll want to be borrowing/hiring gear from the club/centre you're learning with (apart from mask/fins/snorkel which I'd really get your own). Once you've started doing some open water diving you'll get an idea of what kit you like and then can gradually pick up a full set of kit (assuming that your doing enough diving to make it worthwhile).

Regarding dry suits if you go to any dive site in the uk you'll find 99%+ of the people there are diving in dry suits. The one purchase I (BSAC open water instructor) always advise a student to get is a good quality, well fitted dry suit and undersuit (can get second hand for £200 odd as long as its in good condition and fits you well (always try it on first)) as it just makes diving in the uk so much more enjoyable if your not having to get in and out of a wetsuit (and yes I have tried wetsuit diving in the UK and wouldn't go back).

Mike

In reply to James Malloch:

Expecting lots of rain?

In reply to James Malloch: The only dive school I know in the Leeds area is based at RobinHood Watersports (just past Ikea).

Most dive courses will include rental of all your kit for the duration of the course (although you are usually encouraged to buy mask/snorkell/fins), then most schools will have provision for you to hire kit once qualified. Also if diving away from home most dive centres will have some provision for hiring gear.

Long term you are right that choosing your own (properly fitting) gear is the best bet.

In reply to James Malloch: Sorry for my late reply! I did check the thread but always seem to be too rushed to comment!

Thanks a lot for the info and I'll be making some enquiries soon!