Pack your bags, head to the airport and book a flight. That's the only way your getting a dive in the sea this weekend! We've got big swell, up to 6ft and strong Southerly winds, possibly reaching 30mph at times. That's going to make conditions very tricky, before we throw in the visibility issues all that water movement is going to create.
For those of us not lucky enough to be able to jump on a plane, you're going to want to head to one of the inland dive sites in or near South Wales, with both Chepstow and Vobster Quay being options. Water temperatures are starting to drop, but with good thermal protection, gloves, hood, dry (or semi-dry) suit, etc you should still be able to have a comfortable dive (Chepstow is around 12.
We're back at Chepstow this weekend as our latest batch of PADI Open Water Diver students look to finish off their qualifications and become fully qualified PADI Open Water divers. They've already completed the theory and confined dives, so they just have the 4 open water dives left to complete and they'll be qualified to dive anywhere in the world up to 18m.
Hopefully we'll see some of them back to complete the PADI Advanced Open Water course which will give them the opportunity to improve their buoyancy control and also dive up to 30m.
CAUTIONS – Water temperatures are dropping and the air temperature has dropped significantly over the last week or two. You'll need to think about your thermal protection both whilst in the water and after exiting. Hoods, Gloves, Semi-dry or Dry suits. Windproof jackets and lots of layers for when you've finished your dive too.
Scuba Diving Conditions could be tricky this weekend. Swell could reach 3ft - 4ft and we're going to have some strong Northerlies, gusting up to 24knots. Whilst the offshore wind is better than an onshore, the strength of it could still create some choppy conditions and effect the visibility.
If you can find a sheltered bay, you may see acceptable conditions, however tidal times are also working against us this weekend, with high tide being 08:05 and 20:20 on Saturday, being able to dive on slack water is going to involve a very early morning or night dive, which is only for the qualified and experienced divers.
After the last few weeks of good diving conditions in South Wales, this weekend your best bet is to head to an inland site, removing the tidal problems and swell. There has been a noticeable drop in temperatures in the last week or so here is South Wales, so you'll need to take extra precautions when it comes to thermal protection. Although the water is holding it's temperature somewhat, inland sites will probably be around the 10°C - 12°C you need to consider thermal protection for when you are out of the water too.
It's been a busy week for us at Ocean Quest and the weekend is full too. Our instructors and divemasters performed a number survey dives of some lakes to see if we could offer nearby residents the PADI Open Water Diver course on site. On Saturday we're back to Hebron Hall in Cardiff, running the first two parts of our PADI Open Water Diver course. We also have the final part of the PADI Open Water Diver next weekend and PADI Advanced Open Water course later in the month too!
CAUTIONS – Water temperatures are starting to drop and the air temperature has dropped significantly over the last week or two. You'll need to think about your thermal protection both whilst in the water and after exiting. Hoods, Gloves, Semi-dry or Dry suits. Windproof jackets and lots of layers for when you've finished your dive too.
Looks like we could be seeing another weekend of positive conditions for Scuba Diving in South Wales this weekend. Swell size is looking like it should be around the 2ft - 3ft range and winds are fairly gentle. Wind direction should also be more offshore over the weekend, meaning the South Wales coast will be afforded a little bit of protection, helping to keep the visibility - a key requirement for an enjoyable scuba dive - reasonable.
Tide size is fairly average for the South Wales coast, or Bristol Channel, with low tide around 3m - 4m and high tide around 8m. Whilst that isn't a huge tidal range for South Wales, it is still a massive volume of water moving, so you will still need to ensure you are planning your dives around the tidal movement, remembering the rule of twelfths. You want to be looking to dive the incoming tide, so this weekend, that means a morning dive with high tide being 10:50 on Saturday and 11:55 on Sunday.
Keep in mind that temperatures, both air and sea, are starting to drop now, so you'll need to be thinking about the level of thermal protection you require, both during, before and after your dive. We're getting into the dry suit season for coastal dives and hoods and gloves are going to start being required too. You'll also want to ensure you are able to keep warm before any dive and warm up after your dive too - whilst the wind should be fairly gentle, there will be a noticeable wind chill.
Last weekend we ran the confined water dives and theory section of the PADI Open Water Diver course in Cardiff. There's no training this weekend, but we'll be taking our students down to Chepstow this month to complete the open water section of the PADI Open Water Diver course and allowing them to become fully qualified to scuba dive anywhere in the world up to 18m.
We're also looking to run an Advanced Open Water course in the coming weeks, so if you are interested in taking your scuba diving training to the next level then give us a call and we can provide you with more details. The PADI Advanced Open Water course will help you improve you buoyancy, dive to 30m deep and give you a chance to practice you diving with fully qualified PADI instructors.
CAUTIONS – Water temperatures are starting to drop now as the air temperature starts to decrease. You'll need to think about your thermal protection both whilst in the water and after exiting. Hoods, Gloves, Semi-dry or Dry suits. Windproof jackets and lots of layers for when you've finished your dive too.
We could see some OK conditions for Scuba Diving on the South Wales coast this weekend. Swell is set to be reasonable, between 2ft - 4ft and winds are reasonably gentle. Saturday afternoon into Sunday could see the best conditions, with the winds being offshore or very gentle onshore winds.
Low tide is 13:04 on Saturday and 13:40 on Sunday and will be a fairly big tide, as is usual on the South Wales coast. This means you're going to want to use the rule of twelfths to plan any dive and look to dive the incoming tide, which ties in nicely with the wind on Saturday.
The winds and swell being low will help with the visibility, although the large tidal movement will inevitably have some effect on this. Water temperatures are also starting to drop across the UK so you will need to plan your equipment correctly - hoods, gloves, Semi-dry or Dry suits will all be required for any coastal dive and you also need to think about your thermal protection for after you exit the water.
You also have the option to head to one of the nearby inland diving sites, such as Chepstow or Somerset and whilst the water at those sites may hold a little more heat we are coming to the time of year when your thermal protection is going to need to start increasing.
We're down in Cardiff this weekend running the first part of the PADI Open Water Diver in the swimming pool at Hebron Hall. This part of the course will see the students complete their confined water dives and there exam, having completed a period of self study.
Upon successfully completing this part of the course they'll go on to their open water dives and if they complete those successfully they'll be able to start their Scuba Diving adventure, diving anywhere in the world up to 18m.
We've also got a number of students from Cardiff University coming along to complete some try dives. Whether they're looking to use diving towards the degree projects or simply interested in joining the dive society these try dives will give them a good idea of what it's like to breath underwater and we're sure they'll become hooked, just like us!
CAUTIONS – Water temperatures are starting to drop now as the air temperature starts to decrease. You'll need to think about your thermal protection both whilst in the water and after exiting. Hoods, Gloves, Semi-dry or Dry suits. Windproof jackets and lots of layers for when you've finished your dive too.
The South Wales coast is not the place to be Scuba Diving this weekend. We've got massive swell (up to 10ft) and strong Southerlies and Westerlies, gusting over 30knots at times. This is going to make entry and exit for any shore dive incredibly challenging and with all the water movement visibility is also going to be poor. Even the sheltered Easterly facing bays, such as Oxwich Bay in Swansea are unlikely to afford you enough protection from the wind or swell.
So, you have a couple of options to get your Scuba Diving fix... You can come and join us at one of the inland dive sites in the area - such as Vobster Quay or Chepstow - which will remove the vast majority of the problematic conditions on the South Wales coast or, you can take advantage of some of the great deals to be had on holidays to some European destinations, such as Malta, Span or Cyprus.
We're going to be in Chepstow this weekend with a number of students completing their PADI Open Water Diver course. They'll be completing 4 open water dives over the weekend to a depth of 18m and upon successfully completing these dives they'll be qualified to dive anywhere in the world up to that 18m depth.
They'll also be able to take the next step in their Scuba Diving eduction and go onto the PADI Advanced Open Water which will improve the Scuba Diving skills and allow them to dive up to 30m in depths, meaning the vast majority of dive sites and wrecks will be available to them.
We wish them all the best of luck and look forward to welcoming them into the Ocean Quest Scuba Diving family.
CAUTIONS – Water temperatures are starting to drop now as the air temperature starts to decrease. You'll need to think about your thermal protection both whilst in the water and after exiting as the strong winds will quickly chill you. With the swell and wind strength visibility will be a problem and must be taken into account when planning equipment and dive.
The weather and conditions have been far more settled this week and moving into the weekend it's looking like we could see some acceptable conditions for Scuba Diving on the South Wales coast.
Swell is set to be low, at around 1ft - 3ft and whilst we are going to be getting Westerlies and Southerlies they should be fairly gentle, particularly on Sunday, with gusts hitting around 13knots.
You do need to be very careful with the tides however this weekend in South Wales as we're coming off the back of a full moon, meaning spring tides. Saturday and Sunday are going to see massive movement from the tides, with low tide less than 1m and high tide 10m+ the rule of twelfths is going to be absolutely vital in any dive plan. You will also need to take into account how that volume of water movement could affect your visibility.
With these size tides you may find it difficult to plan in a dive for as long as you wanted, so you always have the option in South Wales if heading to some of the near by inland dive sites, such as Chepstow in Wales and Vobster Quay in Somerset, which won't be affected by tidal conditions.
Last weekend saw us back in Cardiff for the confined water section of the PADI Open Water Diver course as well as the theory. We also had a couple of people join us for a Scuba Diving Taster Session, so hopefully we'll see them back soon on the PADI Open Water Diver.
Next week our Open Water students will be with us in Chepstow to complete the PADI Open Water Diver course and become qualified divers. This will allow them to Scuba Dive to 18m anywhere in the world and is also their passport to to further scuba diving courses, such as the PADI Advanced Open Water and various specialities.
CAUTIONS – Water temperatures are still mild for the UK, although they'll be starting to fall from here. You'll still need to take all precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves) as even the warmest UK sea temperatures are around the 12°C mark. We're getting spring tides this weekend, meaning the volume of water movement from the tide is the highest we get in South Wales, remember the rule of twelfths.
A real mixed bag of weather across South Wales this week. We've had calm sunny days, heavy rain and strong winds all making for some challenging Scuba Diving conditions this weekend.
Much of the South Coast of Wales will likely see some fairly large swell and Westerlies and Southerlies that could become quite strong, so the South Wales dive sites,including Limeslade Bay and Oxwich Bay, are almost certainly going to become inaccessible for diving. With all of the water movement these conditions will create, visibility is also going to become an issue too.
All is not lost however. We're blessed with some of the best inland dive sites in the UK here in South Wales and close by so if you want to be sure of getting your dives in the best bet is to to head to one of those.
If you just want to get out and into the water, why not try something new? Our sister company, Quest Adventures, can offer you surf board hire and surfing lessons (may as well take advantage of that swell) as well as Gorge Walking or Canyoning in the Brecon Beacons.
We're back at Hebron Hall in Cardiff this weekend with a nice mixture of PADI Open Water Diver students, PADI Refresher sessions, for qualified divers who haven't dived for a while to bring them back up to speed with their skills and a couple of Scuba Diving Taster Sessions.
The PADI Open Water Diver Open Water dives are being planned for the end of this month and once our students have successfully completed that part of the course they'll be qualified to scuba dive anywhere in the world up to 18m and begin their underwater adventures.
CAUTIONS – Water temperatures are still mild for the UK, although they'll be starting to fall from here. You'll still need to take all precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves) as even the warmest UK sea temperatures are around the 12°C mark. Swell is going to be a problem across South Wales this weekend
We've had some lovely weather across South Wales this week and this is good news for visibility. We are expecting conditions to become much tougher this weekend, particularly on the South Coast as swell and wind both pick up gradually across the weekend, Sunday afternoon will see 30+ knot gusts and 6ft - 9ft swell. If you can get down for Friday, you may find acceptable conditions across all of the dive sites, including Limeslade Bay or Oxwich Bay. The usual dive sites in West Wales will also be an option, such as Martins Haven and St Brides Bay, again particularly on Friday.
Whilst conditions may be acceptable early on Saturday morning, particularly further west, you may find the tides aren't going to play the game and with changeable conditions expected, you will be better heading to any of the inland dive sites in the South Wales area, such as Chepstow or Vobster Quay in Somerset.
We usually run our PADI Open Water Diver pool sessions on the first Saturday of each month, however there is a change of plan this month. A number of or instructors are out in L'Estartit, Spain on one of our infamous Dive Expeditions. This means our PADI Open Water Diver confined water sessions will be taking place next weekend, where we'll be starting the next batch of students on their underwater adventures.
CAUTIONS – It's summer and we've had some beautiful weather in South Wales sea temperatures will still only be around the 12 degree mark, so we'll need to take precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves).
We could be in for some of the best conditions we've had for a while this weekend. Sunday in particular we are expecting swell to be low and gentle, offshore Easterlies. On top of this conditions have been fairly decent in the previous days and we're currently on neap tides, so the water movement has been less than in the previous few weeks. This should mean visibility is also improved compared to the last few weeks of the South Wales coast.
Although we're getting neap tides of the weekend and into early next weekend, you must remember that on the South Wales coast even our neap tides involve a large movement of water, the different between low and high tide is still 4m+ so proper dive planning is still as important as ever. Remember the rule of twelfths and look to dive at slack water or the incoming tide.
You have the option of most of the dive sites in the Gower, such as Limeslade Bay or Oxwich Bay. You could also head a little further west and dive some of the bays out there, such as Martins Haven and St Brides Bay.
Last weekend saw us back at Hebron Hall, in Cardiff, taking some PADI Refresher courses and the PADI Open Water Diver confined dives for our latest batch of students. Next week we'll be heading to Chepstow the our PADI Open Water Diver students can complete their open water dives and begin their scuba diving adventures. We'll also be running the open water section of the PADI Rescue Diver as well as some guided dives.
This weekend our instructors and divemasters will be making the most of their time off with some pleasure dives along the South Wales coast.
CAUTIONS – It's summer but the British sea temperatures will still only be around the 12 degree mark, so we'll still need to take precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves). Even though we seeing neap tides across this weekend, there is still a large volume of water moving so proper dive planning is still absolutely vital.