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UK Diving - query?

1K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  MATTBIN 
#1 ·
I need to get familiar with how things work in the UK, how do I go about booking onto dive trips, can you book as a solo diver and get paired up on the boat or do you have to book with others?

Are full charters the norm or do boats usually take small groups or individuals?

I know places like Stoney don't allow solo diving but what about other inland sites?

Any advice gratefully received, my YBOD is enroute to UK already and I arrive on Wednesday so I'm hoping to get wet in the near future.

Ian
 
#3 ·
On the South coast during the 'diving season' most boats will only take whole boat bookings and some do individual days on occaisional weekends.

Some do midweek diving for individuals.

The boats l use let me know if they have a group that have spaces.

As James says, it depends on where you are planning on diving, if its the South coast from Lyme Regis to Dover PM me.
 
#5 ·
I have an interview sometime w/c 18th April, if this goes ok then it is likely that we will live in Herts or Essex. I'll be up for diving anywhere really but obviously it will take some time to adjust to different conditions etc.

It's proving rather expensive, I've just ordered new jetfins to fit DS, paid £350 to ship YBOD, just about to order 2 7l stages & argon cylinder. To cap it all I have 1 x manifolded 15l rig, 2 x 15l Fabers, 2 x Catalina S80's and an S30 that I have to leave behind with no buyers (or no CE mark for that matter), good job I like this diving lark.

Ian
 
#6 ·
l think the best time to go diving is midweek, you don't need a full boat, can be flexible and the skippers are more relaxed.

We tend to wait and see what the weathers like, if it looks good a small group of us can take time off during the week, however you need a flexible boss for this.

So when you go to this interview bear this is mind.
 
#7 ·
Most of the stuff I organise is on boats (I hate shore diving - too much hassle!) and more often than not you need to be able to fill a boat. But with YD to help out that's not as difficult as it sounds.

As Howard says, you tend to find skippers more flexible if you're diving mid-week. They tend to see anything they get outside the weekends as a bonus and will often just charge a daily fee per head. They're happy as long as there's enough on the boat to cover the costs.

There's plenty going on on YD as you know. I don't think you'll have much trouble getting on the odd trip or two. Spaces on my trip from Plymouth in August, if you're interested. A spare place going to Scapa for a week in September. Plenty more.
 
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