Scuba Diving in Manchester

This week Dive Manchester Diving Club, DM Club, had our 1st over sea trip for this year.  Red Sea, Strait of Titan and North Liveaboard Trip, away from cold Manchester weather in February. For some of our club members, this trip was the first experience of liveaboard. Eat, Sleep, and Dive. Everybody was getting more and more excited before the trip started. It was brilliant feeling to share. Fortunately, the weather this week in Red Sea was very calm and perfect for diving holiday. I guess all our club members has been behaving so well that the good weather is given to them as a treat. The Strait of Titan and North cruise allows you to take in some of the most iconic wrecks and reefs the northern Red Sea has to offer as well as the pristine coral reefs of Titan. The Titan dive area is found in the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba and is made up of four main reefs that forms the top of an underwater bridge. It is a brilliant combination of dive si...

Some of you may heard about Britannic Ship Wreck. Yes, she is a sister ship of the famous Titanic.  Britannic is resting about 100m deep seabed in Greek Channel. When Titanic is resting much much deeper, Britannic is resting approachable depth for certain divers. Diving on Britannic Ship Wreck is one of the great dreams of Tech Divers for sure. The guest speaker, Mark Powell, is one of the leading Diver/Instructor in the world. Dive Manchester is so lucky to have him as a guest speaker for our Club Members and Guest Members. It was 2nd time to have Mark for the event. This time, lots of people showed up and filled out shop floor! Next time, we may have to think about booking different place.  It was very interesting not only for divers but also kids!! Their eyes were twinkling after this event!! Yes! Diving is FUN!!

  Dive Manchester, DM Club, has a monthly gathering at the near by pub, normally 4th (or 5th if any) Thursday of the month. We had one in the end of January, welcoming new members. Thursday night is a quiz night in that pub. How do we do? Well, we are normally No.1 in the pub!!! from the LAST. 😂 This time was not exceptional either. 😂 Myself has been quite sick for about a month, coughing so hard ever 10 min. Did I miss the gathering? Of course not!!! Although I am not a strong drinker, I love socialising with our divers and I am always looking forward to the night!! What did I have? "Hot Toddy"!!!! 😂😂 They actually made very good ones! It seems when I am sick, I become alcoholic.  I just wonder if that is a good sign...??? Stay healthy, everyone!!

DM Club 2018 Egypt Trip has begun! It has become rather "Cheeky Boy's Trip" but so be it!! 😂 This year, we have taken "Strait of Tiran & North" trip with Blue O Two. The Itinerary is covering some of the most iconic wrecks and reefs the Red Sea has to offer as well as the pristine coral reefs of Tiran.  Everybody was soooooo excited!! 😆 One after the other came to the shop to chat about it for the last several days before this trip. It is so great to see such excitement in everybody's eyes. Yes, Diving is FUN!!!  Some of them are quite experienced divers, but still you can see excitement in their eyes.  This is the great fun of diving. No matter how many dives you have done, every dive is different. Every dive trip is exciting. Every water will provide you new experience.  For example, my partner, John, who has done well over 4000 dives was soooo excited about it and also nervous about what to bring!! 😂 I tell you he has been an instructor f...

Seal diving in Farne Islands is my favourite diving in UK. If you have not done that yet, you are missing great FUN!! When diving, we, scuba divers, are just visitors normally. Well, it is not the same when seals are around!! When divers jump into the water, they look as "play mates". Do you have black fins for your diving? Well, change them to white or yellow! Something very visible in water. Then it will be 99% sure that they will come to play with your fins! My pink fins did well this time.  Water temp was about 11C. I prefer diving in September/October when the water temperature is still better. When hitting 11C, you want to make sure you have good thermal under suits to let you feel a bit more comfortable.   (pic by Terry W, DM Club) We were a group of 16 divers this time. It was great fun. Boat was very comfortable. I love it when they have a lift. There was not such thing in Malta. When UK divers were talking about "a lift on the boat",...

Malta - Some say "It is the Pearl of Mediterranean"  This small island has a lot to offer to Scuba Divers. You probably know about Malta for the Knights and the Maltese Cross. Whole country is the World Heritage. Mdina Old City, Three Cities, St. Paul's Catacomb, Mnajdra Temple, St.John Co-Cathedral, Casa Rocca Piccola, etc. There are so many places that you love to visit on the islands. How about under the water? Oh yes!! Malta is well known for Wreck divings and rock formations. You may not find many fish like in Red Sea or Indian Ocean, but its crystal clear water is perfect for wreck divings and its photography. Until I started diving in Malta, I was a "Fish" diver. I loved Indian Ocean and tropical water colourful fish like Nemo. Once I started diving in Malta, my idea about Scuba Diving changed forever. They look gorgeous in water!!! Working in Malta as a full time instructor for over 5 years gave me so much joy with Wreck Diving. (picture from DM ...

In old days, dive computers were some options for divers if we used or not when diving. Many divers planned their dives with Diving Tables and dived with Depth Gauge and Dive Watch and executed their dive plans. By doing so, divers could enjoy diving with safety. Thanks to the modern technology. Using Dive Computers is becoming modern standard for Scuba Diving. It may sound luxury equipment, but in fact, it is not really so. There are many types of Dive Computers available in the market at all different price ranges.  Even the cheapest Dive Computer in the market does perfect job for divers, of course. Whatever the brand you choose, they all do the job!! It is still better to get the cheapest one rather than diving without Dive Computer for your own safety. When I did my Discover Scuba Diving, I already had Dive Computer. It was a local regulation and every diver had to have a Dive Computer. If not owning one, you had to rent one. It was quite stric...