Introduction to scuba

Crazy_Ivan

HI folks,

I have recently completed my first scuba dive. It was while on holidays, and I think the Instructors referred to it as a try dive.

Have to say it was amazing, and I could have stayed out all day!

I'm looking at developing it further, initially as a hobby, and then maybe on a more serious level ...who knows.

I'm based in North Dublin (Clontarf, Malahide, Howth), and I don't really know where to start. I've read a few threads on second hand gear and one or two websites etc.

I was hoping someone would be able to help me out with :

Location- would anyone recommend somewhere local to learn?

Gear- really need some advice on this. Where to buy, and should I buy second hand or new

Clubs- Are there any clubs or groups who organise dives as even if I get my open water licence, I'm sure you at least need a dive buddy.

General info- maybe some good websites to help me learn and really get into this.

Anything else- have I missed something? Any advice appreciated.

All help really appreciated thanks.

longshanks

Here ya go

Catmologen

Hi Ivan,

http://www.feelgoodscuba.ie/ are based in Howth and would look after you I'm sure. I wont go into the pros and cons of clubs v PADI system but do some reading online and see what suits you better.

Divegear.ie is the place for gear, people are often selling full sets of equipment so bargains can be had. http://www.divegear.ie/ads_item.php?id=3905 for example.

Some sites i like:

http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/
http://www.nigelhewitt.co.uk/
http://forum.technicaldiving.ie/

raouls

I'd recomend Dive Inn Scuba in north Dublin if you'd prefer to stay with the PADI scheme, good instructors as well as running as a club without some of the high membership fees.

As for gear, it can be a huge expense. Why not start out using club / school gear (both Dive Inn and Oceandivers in Dun Laoghaire) other kit hire for a small fee. That way you can slowly build your own gear up as and when it suits.

Best of luck and maybe meet you underwater some time soon.

yankinlk

Www.diving.ie will give you access to a list of clubs to join. Now is the time to start with them... CFT is heaving a national try a dive week this week, so many of the clubs will be having their events in a local pool. Training should start not too long after running thru the winter.

Crazy_Ivan

longshanks wrote: »

Here ya go

Cheers buddy, I really appreciate that.

Crazy_Ivan

Catmologen wrote: »

Hi Ivan,

http://www.feelgoodscuba.ie/ are based in Howth and would look after you I'm sure. I wont go into the pros and cons of clubs v PADI system but do some reading online and see what suits you better.

Divegear.ie is the place for gear, people are often selling full sets of equipment so bargains can be had. http://www.divegear.ie/ads_item.php?id=3905 for example.

Some sites i like:

http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/
http://www.nigelhewitt.co.uk/
http://forum.technicaldiving.ie/

Thanks for the info.

Crazy_Ivan

raouls wrote: »

I'd recomend Dive Inn Scuba in north Dublin if you'd prefer to stay with the PADI scheme, good instructors as well as running as a club without some of the high membership fees.

As for gear, it can be a huge expense. Why not start out using club / school gear (both Dive Inn and Oceandivers in Dun Laoghaire) other kit hire for a small fee. That way you can slowly build your own gear up as and when it suits.

Best of luck and maybe meet you underwater some time soon.

You never know!

Cheers!

Crazy_Ivan

raouls wrote: »

I'd recomend Dive Inn Scuba in north Dublin if you'd prefer to stay with the PADI scheme, good instructors as well as running as a club without some of the high membership fees.

As for gear, it can be a huge expense. Why not start out using club / school gear (both Dive Inn and Oceandivers in Dun Laoghaire) other kit hire for a small fee. That way you can slowly build your own gear up as and when it suits.

Best of luck and maybe meet you underwater some time soon.

Thanks for that mate.

Do you mind me asking briefly what are the pros and cons of PADI versus Club?

On my try dive I went with PADI.

Crazy_Ivan

yankinlk wrote: »

Www.diving.ie will give you access to a list of clubs to join. Now is the time to start with them... CFT is heaving a national try a dive week this week, so many of the clubs will be having their events in a local pool. Training should start not too long after running thru the winter.

Cool, thanks for that.

Crazy_Ivan

I'm new here, and I just want to say thank you to everyone for their friendly and helpful advice.

locum-motion

Crazy_Ivan wrote: »

...
Do you mind me asking briefly what are the pros and cons of PADI versus Club?...

That popping sound you hear is the opening of a can of worms!

Read some of the threads here, you'll get an idea.

yankinlk

Crazy_Ivan wrote: »

Thanks for that mate.

Do you mind me asking briefly what are the pros and cons of PADI versus Club?

On my try dive I went with PADI.

Your welcome for the advice. Whatever you choose, you can always swap around after. I wont get into the debate, seems its been a full year since the last one!

http://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?subforums=1&forum=344&query=padi+versus

Crazy_Ivan

yankinlk wrote: »

Your welcome for the advice. Whatever you choose, you can always swap around after. I wont get into the debate, seems its been a full year since the last one!

http://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?subforums=1&forum=344&query=padi+versus

Cool, thanks. Will make for some interesting reading I'm sure.:D

mint man

i would say do your open water,then advanced,and just dive,dive,dive.
and youll build up a solid base set off skills
dont go mad doing all the extra courses ,most of which arent needed.
some training institutes specialise in getting all your money...put.another.dollar.in....so to speak

locum-motion

mint man wrote: »

...
some training institutes specialise in getting all your money...put.another.dollar.in....so to speak

And some specialise in making their trainees spend 73* weeks doing lengths of the pool with a snorkel before they're even allowed look at a scuba unit, not to mention actually putting one on!
Your point is...?



* Disclaimer: figure might not actually represent real life and may be a tongue in cheek exxageration!

yankinlk

locum-motion wrote: »

And some specialise in making their trainees spend 73* weeks doing lengths of the pool with a snorkel before they're even allowed look at a scuba unit, not to mention actually putting one on!
Your point is...?



* Disclaimer: figure might not actually represent real life and may be a tongue in cheek exxageration!

oh noe u dint

Of course those 73 weeks could be used to save up for the gear needed so outlay isn't so steep. Nothing beats diving in yer own gear I hear.

Just for the record, most club leaders can spot the arrive-and-divers from 50 paces and often recommend them the PADI route, since they won't offer much help to a club anyway.

mint man

locum-motion wrote: »

And some specialise in making their trainees spend 73* weeks doing lengths of the pool with a snorkel before they're even allowed look at a scuba unit, not to mention actually putting one on!
Your point is...?



* Disclaimer: figure might not actually represent real life and may be a tongue in cheek exxageration!

that they are focused on money,sure part of the dm course is about marketing...
would you not think the advice i gave was solid?

Catmologen

mint man wrote: »

that they are focused on money,sure part of the dm course is about marketing...

Its for people that want to go into the professional dive industry. Of course there's parts about marketing.

All professional industry's that I know are about making money.

mint man

Catmologen wrote: »

Its for people that want to go into the professional dive industry. Of course there's parts about marketing.

All professional industry's that I know are about making money.

fair enough i understand that but back to my original point was that the o.p.
would be best served getting experinece from diving(after open water and advanced say) rather than just doing the course after course which some orgs market so well.
im not here to claim i know everything ,i just feel its a valid point.

btw i am/was a "pro" that gets letters ever year about how much they miss me,and if a read so many chapters plus send in my fees..the world will be a safer place

Crazy_Ivan

mint man wrote: »

i would say do your open water,then advanced,and just dive,dive,dive.
and youll build up a solid base set off skills
dont go mad doing all the extra courses ,most of which arent needed.
some training institutes specialise in getting all your money...put.another.dollar.in....so to speak

I see. Thanks for that.

I was interested in the ship wreck and rescue courses, so I take it I won't bother (with the ship wreck course at least)?

locum-motion

Crazy_Ivan wrote: »

I see. Thanks for that.

I was interested in the ship wreck and rescue courses, so I take it I won't bother (with the ship wreck course at least)?

Build up your experience, including dives on wrecks, but not penetrating them.
Do the Rescue course when you have experience. It's the most important course, and probably the most craic.
If in the future you wish to progress to wreck penetration, then you can think about more specialised training and equipment.

mint man

what Locum-motion says is spot on.
rescue course is definitly worth doing.
best of luck!

The Roach

I'm in a similar situation to the OP; I just completed my PADI O.W. and A.O.W. while on honeymoon in Thailand,and am looking to continue diving when I get home to Ireland.
I'm looking to do a dive or 2 before committing to a club etc. so I guess a PADI dive or 2 would be the best option.How much different is diving in Ireland?Obviously the temp will be different,but how good is visibility/wildlife etc?
Thanks

mint man

ideally youd do a "cold water oreintation" dive.
theres lots of differences,bouyancy control as youll be wearing a heavy suit ,need more weight,steel tank rather than aluminium etc.
and as you say visibility and temputure (and snots!)
there is some great diving in Ireland,just my opinion but i say diving here is harder than warm water diving,it requires more (heavy)kit and skill/concentration, were on some warm water dives ive thought to myself i could go asleep here/so relaxed
best of luck

The Roach

Thanks for that,I reckon that would be the thing to do. Any suggestions for PADI centers in the Dublin area? From what I can see online there's Oceandivers or DiveInnScuba,although DiveInn's website looks horribly out of date.Either of these better than the other?

Crazy_Ivan

mint man wrote: »

what Locum-motion says is spot on.
rescue course is definitly worth doing.
best of luck!

Cheers buddy

Crazy_Ivan

The Roach wrote: »

Thanks for that,I reckon that would be the thing to do. Any suggestions for PADI centers in the Dublin area? From what I can see online there's Oceandivers or DiveInnScuba,although DiveInn's website looks horribly out of date.Either of these better than the other?

I'd be interested to hear about this, I've pretty much made up my mind to join one of the above clubs.:D

Midnight Oil

The Roach wrote: »

Thanks for that,I reckon that would be the thing to do. Any suggestions for PADI centers in the Dublin area? From what I can see online there's Oceandivers or DiveInnScuba,although DiveInn's website looks horribly out of date.Either of these better than the other?

I cannot comment on Dive Inn but I highly recommend Oceandivers.

They are in the process of moving centre at the moment so I am not 100% on where they will be setting up.

There is no harm in asking a club to do a try dive with them either. Explain that you are interested in joining and that you are a newly qualified warm water diver and want to see what the conditions are like in Ireland before committing. Worst they can say is no but many will accommodate if they can

howtomake

Hey welcome to diving, I've had some really crappy dives this year, but I've had some of the most amazing dives here too.

Anyhoo one piece of advice is to maybe test out different types of equipment, see what you like. I got some dive gear, good dive gear too from former club members, but after 2 months I didn't quite like the set up. My gauge is too big, the bcd isn't how I like it, etc, etc etc. I do love my shorty bottle though. I've even tried out other peep's computers and much prefer a couple of them to my own.

But I'm broke so I'm stuck with them for awhile, at least they work safely. I don't know, maybe I'm just picky.