Tips for… Boat Diving
Boat diving… the best kind of diving! We love the months of March – October when our dive boat, Little Viv, hits the water for the season. Diving from a boat offers so many more dive opportunities, and don’t get us wrong, we love shore diving too but the change of going off to Tudwals islands, being the only divers on site, is something special.
So, what do you need to know about boat diving other than it is amazing? First off, don’t rule out the RHIB boat… and yes, we are biased. Little Viv is a RHIB, but there is a reason for that, and it’s not just because we don’t like giving you the opportunity for a toilet break! The dive sites around our coastline here are pretty shallow, which makes it hard for a hard boat to get to where we want to go. For the diving with the seals, into the coves… Little Viv is perfect to drop us in and collect us. That said, there are also some epic hard boat dives here in the UK too: Plymouth for the wrecks, Eyemouth for the deeper reefs, all of which are suited to their own type of boat.
Next off… what to bring? We can answer that for you – just your dive equipment! You don’t need to bring a whole host of items with you. There is a small amount of room on the boat, and let’s be honest, if we are doing it right, we shouldn’t be on the boat for that much time in the day – we want to be underneath the waves! We recommend getting yourself a small dry bag to pack some snacks and to keep your phone in and a coat with you (it can always be a bit chilly out at sea regardless of the time of year).
Anything else that we get asked? That last all important question of how much experience do you need to boat dive. Well, once you are qualified, you are entitled to dive anywhere in the world… that includes boats! All of these types of dives improve our experience in diving and open doors to new exciting opportunities. There are plenty of places, including us, that offer guided boat dives which are a great way to get into boat diving if you are new to this type of dive.
So, if you have not dived off a boat yet… definitely put it on your list for this year!
Find out more at www.duttonsdivers.com
