Scuba Diving Clubs

[evehill]

The Submersibles is pretty cool. Check them out.

[Carfax2]

Hi

I know this is an old post but I'm in the same position - newly arrived in SG with a PADI OW and interested to know about local diving clubs/ organisations/ trips. How did you get on?

Cheers

[JR8]

Hi
I know this is an old post but I'm in the same position - newly arrived in SG with a PADI OW and interested to know about local diving clubs/ organisations/ trips. How did you get on?
Cheers

I tried a few places, but never found a dive 'club' in Singapore, i.e. one that had any form of social side to it. What I did find was a couple of dive shops, that offer to sign you up on tour-operator dive trips. But I can do that myself.

I suppose when there is little to no diving in Singapore, there is no virtue in trying to run a diving club, or being a member of one.

What I have found, is that by diving regionally, and staying in smaller places, this is where you get closest to a club vibe. Small places, where the hotel and dive shop are both on site. That way at the end of a day, you tend to hang out with who you've been diving with that day.

That way you get to compare notes, experiences, tips and recommendations. Despite many evenings chewing the fat post-dive at such places, I've never been recommended a SG dive club.... shame!

[Max Headroom]

Was just going to say, that would be such a cool thing, a place for regular divers and their buddies to gather and exchange tips, war stories and, yeah, plan future dives. I reckon something like this would be a great boon to any dive outfit here, especially diver-loyalty-wise. Given the proximity of quite a few decent dive sites around Singers and the competition factor amongst dive schools here, it's weird how there's no such club eh.

[JR8]

Premises are tiny here, so there's no space for just hanging out 'at the shop/shed'. But you know even the shop-owners here seem to be a pretty reticent bunch, they're after sales, not chat.

There was one dive shop down on Beach Road that tried to create a form of club, complete with membership fees, discounts of trips/gear, 'club nights'. But that was a top-down plan by one of the MBA'd-up directors. As one might expect it flopped, as near as matters instantly. Apparently the dive-vibe, and MBA-style business marketing don't go hand in hand ... lol.

[Girl_Next_Door]

My bank have a dive club whereby someone will get some dive deals, once in a blue moon. The dive club have a facebook page whereby we will post photos of our dive trips or some will post dive related articles. I tried to find people to go diving but the response is not overwhelming.

Maybe you can check out facebook to see if there is any other dive group.

[ChrisCH]

When it comes to banks do I know that at least Credit Suisse, Standard Chartered and Barclays have dive clubs. The first two are pretty active, no idea about Barclays (just know that all three organized some drinks before). Another social oriented dive club is part of the British Club. Forgot the name, but they have a stall every year at the Singaporean dive exhibition called ADEX.

Better than facebook groups is the SG dive forum Scubasg.com

[JetFixation]

Quick question -

I'm thinking of learning and getting a license. Where around Singapore (or even out of Asia) are good places to learn?

I'm heading to Bali next week but I heard the waters there aren't good for beginners. Any suggestions?

[Stevie_W]

I think it depends on which part of Bali you choose to do your course in.
If your going there next week, you certainly won't have time to do it in Singapore beforehand. Well, you might, but it might not be a good course and it would be way too rushed.
I do have a name of a dive center i went with back in October last year and i found them to be pretty decent. If you want their details, let me know and i'll PM those to you. You can always just drop them a message, have a chat and discuss the feasibility of you getting your license out there.
Otherwise, if you decide to wait, then most people living in Singapore go off to Tioman to do their Open Water course there. You would need to read a book, do a theory test and do a couple of pool sessions beforehand though. Again if you want details of the dive center in Singapore that i use, let me know and i'll PM that over to you too.

[JR8]

Quick question - I'm thinking of learning and getting a license. Where around Singapore (or even out of Asia) are good places to learn?
I'm heading to Bali next week but I heard the waters there aren't good for beginners. Any suggestions?

Tioman is good, as the waters are very sheltered, and you won't get any big unplanned surprises there. Plus you get 20-30+M visibility, and the water temp is positively balmy (31c-33 most days). Less wetsuit/neoprene being needed and worn, means less lead on your belt, means less buoyancy adjustment = allows more time to relax and focus on other things while you get the hang of things. It is just so much easier to go and qualify at a good dive centre out here in the tropics. Tioman - It's not $$$ to get to, the F+B are good, and the people are generally extremely friendly.

Now what were people saying about doing their OW qualifying dives off Pulau Hantu Singapore? lol ... no thanks, that sound like quarry diving in Europe!

There are other places you could go, but they are further away, and the conditions are not usually so benign (Phuket, Bali, Lombok etc., even Penang!). The former two can get some strong currents, the latter, the visibility might be down to a metre at times. Actually Redang sounds pretty good too, though I don't think you have an option of flying directly there, I haven't been.

But if you are keen to dip your toe in the water (as such), why not perhaps consider a Try-Dive on your upcoming trip?
Example from a random Google search: http://www.baliscuba.com/padi-discover- ... -dive.html
Note the Try-Dive and Discover Scuba Diving are PADI courses, and work to a template. I.e. any affiliated dive centre should be able to offer them to customers, though I feel with something like this as an outright beginner that it's better to get a recommendation, or sieve reviews online to find somewhere that you like the sound of. Better to start out on a lifetime's journey, with a confident footing.

You can also do an 'Open Water Referral'. This means you do the study, the tests, and the pool work here in SG. Half the course. You then take your signed referral to a dive centre elsewhere, do your 4 open water dives, have some further instruction, do your final test, and you're done. It means you spend about 2 days on holiday studying, but more importantly you're actually out diving too etc, whereas the full course is usually over 5 days. It gives you more time, on holiday, and now qualified, to actually go and dive.

Anything else I can help with just shout, and I'd be happy to help.

[I'm a PADI DM, but just got that far to push my limits, and have no affiliation or interest with any operation etc., I just have some insight into what makes life easier for students ...]

p.s. If you do a Try-Dive and it works for you, then it's chocks away... you'll never look back, and welcome to inner space

[Dawnnerieanna]

Er.. everyone still diving?
Looks like no one psoted anything since 2013

[sundaymorningstaple]

Er.. everyone still diving?
Looks like no one psoted anything since 2013

MOM has pretty much decimated our ranks. JR8 is a trailing spouse currently overseas. Most of the other have been transferred to part unknown. Some of us have, for all intents and purposes, like me, retired unless it happens to be part of a vacation for other reasons. (I dove SCUBA since I was 16, been certified since '76 and also did close to 20 years in the commercial side of things in the Oil and Gas Exploration game. I'm pushing 70 now. Yeah, been pretty quiet here.

There are a couple diving forums in Singapore but I've never followed them. I reckon a google search will turn them up pretty easily.

[taxico]

i'm touch base with scuba shops in sg at least once a year - business has not been good the past few years.

many big shops/brands have shuttered or down-sized. they do not see things changing anytime soon.

[Max Headroom]

Taxico, what do you know about diving off Anambas? I know that some Singapore-based liveaboards go there, but do you have any recent personal experience or know-how with diving there?

I visit the archipelago quite frequently, which is how I know that the water visibility in the area is pretty much unrivaled. But as far as actual diving goes, it seems not everyone agrees. (I've only snorkeled there myself).

By the way, I'm referring not so much to the familiar wreck sites that are more or less in between Singapore and Anambas, because I've heard the diving there is indeed decent. I'm referring more to the inner Anambas islands: Durai, Penjalin, Tekong Berlayar and the like.

[PNGMK]

I have pretty much stopped recreational diving. I tend to get sea sick much easier underwater than I used to(meniere's type syndrome I think) and far too many friends have had accidents. If I did dive again it would be up to Manadao - there some nice diving there I see on FB. I certainly wouldn't bother with anything around Singapore/Thailand etc. Like SMS I was involved in commercial underwater activities and running an ROV to 1700 ft in crystal clear water off Bali was the highlight of my life....