Bicester Divers

Accessable to all qualified diver grades with the aim of increasing the experience levels of our less qualified members as well as providing a diving trip/holiday to cater for those looking for wrecks, reefs and photo opportunity’s. The trip is open to all members of Bicester BSAC and will be opened to divers from other clubs to enhance diving experience and to make new contacts.

Location:

Porthkerris offers one of the best sites to dive from in the UK.

• The beach is East facing and the cove is sheltered by high cliffs. (Result is less likely to get blown out with the prevailing South Westerly’s)
• The beach is pebble (no sand on your kit)
• There is parking on the beach (no hauling heavy kit over great distances).
• There is a compressor located on the beach (no messing about trying to get your fills). Nitrox is available for those of you who breath this devils gas!!
• There is a catering wagon located on the beach offering a mixture of hot and cold drinks and food including those all essential post dive bacon butties.
• The dates chosen are during Neap Tides with high water occurring between 0930 – 1200 hrs and low water between 1600-1900 hrs during our stay, for some leisurely slack water dive times.

The diving:

Porthkerris has a house reef with the beach shelving to about 15 metres at no more than 100 metres from shore. It offers some of the best shore diving in the UK and is ideal for sheltered open water training dives.

A short RIB ride away are several wrecks including:

• The Mohegan, (15 to 29 metres)
• Volnay, (max 21 metres)
• Cmarthen, (max 20 metres)
• The NG Petersan, (max 19 metres)

And of course there is the Manacles, a series of rocks, some submerged about 1 mile off shore, the most popular being Raglan reef, offering a superb pinnacle dive from 6 to 42 metres.

Visibility is often in the region of 15-20 metres and during the summer sea temperatures are in the region of 18 degrees centigrade.

Summer visitors to the area include Basking Sharks, Dolphins and Sun Fish with the odd fishy tale of Great Whites being sighted !!!!!!

Air:

Air fill £3 Nitrox <40% £6

Accommodation:

There is a range of B&B accommodation available from approx £20 in nearby St Keverne, a delightful Cornish village with pub/shop etc.

Other Information:

The intention is to travel down on the Thursday, maybe get a cheeky beach dive in and then acquaint ourselves with the delights of the local pub. The following 4 days will be a mixture of boat and shore diving depending on diver numbers, diver preference, boat availability and of course the Weather. Travel back either Monday evening or on the Tuesday.
The dates have been chosen primarily to take advantage of the Neap Tides. They also avoid the Bank holiday weekend!!

Map: click the pushpin to request directions