Newish diver :)

[Barnoe]

Hi Everyone,

Apologies in advance as i realise this will sound like everyone else who ends up here probably, as i expect the story to be very similar
this has been a long time coming... im ashamed to say i should have taken up diving probably 30 years ago when me and a mate first talked about it.

that was back in the 90s.... roll onto 2007 and an holiday to Cuba
I spotted a guy getting given his first tester in the pool.
I was excited because id never even given it a second thought that diving maybe available on this holiday.
i quickly went over and registered my interest.
This resulted in 4 diving trips while i was seeing out the rest of my holiday, which i have to say was amazing!!

Just last week i returned from Turkey where i did another 2 dives...

I keep doing this, which is fine but having to sit or kneel 3-5m under the sea and get tested each time is costing me diving time while i prove myself not to panic (some usually do on each trip)
this last dive saw 12 others go through the same which takes time, on the second dive it was only about 15 minutes long which seemed to pass in 2 minutes

This time this is it, im coming home and doing PADI
So here i am, ive found a local diver to go with but havent made contact yet.

Just thought i would come here and lurk, read and ask questions to make sure i dont waste time down the wrong path.
i am 53 years old now, so dont want to waste another 20-30 years or it wont happen.

any advice appreciated

[bottle maker]

Welcome to diving. If you are interested in UK diving have a look and see if there is a local BSAC club. If there is go and visit them. They all different in the way they do things. Some lots better than others but their training is geared towards UK diving. Is normally cheaper than PADI with less commercial bias.

[Barnoe]

I thought PADI was the qualification everyone looks for?
Although in Cuba it was the ACUC which seemed widely accepted.

Eventually I would like to be qualified, confident and competent enough to go diving with a friend.
I realise that's way off, so for now would like a qualification that means something.

So when I dive with a club or on holiday I can get straight to it without the organisers of the dive trip feeling I'm holding them back and we can just get in the water and go.... if that makes sense.

My friend is going to be learning with me, so hopefully later down the line we can dive together.

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

[bottle maker]

BSAC qualifications are welcome world wide. 27 years ago in Mexico the dive centres attitude totally changed when they relised I was a BSAC advanced diver and not PADI. Some one selling PADI course will tell you PADI is best. The reality is any decent diving centre will know and recognise all the mayor world qualifications.

[Allan Carr]

I've dived in 49 different countries (apart from the UK) across six continents, all on my BSAC qualifications. When my wife and I dived in British Columbia, our BSAC qualifications were warmly welcomed along the lines of if you can dive in UK waters, you are OK to dive here. They were very careful about PADI qualifications issued abroad because they said that they had had too many warm water divers get into problems when faced with the cold, dark waters of BC.

That's not saying that BSAC training is better then PADI, it's just that BSAC training is built around UK diving. If your intention is only to do warm water diving, PADI will suit you fine.

[Edward3c]

Hi Everyone,

Apologies in advance as i realise this will sound like everyone else who ends up here probably, as i expect the story to be very similar
this has been a long time coming... im ashamed to say i should have taken up diving probably 30 years ago when me and a mate first talked about it.

that was back in the 90s.... roll onto 2007 and an holiday to Cuba
I spotted a guy getting given his first tester in the pool.
I was excited because id never even given it a second thought that diving maybe available on this holiday.
i quickly went over and registered my interest.
This resulted in 4 diving trips while i was seeing out the rest of my holiday, which i have to say was amazing!!

Just last week i returned from Turkey where i did another 2 dives...

I keep doing this, which is fine but having to sit or kneel 3-5m under the sea and get tested each time is costing me diving time while i prove myself not to panic (some usually do on each trip)
this last dive saw 12 others go through the same which takes time, on the second dive it was only about 15 minutes long which seemed to pass in 2 minutes

This time this is it, im coming home and doing PADI
So here i am, ive found a local diver to go with but havent made contact yet.

Just thought i would come here and lurk, read and ask questions to make sure i dont waste time down the wrong path.
i am 53 years old now, so dont want to waste another 20-30 years or it wont happen.

any advice appreciated

The find a BSAC club link is here.

I was out diving the Scottish West Coast yesterday with plenty to see.

[Barnoe]

Although I'd love to say I will dive anywhere, I have only dived in warm countries so far.
I've never been in UK seas or lakes.

I suppose you can buy gear to help with that... although I know nothing about gear.

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

[Barnoe]

The find a BSAC club link is here.

I was out diving the Scottish West Coast yesterday with plenty to see.

Thanks for that, there is a club 5 miles away, which is great 👍

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

[Tim Digger]

In the words of the song "Stop right there, before we go any further!" You should decide whether you want to dive in UK waters or only in warm waters on trips abroad. If you really want to dive in the UK gear costs will be significantly higher that said if you enjoy a club environment and can join a good active one then BSAC is good training, and many have loan equipment for beginners. PADI courses are really there to make PADI and instructors money but usually offer good training and a very well recognised safe world wide system of training. If you want to dive solely in warm water destinations then a PADI instructor in UK to do the book work study followed by referral to a good PADI centre in for instance Canary Islands might be an alternative way forward.

[Woz]

Although I'd love to say I will dive anywhere, I have only dived in warm countries so far.
I've never been in UK seas or lakes.

Been diving all over the place for over 30 years. When asked "what is your favourite dive" then without a doubt, the Scottish outliers. They are stunning- there are the Outliers, then a massive gap, then the rest of the dive sites everywhere else.

UK diving can be challenging, but with 3000 years of maritime history, 2 world wars and some of the richest temperate waters on the planet for wildlife, it also has some of the best diving.