ANOTHER TWO DAYS OF GREAT COASTAL DIVING TO BE HAD WITH “THE GREAT AQUASPORT FISH & SHIPS WEEKEND”
Four RIB dives + B&B Accommodation £145*
Contrary to popular belief, the South Coast of our delightful little nation has more to it than crowded beaches, beer bellies, balding heads and screaming kids! We have on our doorstep some of the best wreck diving in the world. So to prove this to you, Aquasport International has booked another diving trip down at Portland over the weekend of 13th and 14th March 2010.
Portland boasts some of the best wreck diving found anywhere. Submarines, steamers, warships and modern freighters all within a short boat ride from the dive centre. For those who like fish with their ships, it also has some fantastic reefs and the drift diving is second to none. Dives range from 6m to very deep! So there is always a dive to suit everyone. The trip as always is ideal for the fresh faced beginner with little or no experience and those of you looking for a little more chilled out trip with some easy diving in good company.
We have booked with our old friends at F&B, (fast and exciting RIBs, no old paddle steamers here Gov) for some easy inshore stuff for you guys (and Gals) to get your teeth into and learn the ropes.
As always there will be Aquasport staff on hand to assist in anyway and to give advice and guidance to everyone on the trip. Training dives are available but must be booked in advance to ensure that the dives are correct for the level of training required, there is no point trying to do a Wreck Diver Specialty on a drift dive!
The details of the trip are as follows.
Fish & Ships Weekend - £145* for the Novice Boat.
The final cost of the experienced boat is still to be finalised (time and tides etc) and depends on the dives booked.
At least one Aquasport Instructor will accompany this trip and dive on the novice boat therefore no experience is required and a minimum of PADI Open Water Diver or equivalent is needed. Previous experience of UK and RIB diving as well as pre-requisite qualifications and number of dives are required for the experienced boats. The cost includes four boat dives including inshore wrecks and reefs with at least one drift dive for the novice and at least two offshore wrecks for the experienced boats.
There is also an option to do some shore dives from Chesil Cove if you have any energy left. Extra days diving on Friday or Monday can be arranged if there is enough interest. Two nights B&B are generally twin rooms but depending on availability we may have to settle for triples. We can also arrange car sharing for those struggling for transport.
A £50 (non-refundable**) deposit to secure your place. The cost includes the dives and B&B. It does not include travel, food other than breakfast (although they do serve snacks & drinks on the boats after each dive), air fills (nitrox is available) or equipment hire. Air and Nitrox fills are available from F&B, equipment hire is available from Aquasport before you go at a very reduced club rate.
Diving from Weymouth on the stunning Dorset coast, each diver will do 2 RIB dives per day (Saturday and Sunday). Your selected site will be dependent on the weather (aren't they always!) as well as your current experience and qualification. We will do our best to fill all the boats with divers of similar levels and interests so that you all get to do the kind of diving you want to do (i.e. wrecks, drifts, photography etc).
For the power-snackers amongst you there will be hot ribena and snacks supplied on the RIBS after each dive - save me a froggy bar!
All divers will be accommodated at the same bed and breakfast on Portland - and yes it does have a bar! Breakfast is usually from 7am and you will be expected to get yourselves over to the boat launch promptly for you designated departure time. Good news is that there is plenty of parking at the launch site.
Please be aware that all divers off the UK coast are required to use SMB's and reels for ascents and on all drift dives. Ideally you will need to take your own, but we do have a limited number in the school which are available for hire.
Some of the Dive Sites Available:
Dredger
10m Wreck
Spaniard
14m Wreck
Landing Craft
14m Wreck
Countess of Erne
15m Wreck
Bally Bay
12m - 29m Drift Dive
Grove Point
15m - 32m Drift Dive
Lulworth Cove
5m Reef
Durdle Door
7m - 14m Reef
Earl of Abergavenny
15m Wreck
Adelaide
11m Wreck
Chequered Fort
18m Wall Dive
P555
39m Submarine Wreck
M2
32m Submarine Wreck
Black Hawk
36m Wreck
Aeolian Sky
30m Wreck
Pulpit Rock
10m - 30m Reef
FARNE ISLANDS DIVING 9th and 10th Oct 2010
FOUR BOAT DIVES AND TWO NIGHT B&B……£145*
The Farne Islands are one of the UK’s most popular dive destinations. Offering multiple wrecks cloaked in history, as well as spectacular walls and reefs. But to be fair most people go to the Farnes to dive with the resident Grey Seals. These naughty little blighters like to creep up on you just when you are not expecting them and nip your fins, lingering just long enough for you to prepare your camera, but not long enough for you to get a good photo. Taking pictures of them in books does not count either! You know who you are!!!
Situated just south of the Scottish border the Farnes are nearly Norway! If you can’t afford to go abroad this year this is about as foreign as you are going to get. They definitely all talk funny up there and the only way to communicate is via hand signals or by plying them with beer in the local pub. I’m not sure whether their accent becomes easier to understand the more they drink, or if it’s your brain becoming scrambled and allowing you to decipher what they say more easily with the more you drink? Anyway, all our staff are well versed in Geordie so they can act as a translator. Just remember the basics, ‘dave’ means ‘dive’, not the landlords name. ‘Boooort’ means ‘boat’, you have to make sure you are on this both mornings. This keeps the skipper happy. ‘Wannaberya skip’ means ‘would you like a drink captain, normally followed by the reply, ‘illavaberya-mon’ which means ‘mines a lager with a dash thank you’. This also keeps the skipper happy.
Anyway, back to reality. We’ve booked a fast RIB for the diving and the B&B for sleeping. All you have to do is get up there with your kit and get back home again. The journey is around 4.5 - 5 hours and we can arrange car sharing for anyone needing a lift.
A £50 (non-refundable**) deposit to secure your place. We only have 10 spaces available and I’ve already booked my place. The cost includes the dives and B&B. It does not include travel, food other than breakfast (although they do serve snacks & drinks on the boat), air fills (nitrox is available) or equipment hire. It is a two tank trip so you will need two cylinders each as we do not return to the shore between dives. Cylinders and equipment hire is available that weekend from Aquasport at a reduced rate for anyone on the trip.
Places are going quick so wye-eye-mon your way down to the centre or give us a call to book your places.
*additional fee charged for credit card processing.
Cheques, cash and debit cards no extra charge.
**So if you pull out it’s up to you to find a replacement or still pay the balance and lose out. Balance of payment is due two weeks prior. Non payment of balance by this time indicates a cancellation.
