News
Try before you buy with Happy Diver
What is Happy Diver UK?
The idea behind Happy Diver is simple – to provide the best possible rental drysuit diving experience. They do this by providing excellent customer care and high quality equipment. A purpose-built stock of Otter Cordura-D drysuits were designed in tandem with Otter to provide a comfortable, flexible fit. Their use of Fourth Element and Otter undersuits ensures divers stay warm in the Scottish diving climate. Their unique customer care provides expert instruction on donning and removal covering the nuances of the needs of the first-time drysuit diver.
Experienced instructors stand open-mouthed when they see the attention to detail that Guy and Kate put into dressing their divers. The service that absolutely sets Happy Diver UK apart is their hospitality – freshly cooked hot food onsite to provide the internal warmth.
What’s the Happy Diver Story?
Guy and his fiancée, Katie, first discussed the concept of Happy Diver over a pint of beer and glass of wine in a Scottish west coast pub one February. They had just finished helping some university students with their open water drysuit training. This was February in Scotland. The water temperature was 5◦C, but the weather was bright with only the odd snow flurry. You certainly could not have marked the students down for their keenness and enthusiasm. They had a typical selection of rental suits, ones off eBay and others borrowed from generous club members. As undersuits, they wore a variety of street-wear – hoodies and leggings. They had been asked to wear warm clothing that that was what they had. Once the suits were on, the issues started, all of which are recognised by seasoned drysuit diving instructors – poorly fitting suits, loose seals, small feet in big boots, and poor maintenance leading to poor buoyancy control and cold, wet divers.
So in the pub, Katie and Guy only had one topic of discussion: “There’s got to be something better than this.”
Happy Diver UK is now in its second year of operation with a growing reputation for excellent service.
Why choose Happy Diver?
For Happy Diver UK, the people come first. They care about your dive. Guy brings over 15-years of drysuit instructing experience whilst staff-nurse Katie, who is a recently qualified Sport Diver, brings compassion and awareness of the trials of the new drysuit diver.
For you, their quality drysuit packages are designed to give you the best possible drysuit experience in which to progress your skills. Telescopic bodies ensure a good fit, Kubi and Sitech interchangeable seals ensure a good fit with reduced skin irritation. The rock boots ensure a good fitting foot no-matter your body shape. The specialist thermal two-piece undersuits provide a good fit and excellent insulation to keep you warm and concentrated on your skills and scenery. You enjoy your dining and progress faster.
For your club, you can encourage you divers to take a rental suit assured that they will have a good experience. Your divers progress faster allowing you to grow your club or get your divers to instructor capable grades sooner.
What’s new for the 2019 training season?
As a result of their drysuit snorkelling events in the summer, Happy Diver UK now have a full set of masks and fins for all our suits. So you really can try before you buy into drysuit diving and start your drysuit diving journey with Happy Diver UK.
For more information about Happy Diver UK please visit their website by clicking here.
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Blogs
Northern Red Sea Reefs and Wrecks Trip Report, Part 3: The Mighty Thistlegorm
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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