We could be in for some of the best conditions we've had for a while this weekend. Sunday in particular we are expecting swell to be low and gentle, offshore Easterlies. On top of this conditions have been fairly decent in the previous days and we're currently on neap tides, so the water movement has been less than in the previous few weeks. This should mean visibility is also improved compared to the last few weeks of the South Wales coast.
Although we're getting neap tides of the weekend and into early next weekend, you must remember that on the South Wales coast even our neap tides involve a large movement of water, the different between low and high tide is still 4m+ so proper dive planning is still as important as ever. Remember the rule of twelfths and look to dive at slack water or the incoming tide.
You have the option of most of the dive sites in the Gower, such as Limeslade Bay or Oxwich Bay. You could also head a little further west and dive some of the bays out there, such as Martins Haven and St Brides Bay.
Last weekend saw us back at Hebron Hall, in Cardiff, taking some PADI Refresher courses and the PADI Open Water Diver confined dives for our latest batch of students. Next week we'll be heading to Chepstow the our PADI Open Water Diver students can complete their open water dives and begin their scuba diving adventures. We'll also be running the open water section of the PADI Rescue Diver as well as some guided dives.
This weekend our instructors and divemasters will be making the most of their time off with some pleasure dives along the South Wales coast.
CAUTIONS – It's summer but the British sea temperatures will still only be around the 12 degree mark, so we'll still need to take precautions with regards to thermal protection (wetsuits, drysuits, hoods, gloves). Even though we seeing neap tides across this weekend, there is still a large volume of water moving so proper dive planning is still absolutely vital.