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.