Somebody forgot to tell South Wales it's August! We've had more unsettled conditions here in South Wales this week, meaning the poor visibility affecting our diving certainly hasn't gotten any better.
Much the same as last week, we may find general conditions are acceptable for scuba diving this weekend, Saturday being the most likely as swell is due to be lower and wind strength much less. However, with recent conditions or top of the huge tidal movement we're going to see over the weekend visibility is only going to become more of an issue. This is likely to reduce the enjoyment of your dive but most importantly introduces a number of safety issues that must be considered before you make a decision to enter the water.
Sunday is likely to see conditions that make it far less likely that conditions will be safe enough, with a big increase in swell size and wind strength expected.
Those of you who are determined to coastal dive may find some of the sheltered sites in West Wales, such as Martins Haven and St Brides Bay, your best bet, but our recommendation is to head to one of the nearby inland dive sites, such as The National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) in Chepstow or Vobster Quay in Sommerset.
Feels like a long time since we were last running a training session, even though it's only been 3 weeks or so but Saturday sees us back in Hebron Hall's swimming pool in Cardiff. We've a few PADI Refresher students and we're also going to be running the PADI Open Water Diver confined dives and theory, seeing the next round of students taking the first steps towards becoming a qualified scuba diver.
We'll be running the open water part of the PADI Open Water Diver course at The National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) on the weekend of 20th & 21st August as well as some guided dives.
CAUTIONS – As is always the case, throughout the year, in South Wales we'll still need to take precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves). We're seeing a spring tide this weekend so the rule of twelfths is absolutely vital when planning your dive times.
We've had some pretty unsettled weather here in South Wales these last few days, and that has affected conditions for diving, particularly the visibility. Whilst we may see conditions this weekend that are acceptable for scuba diving, with the recent weather conditions and tidal movement, you'll likely find it difficult to see much and this will no doubt reduce the enjoyment of your dive, and more importantly, introduce safety hazards.
If you are adamant about a coastal dive, you may find some of the sheltered sites in West Wales, such as Martins Haven and St Brides Bay, your best bet, but our recommendation is to head to one of the nearby inland dive sites, such as The National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) in Chepstow or Vobster Quay in Sommerset.
No training this weekend, however next weekend we're back at Hebron Hall in Cardiff taking our PADI Open Water Diver course and some refresher dives. We'll also be running the open water section of the PADI Open Water Diver course down at The National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) sometime in August so our instructors will be making the most of this weekend off, either with some pleasure dives or some other outdoor activities.
CAUTIONS – As is always the case, throughout the year, in South Wales we'll still need to take precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves). We're seeing a spring tide this weekend so the rule of twelfths is absolutely vital when planning your dive times.
We could see some acceptable conditions for diving this weekend of the South Wales coast. Swell isn't going to be too big, possibly around the 4ft mark, and early Saturday the winds should be slight. We do however have a huge spring tide to contend with, almost 9.5m at high tide, so that could affect visibility and makes it absolutely crucial you apply the rule of twelfths to any dive.
The wind is due to pick up Saturday afternoon into Sunday with potentially quite strong Southerly and Westerly gusts on Sunday, although some of the sheltered sites in West Wales, such as Martins Haven and St Brides Bay, may be an option. Although the swell isn't due to increase, the increase in wind could make entry and exit trickier and may also have an impact of visibility.
Of course you can always head inland. South Wales is lucky enough to have The National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) in Chepstow which will almost guarantee you a dive, and has plenty of features to keep you entertained on your dive. There is also the option of heading out of Wales to Vobster Quay in Sommerset.
If you do decide to go with an offshore dive, make sure you account for the rule of twelfths, diving on the incoming tide and ensure you've properly planned both you entry and exit points. This is particularly important with the tidal movement we will see this weekend.
Another break from diving courses this weekend, but we'll be back at the beginning of August with our next group of PADI Open Water Diver students at Hebron Hall in Cardiff. We'll also be looking to run the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course soon for our newly qualified PADI Open Water Divers and anybody else who is interested
CAUTIONS – As is always the case, throughout the year, in South Wales we'll still need to take precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves). We're seeing a spring tide this weekend so the rule of twelfths is absolutely vital when planning your dive times.
We're in for a tough weekend as far as Scuba Diving on the South Wales coast. The swell isn't too big, although Saturday could be up to 4ft - 5ft but we've got strong onshore winds, meaning increased water movement which could cause visibility issues.
Whilst the tide isn't as big as it can be on the South Wales coast, high tide will still be between 8m and 8.3m and low of 2.8m across the weekend, so there is still a large movement of water between low and high tide, which could also contribute to visibility issues. Sheltered, easterly facing bays may provide enough protection from the conditions for the more experienced divers. Oxwich Bay is Swansea may be an option.
Of course you always of the option of heading inland. In South Wales we're lucky enough to have The National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) in Chepstow which will almost guarantee you a dive, and although an inland site there is plenty to see with sunken boats, planes, helicopters and much more!
If you do decide to go with an offshore dive, make sure you account for the rule of twelfths, diving on the incoming tide and ensure you've properly planned both you entry and exit points.
There are no diving courses for us this week after last weeks PADI Open Water Diver completion dives and PADI Rescue Diver open water section. We've also run the Emergency First Responder course required for the PADI Rescue Diver course which provides students with a level of first aid to deal with a number of situations as first on scene - and not just diving accidents.
We'll be back in Hebron Hall in Cardiff soon, starting another group of students on their Scuba Diving adventure.
CAUTIONS – As is always the case, throughout the year, in South Wales we'll still need to take precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves). Although the tidal movement is smaller than it can be here is South Wales, there will still be a large movement of water between high and low. Plan you dive, entry and exit points and times accordingly.
Conditions here in South Wales are going to be tough for Scuba Diving this weekend. We've got some big swell, particularly on Saturday, strong onshore winds, gusting up at 30mph and a big spring tide, with a low of 1.7m and a high of 9.2m! Conditions across the South Wales region have also been unsettled again this week, so adding all of those things together, your best bet really will be to head inland, somewhere like The National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) in Chepstow which will allow you to get your dive in whilst reducing the impact of the environmental conditions.
You may find some of South Wales' sheltered, easterly facing bays such as Oxwich Bay in Swansea provide enough protection to get a dive in but ensure you remember the rule of twelfths, diving on the incoming tide (with a big tide like we have this weekend, you don't want to be swimming against it!) and be aware of how the swell and wind could affect your entry and exit points.
With the conditions we've had over the past few days, swell, wind and tidal movement, visibility is also likely to be an issue to.
We're back to Hebron Hall in Cardiff this weekend. We'll be running the PADI Open Water Diver course for those students just starting on their Scuba Diving journey, we have a couple of qualified divers taking a PADI Refresher course having not dived for a while and we're also running the PADI Rescue Diver course for some of our Advanced Divers too. We're going to be busy!
CAUTIONS – As is always the case, throughout the year, in South Wales we'll still need to take precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves). If you are planning to dive off the coast in South Wales, ensure you are aware of the changing conditions, making sure you know the conditions for both the beginning and the end of the dive and make sure you are aware of the tidal movement and times so you can dive the incoming tide if you insist on costal diving.
We could see acceptable conditions for Scuba Diving on the South Wales coast this weekend. Swell shouldn't be too high, 2ft - 4ft, however we could see some southerlies and westerlies at times which could cause problems. Wind strength on Saturday should be lower than Sunday, however swell will be larger on the Saturday than the Sunday.
We've also seen some fairly unsettled conditions in South Wales over the last few days, and we're still on a spring tide over the weekend meaning we'll have a large volume of water movement which could affect visibility.
Heading to the more sheltered bays, such as Stackpole Quay and Oxwich Bay should see the better conditions and always remember the rule of twelfths, ensuring you dive on the incoming tide. Be aware of the swell size and wind, particularly for shore dives and how it could affect your entry and exit.
Inland sites, such as The National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) in Chepstow will offer you diving less affected by the environmental conditions meaning you can concentrate on just enjoying the dive.
We're having a break from the training this weekend but we'll be back in the pool soon with our next batch of PADI Open Water Diver students. We were also back in Chepstow last weekend with Sam, Robert and Alicia on their PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course. It was an incredibly enjoyable weekend and now they are PADI Advanced Open Water Divers they'll be able to dive anywhere in the world up to a depth of 30m, such huge congratulations to them.
CAUTIONS – The sea temperatures are slowly starting to raise, but we'll still need to take precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves). If you are planning to dive off the coast in South Wales, ensure you are aware of the changing conditions, making sure you know the conditions for both the beginning and the end of the dive.
Conditions Report for Scuba Diving in Cardiff, Swansea & South Wales
We could see acceptable conditions for Scuba Diving on the South Wales coast this weekend. Swell is set to be reasonably low, 2ft - 4ft of the South Wales coast, however we are predicting southerlies and westerlies which could cause problems. Whilst winds should be gentle on Saturday morning we are expecting stronger gusts Saturday afternoon and into Sunday, so it's vital you are aware of the effect of the wind.
Conditions have been fairly settled the last week in South Wales, however we are on a spring tide over the weekend so there will still be a large volume of water movement which could affect visibility.
For the best conditions head to the more sheltered bays, such as Stackpole Quay and Oxwich Bay and always remember the rule of twelfths, ensuring you dive on the incoming tide. Be aware of the swell size and wind, particularly for shore dives and how it could affect your entry and exit.
If you want to be confident of getting a dive in, the best option is to head inland. The National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) in Chepstow will offer diving less affected by the environmental conditions, or outside of South Wales you've got Vobster Quay.
Last week we were back in the pool on Hebron Hall, Cardiff, teaching our latest wave of PADI Open Water Diver students. This week we'll be back to Chepstow and taking Sam, Robert and Alicia on their PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver will give them the chance to work on their buoyancy, learn more about navigation and dive up to 30m.
Sunday will also see us leading some guided dives with qualified divers who are getting back into diving or diving in the UK for the first time.
CAUTIONS – The sea temperatures are slowly starting to raise, but we'll still need to take precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves). If you are planning to dive off the coast in South Wales, ensure you are aware of the changing conditions, making sure you know the conditions for both the beginning and the end of the dive.
We could see acceptable conditions for Scuba Diving on the South Wales coast this weekend. Swell is set to be low and we have North / North East winds, which should keep the swell low. We have had some fairly unsettled conditions recently and are expecting some more heavy rain on Friday so visibility could be a problem.
For the best conditions head to the more sheltered bays, such as Stackpole Quay and Oxwich Bay and always remember the rule of twelfths, ensuring you dive on the incoming tide. Be aware of wind direction changing, Southerlies and Westerlies could lead to unacceptable conditions, and increasing swell size, particularly for a shore dive.
If you want to be confident of getting a dive in, the best option is to head inland. The National Diving and Activity Centre (NDAC) in Chepstow will offer diving less affected by the environmental conditions.
The instructors have been travelling all over the UK these last weeks, putting on PADI Open Water Diver courses for schools across the South East of England. This weekend they're having a break from training but will be back next weekend taking students through the referral part of the PADI Open Water Diver qualification. We also have some Advanced Open Water course coming up in June.
CAUTIONS – We're still going to need to take sensible precautions with regards to thermal protection as water temperatures are still going to be quite low. If you are planning to dive off the coast in South Wales, ensure you are aware of the changing conditions, making sure you know the conditions for both the beginning and the end of the dive.
We should see low swell with acceptable wind strength across the weekend. However we're set to see some huge tides over the next few days, 9 - 10m creating some very challenging conditions. Certain areas of South Wales could be an option with the depth of the tide allowing you to keep within the protection of the bays in Swansea but you'll need time your dive to be within the 2 hours before high tide and will also need to be aware of the effect the tides will have on visibility before making any decision to dive.
In our opinion the best option is to head to one of the inland diving sites here in Wales to reduce the impact of the environment conditions.
This weekend sees us back at Hebron Hall in Cardiff taking our next group of PADI Open Water Diver students through their confined water dives and theory sessions. Upon successful completion of these they'll be able to complete their open water dives, either with ourselves at The National Diving and Activity Centre in Chepstow or with any PADI Dive Centre throughout the world.
CAUTIONS – As always with UK diving at this time of year, you need to ensure you have the correct thermal protection, including Hoods, Gloves, Dry, or Semi-Dry, suit and base layers. Be sure to check local tidal times and conditions before making any dive.