Conditions are going to be tough for Scuba Diving along the South Wales coast this weekend. The swell will be around the 5ft mark and they'll be a reasonably strong wind too. This is going to have a negative effect on the visibility as well as making entries and exits more challenging.
You may find more acceptable conditions looking into West Wales if you want to get out into the ocean. Keep in mind there is the Champions League final this weekend in Cardiff, so traffic is likely to be heavy. Take this into account in any of your plans as you don't want to miss the tide being caught up in this.
If you want to remove the coastal elements then our advice for those in Cardiff, Swansea and South Wales would be to head to Chepstow, the UKs deepest inland diving site. This will ensure you can get a decent dive in and has a good degree of protection from the elements so visibility is less likely to be affected by the wind. Water temperatures are starting to get that little bit warmer but you still need good thermal protection whenever you dive in the UK. Semi Dry (7mm or 5mm + 5mm) or dry suits will be required. You should also consider whether you need a hood and gloves, particularly the hood with so much heat being lost through your head.
It's a really busy weekend in Cardiff for us with 3 training course running. We've got Wellington School on the PADI Open Water Diver Referral course, some refresher dives and 4 students from Cardiff University taking their PADI Rescue diver course before their summer project diving out in Spain.
Our PADI Open Water Diver Referral courses run on the first Saturday of every month and it's not too late to book yours in before any planned summer holidays so you can spend more time diving and less time on the course once you are out there. Give us a call today and we can talk you through the options you have.
Lastly, massive congratulations to Dan, one of our instructors, and Kelly who got married this week!