[Mal Bridgeman]

Originally Posted by Bardo

Hmm... it's hardly fair to criticise those who go to quarries when a) you live right next to the sea and b) you have free access to a dive boat whenever you want it, now is it Brian?!!!!!

Fact is that for many of us, quarries are a 'make-do' option - it's something we have to do to keep our skills sharp because, let's face it, diving in the sea is just too damned expensive these days! If I want to have a day's diving down Plymouth, for example, it costs me about £30 for a round trip in Diesel and then another £40 or so in boat fees for a day's diving - that's £70! Compare instead a trip to Vobster - £15 to get in for the day (or £10 if you're a member) and, for many of us, it's a damned sight closer so the diesel bill is *alot* lower!

Would I much rather dive in the sea than a quarry? Stupid bloody question - of course I would! But the fact remains that if I want to stay sharp then I've got to dive in a quarry because I simply cannot afford to do enough diving in the sea to keep my skills as sharp as I'd like them to be. Bottom line? Sea diving-snobbery is a wonderful thing when you're not paying the diesel/boat fees!

I'd tend to agree here .... and sat in East Anglia is the worst of both worlds from a diving perspective ... miles from quarries and miles from diveable sea

Brian's point though was the guy was already in Plymouth and was going to drive to the NADC .... I don't get that either.... if I lived in Plymouth well......I'd have to travel much further to find flat ground to ride my horse on