I everyone, can anyone recommend what would be a good month to do my open water? I work outside all year round, but not sure how cold the water will be in feb
February in a quarry may be somewhere between 3 and 6 degrees depending on how cold the next few weeks are. It all depends on how much you feel the cold.
Good stuff Best of luck with your course. Be sure to ask away if you have any questions you think the forum can help with
You can dive all year round if you have the right equipment. Me and 'er indoors started our OW in the summer but she broke her foot after the pool sessions and it was late-ish November by the time we did the open water bits at Wraysbury. It was quite a harsh November too. But we got through it. Decent gloves are a must if it's cold (you need the dexterity in your fingers for kit donning and doffing in the water) and the fewer holes in your drysuit (IME most "school" drysuits have some) the better. Mine was ok but Jacqui's was a teabag and she had to sit out the drysuit spec we had booked for the same weekend due to the cold.
Insist on a drysuit. You can bet your bottom dollar that the instructor will be wearing one, regardless of time of year.
AFAIK you can only be trained in a drysuit after qualifying for OW, I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong on this Most places offer it free as part of AOW at this time year. Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner
Now this is really good advice Personally, and it is just my opinion, and I know there are hardy heroes out there who do dive in them in the UK, but I would avoid any school that insisted on Open Water being completed in a SemiDry or Wetsuit in the UK.
Not so, you can quite happily do your OW in a drysuit. Quick edit: a lot of places won't hire you a suit after your OW unless you can prove you have been trained i.e. hold the Drysuit Spec
Ok so it looks like it can be done as part of OW, but at the end of the course as a final couple of dives?! Wonder if it's like that so as not to task overload new students? The last few times at Stoney we saw several groups of OW students in wetsuits if you remember, all shaking like a dog having a dump cos they were so cold lol Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner
I think it's more dependant on the school. I did my OW from start to finish in a drysuit, as did my son, my brother, several of my mates, all with different schools. I only did my Drysuit Spec 2 years later after my mate split his neck seal and tried to hire a suit
I know there are schools out there that stick students in wetsuits all year round, doesn't make it right, and every time we see them we voice our concerns. I can see why they do it; Cheaper (I bet ND and Beaver, in fact all of them, do cracking deals for schools buying in bulk), both to buy and because nice stretchy neoprene will fit more body sizes. "Safer", less chance of an uncontrolled ascent, which means it's... Easier, see safer for the reason... I just don't agree with it.
DP, wetsuits in the summer are good, especially when the uni clubs are training and all the nubile young students strip down to thier bikinis to cool off...
As others have said most good schools will do OW in a drysuit some even bolt the spec on to the end of your OW course. If you plan regular UK diving then a drysuit is a good choice.
Yeah then you always ruin it by stripping down to your mankini :-/ Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner
Aquasport, Hidden Diving or Scuba & Outdoor? If you get no joy from them, try The Dive Shop in Stourbridge. I'd be surprised if they don't use drysuits, they use wings rather than BCDs.
