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Hello All,
So I have recently signed up for my Padi Open Water course (sept) and am looking to join a BSAC club locally next week. So a question for all of you in the Northwest. Is there a particular dive shop thats considered the mecca or at least totally suited to complete beginners? The more local to me the better (oldham) but obviously I am willing to travel.
Also, I am not really sure what I should be looking for in terms of kit (this is where the extent of my lack of knowledge is displayed.) I know I will need a suit/hood/gloves BCD etc, but in all honesty, thats all I know.
If someone can point out the bare minimum I would need that would be great.
Cheers in advance.
Dale.
Adrian Kelland
22-03-2007, 22:07
Hello All,
So I have recently signed up for my Padi Open Water course (sept) and am looking to join a BSAC club locally next week. So a question for all of you in the Northwest. Is there a particular dive shop thats considered the mecca or at least totally suited to complete beginners? The more local to me the better (oldham) but obviously I am willing to travel.
Also, I am not really sure what I should be looking for in terms of kit (this is where the extent of my lack of knowledge is displayed.) I know I will need a suit/hood/gloves BCD etc, but in all honesty, thats all I know.
If someone can point out the bare minimum I would need that would be great.
Cheers in advance.
Dale.
Dale,
I have no recommendations myself, but I have heard good things about Dive Life in Manchester. Details for them and others here (http://www.bsacforum.co.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Air_and_Gas_suppliers_in_England#L ancashire).
The BSAC club may well have better information, plus the opportunity to try different kit and explore the reasons for buying particular kit.
Adrian
Ron Evans
23-03-2007, 00:05
Hi Dale,
Welcome to diving:D .
I would wait until you join your BSAC club before buying anything - they will be able to let you try different kit, so you can see what you like before parting with money. I would also make sure that you are happy with diving before you spend anything.
Not sure why you would want to do a PADI course in September, if you are joining a BSAC club now. You will probably have completed your Ocean Diver training by then, and perhaps done Sports Diver Grade, which puts you ahead of Open Water.
I would be guided by your local club, as they may have a relationship with a local dive shop that gets them discounts, etc. Your instructors will be happy to go shopping with you.
Ron
If you really want to fast track, maybe due to upcoming holidays, do your PADI OW now in the next couple of weeks. It takes a few evenings and a weekend to complete (unless you can do days, in which case its two days and a weekend).
The cost at DiveLife is £325 which is about the norm price wise for a basic ticket (with PADI). With that you can head to 18m at pretty much any dive centre in the world.
Do it, then join the BSAC club and while you train for your Sports Diver ticket you can go diving and build up some experience.
By the time it gets to September, you should be a SD (roughly a PADI Rescue Diver).
Hello All,
So I have recently signed up for my Padi Open Water course (sept) and am looking to join a BSAC club locally next week. So a question for all of you in the Northwest. Is there a particular dive shop thats considered the mecca or at least totally suited to complete beginners? The more local to me the better (oldham) but obviously I am willing to travel.
Also, I am not really sure what I should be looking for in terms of kit (this is where the extent of my lack of knowledge is displayed.) I know I will need a suit/hood/gloves BCD etc, but in all honesty, thats all I know.
If someone can point out the bare minimum I would need that would be great.
Cheers in advance.
Dale.
Think you are going to have problems.
I bet the BSAC club is going to struggle to know what to do with you.
If you were a PADI OW diver, then you'd join and either go diving or carry on
with the next BSAC level, Sport.
Join as a non-diver (you said doing OW in Sept) and either you will be
snorkelling until then, or more likely be put in the Ocean Diver group.
This will make your PADI OW pretty obselete.
Even if you do your Ocean diver and ask the PADI outfit to convert your OW
to AOW, this will not be accepted by the BSAC club as anything more than
OW+.
So my advice is to either move the course forward and do PADI OW now,
then join the club.
Or can it alltogether and just do BSAC Ocean diver with the club.
This may sound a bit double-dutch, but trust me (PADI/BSAC Inst),
you have got it the wrong way round.
Michael Purcell
23-03-2007, 04:35
The cost at DiveLife is £325 which is about the norm price wise for a basic ticket (with PADI).
Holy Crap! :eek:
No wonder Brits are ruining the price structure of other countries they visit on vacation. They are so used to over-paying for everything they just find everything so cheap when they travel abroad!
POW (UK) - £325 / $738 CAN
POW (CAN) - £88 / $200 CAN
Nigel Hewitt
23-03-2007, 07:04
POW (UK) - £325 / $738 CAN
POW (CAN) - £88 / $200 CANYes but how much staff do you need to teach in Canada?
Mandatory shore cover? Even at staffed inland sites?
How many students do you need to do at a time to do the course for £88?
Plus I think that's inclusive of kit hire, books and certs. The crew pack would be most of your price.
Also the $CAN is weak compared to the $US and that's been collapsing faster than the Somalian Shilling.
I wouldn't take the family out for a meal with only £88 in my pocket regardless of market exchange rates.
Michael Purcell
23-03-2007, 07:14
Fair enough I guess.
Our course was $200 CAN
It included all equipment (minus mask, fins, snorkel)
6 people (one instructor/ one dive master)
Open water was 2 groups of 6.
1 instructor/1dive master per group
Shore diving in a protected area.
Thanks for the replies guys. I know what I have said may sound a little disjointed, but the padi in september is for both myself and my wife.
Joining the bsac club is so I can start to soak up some knowledge, but my fre e time is very limited at present, so I am not sure exactly how much training I will be able to do.
Cheers for the responses, it has given me an idea of what the best approach could possibly be.
Dale.
~I'm just buying some beginners equipment at the moment... i've been told the best is Dive Life by my DO and many other members of the club im at....
i'll send u a link in a sec :p
hope this helps
Suzi,
I have been to DiveLife this week. The lads in there were very supportive and helpful. I didnt have a massive amount of time in the shop but it looked to be very well stocked.
Most dive shops will be happy to fit a course around you (and your wife). You could do an evening one week, another another week. They aren't overly bothered if it takes you 2 months to get qualified (well the good shops wont be), but you will get qualified just as long as you decide to start.
If your free time is limited, the PADI course is likely your best bet, as some BSAC clubs can be a bit anal about turning up each week for a lecture. Its harder to really tailor things within BSAC.
But start soon. We're coming into the prime diving, time of the year. You dont want to finish in September only to find you need to shell out a bunch of money if you want to dive through the winter (Drysuit).
Chris Cherrington
28-03-2007, 22:45
Take a look on the net too. Kent Diving have Aqua Lung reg/octo and depth/SPG for 170 quid (inc free UK P&P). I dived this kit on rental last weekend and its OK stuff. (please buy the DIN).
Decathlon have some good deals on suits if you have one near you.
Most new divers change all there stuff after a year or so, so go easy on those first purchases - shop owners smell new blood a mile off!!
Chris
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