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.