50m in Chepstow, ER....finally :)

50m in Chepstow

Lead by Paul T, we (Andrew, Paul, Adam & I) have had a splendid week on ER at the UK dive sites.

What a lovely group of people to do my deepest ever dive with....with Andrew being my Padi Divemaster Instructor from years ago, Paul T - whose coached me through Instructor Specs & Technical training.....and Paul & Adam for being both great divers and buddies .... all great company. Thanks guys

When Paul T, Adam & I left Malta....there were rumblings that we were cuckoo for leaving the sun, warm clear water, and wet suits, to do Extendend Range in the UK.... but I've really enjoyed it. I'd be fibbing if I said I didn't ache at all today after my faceplant in my set yesterday and carrying kit over Maltese rocks then up & down UK pontoons over 10 days.... but the thrill of descending to 50m down a wall into darker water was absolutely worth it. I think I might be hooked....

Chepstow opened up for us .... Stoney Cove closed especially for us ! I'd just like to say a huge thank you to the Staff at Chepstow for looking after us, doing our fills & ferrying us up & down. THANK YOU !!

Paul T asked me to compare the skill difficulty between Malta & Chepstow. For me, I was most concerned about the colder conditions initially, but in the end, didn't find it a problem. I had slight buoyancy issues in my drysuit on the first dive until I dropped 4kg & got it sorted. Actually, I found positioning on stops easier in a drysuit due to floaty feet which I prefer as it's much more relaxing. Slight adjustments to D rings & position of kit made shutdowns etc OK. I had to concentrate more at depth in the colder darker water.....but essentially, the descent to 50m would not have held the same appeal to me in crystal blue water.

Having said that, the 70mins or so skill circuit that we did in Malta with multiple stage swaps, no mask skills, shutdowns etc etc would not have been so easy in Chepstow with the water temperature as far as duration is concerned.

Brilliant week, brilliant company..... can't wait till 100m.

We came, we saw, we sank (a lot), we were told we looked awesome.

I walked away thinking about all the kit I now want. If anyone sees me asking about trimix or rebreather just remind me I'll need more kit and probably another house to store it all in.

VR3


So .... Andrew ..... hows 9-16 August for some dives in Malta ? I start my new contract tomorrow which should last 6 weeks...but even if it goes to 7, I can still go to diving.


Adam .... I have your TDI Manual. I'll try to drop it off at the shop next weekend.

Sounds like an awesome weekend! More dive gear, anyone?

MORE?

anyone got some good rates on garage rental?

Perhaps we should all get together & buy a house for kit storage....


Glenn, it's been a fabulous 10 days! .... and way too long coming for me to get to 50m.

OK then, it's official.... I waited way too long for ER and now all I want to do is go deeper.

Who's going to Malta 9-16th August?

Would anyone like to do a load of 40/50m dives with me on twins & stages to get the experience levels up?

Celehte? Andrew? Glenn?

Well, I was looking at going along to the red sea with Gary Watt for some trimix action, then I realised I was in fact very skint. And then I looked in the garage and I knew why. And I knew it was good.

Anyway - am SERIOUSLY keen for some deep action so why not? As cost is a good indicator for me any idea on how much? Convert the cost into either bottles of wine or cylinders so I can understand it!!!!

p.s. - ER is 55m on air - what happened to the other 5m???

, well, 50m was our plan & it was 7-8 degs after all. Not wishing to be a nonce or anything but maybe Paul didn't want a load of narked shivering idiots rambling along behind him!

Cost? Send Paul a mail. Gozo Aqua Sports & the appartments next door are very reasonable. Price in bottles of wine? not sure.... I drink expensive wine to start, then vinegar, so it's quite hard to make a judgement on that!

I can't get in my garage! What size is your garage , wanna rent some of it to me??

Ask Paul.

But if memory serves Chepstow has a limit of 50 on Air.

I know. The reply (to Annie, coincidentally) was in good humour.

Great news on passing the course though - good effort all round I think!

I dropped Paul a mail re Gozo & will post up here when I get a reply re price.

I might talk myself into doing Entry level Trimix....but I'll see how things go. I'm a bit coursed out & just want to do some dives.....

Go Baby!

I've noticed a huge difference at depth - much clearer head and just a nicer experience. And a twin twelve fill costs over £45. Ouch. Great course though!

I was speaking to Adam yesterday at the shop and there's a few of us - steadily increasing in number at DLL - that can get some serious stuff on the go! How exciting! Hope all's well with you!

G

I know exactly what you mean Glenn, my breathing rate was much better at 50m, infact similar to my night dive rate....just relaxed.

Yes, it's all very exciting & I just wish I had more time to be underwater...this 'work' thing is a right old pest! ...

I have done a bit with the commercial scuba & should have alot more instructing coming up.....so things are changing for the wetter and sanity reigns because of it!

Roll on Trimix !

You go Girl, the deeper the better, and I think the water is wetter down there as well, no, it's true, don't laugh This bug has bitten me badly as well. But like Glen - I seem to have forgotten about the money, hmmm, funny that. Any chance of converting this into wine for me as well I am looking into bribes to get that week end off work and do 4 days out there agian like last time. so watch this space (or your mail)

Many thanks for your mail. I forgot to say that I'm waiting for some prices....as soon as Paul has heard from Gail he's gonna send the details so I'll post them up here....

I'm no good at the wine conversion thing for reasons above

Money?...I never seem to see it....it goes in...more of it goes out through transactions with no paper involved at all...tec kit arrives! , the house gets smaller!!

See you in Gonzo, or maybe Club Night if I can get there