The only word for diving on the South Wales coast this weekend is NO! We've got some huge swell coming in, possibly reaching 11ft. Add to that some strong Southerlies and Westerlies (gusting over 40 knots) and the sea is not the place to be.
All is not lost however. The beauty of South Wales for diving is it's access to inland dive sites which will give you the opportunity to dive even when mother nature doesn't want you to. Our advice for this weekend if you want to get a dive in is to head to Chepstow in South Wales or Vobster Quay just across the border in Sommerset. Temperatures, although mild for this time of year, will be low so your thermal protection is going to be absolutely vital.
We're back in the pool in Cardiff this weekend and it's going to be a busy time. We've got a number of pupils from a local school coming down for the first part of their PADI Open Water Diver qualification. They'll be completing the referral part of the qualification before heading off on a dive trip to complete their open water dives - in my day we were lucky if we got to visit a museum!
We've also got some other students who'll be taking the PADI Refresher course. This course is for those who have previously completed their PADI training but haven't dived in the last 6+ months and allows them to reacquaint themselves with the equipment and procedures in the pool environment.