Wanna do some divin stuff ?

We hope you're keen to get diving.   If you haven't dived for a while, the best place to get going again is a practice session in the pool.   If that "while" is six months or more, you'll need to do a SCUBA Review and get your logbook signed to show that you are a current diver again.

We'd like to ask you what kind of diving and activities YOU would like to do in the coming months and where you would like to go, so we can put together some options.   Please read these ideas and click on the survey to indicate your preferences:

Ideas for non-diving activities include:-
A visit to a Coastguard or RNLI Station -  to understand what they do, and specifically what advice they have for SCUBA Divers, and how they would like to work with SCUBA Divers.
A visit to a Recompression Chamber Facility -  (but not as a customer !!!) to understand the work that they do, how to prevent becoming one of their customers (be a SAFE Diver - Slowly Ascend From Every Dive, and Always Breathe - Never Hold your Breath !), and what the consequences could be if you do need to go in a recompreession chamber.
Visit a Sealife Centre - A dry visit to see species in a large sea life centre, with the opportunity to talk about marine conservation.
Visit a Dive Show - There are two big dive shows in England, one in Spring and one in Autumn, packed full of all the diving equipment you can imagine, plus diving presentations, films and shows.   A great place to get ideas for diving, with keen prices.
Punting in Cambridge - Nothing to do with diving, but opportunities to get wet as you learn how to punt along the College Backs and upper level of the River Cam, during the summer.
Paintballing - Also nothing to do with diving, but getting rid of all that aggression in a technicolour splat.

Indoor Diving ideas include:-
Pool Practice - Every Sunday at the Black Lion Leisure Centre, except when there is a swimming Gala - check the club calendar, and please let us know you're coming !
Aquarium Dive with UK Shark Species - diving with the kind of shark species that can be found in UK waters.
Aquarium Dive with Tropical Shark Species - diving with larger sharks that can be found  in tropical waters, including sand tiger sharks.
Submarine Escape Training Tank - a 30m deep training tank for training RN submariners to make underwater escapes.   It is heated to over 30oC making this a tropical dive, ideal for the winter months.
Helicopter Ditching Escape - Not actually diving, but experiencing a helicopter rig hitting the water, turning over and sinking in the water, and making your escape to the surface.

Locations for freshwater dives include:-
Leybourne Lakes - Close, easy to get to for a full day's diving and fry-up.   Maximum depth around 9 metres.
Wraysbury - Near Heathrow.   Maximum depth 14m.   A lake similar to Leybourne, with waterside facilities (toilets, snack bar, clubhouse, airfills) and giant stride entries.
Stoney Cove - Near Leicester.   3 levels: 7m, 16-25m and 27-38m.   The most popular inland site in the UK.   Underwater: house, cockpit, Nautilus, APC, tugboat, helicopter, coach, landrover, hydrobox.   Waterside facilites (toilets, changing rooms, showers, snack bar, restaurant, dive shop, airfills).   Lots of fish.   Opportunities for Giant Strides, Seated entry, ladder exits.   Visibility much clearer than Leybourne, away from training areas.
Gildenburgh - Near Peterborough.   Maximum depth 22 metres.   Lots of roped-together attractions underwater including cars, lorries, a double-decker bus, lorry container.   Waterside facilities (toilets, changing rooms, snack bar, airfills).   High giant stride opportunity.   Water dark at depth.
Vobster Quay - Near Frome.   Depth 2-34m.   Waterside facilities (toilets, changing rooms, showers, snack bar, diveshop, airfills).   Giant Stride entries and seated entries, ladder exits.   Underwater cabin cruiser, 3 sections of Comet airliner, quarry crushing mill, tunnel, lorry, several cars.   Water dark at depth.
Chepstow (Welsh National Dive Centre) - Near the Severn Bridge.   Deep quarry with two areas: down to 20m and down to 60m (for technical diving only).   Landrover shuttle to/from waterside.   Giant Stride entries with ladder exits.   Underwater several cars, safe, cabin cruiser, area covered by floating pontoons.   Facilities (toilets, changing rooms, snack bar, dive shop, airfills).

Locations for sea dives include:-
Horsey Island - Near Portsmouth.   Maximum depth 7m, seawater.   This is an ex Royal Navy torpedo testing range connected to the sea by (closed) sluice gates.   Underwater land rover, pontoon bridge, tank, recompression chamber (!).   Waterside facilities (toilets, changing rooms, showers, snack bar, airfills).   Giant Stride entries and ladder exit.   Visibility similar to Leybourne.
Shore Diving -  (various locations) - Diving from beaches and bays, often near features such as harbour walls and piers.
Boat Diving -  (Channel, various locations) - Hardboats and RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats), often on wrecks and underwater features, or drift dives.
Diving with Seals-  (Lundy) - Lundy is a small island in the Bristol Channel, and the UK's first (and England's only) Marine Reserve Conservation Area.   Here, recovering fish stocks and the rocky shoreline attract seals.   Underwater, the seals peep at divers through the kelp, and approach from behind and play tag by biting your fins and hi-tailing it before you can turn round.   A marvellous experience, this will be a long weekend (or midweeker) during the summer, to give two full days of diving.

Diving Abroad Includes:-
Red Sea - Probably the best diving available on a short haul flight for variety and colour of species, combined with all year round good weather.   Mainly boat diving.
Gozo - Near Malta.   Three types of rock give rise to bays, grottos, caverns and caves for diving, with opportunities for shalllow and deep dives.   Mainly shore diving.
Cuba  - We are proposing a diving holiday to Cuba in 2009 before the country opens up and becomes too commercialised.   If you would be interested in diving in Cuba, please let us know !
Turkey - Mainly boat diving, some shore dives.
Spain - Mainly boat diving, some shore dives.
Ireland - Shore and boat diving.   Surprisingly clear water, kelp beds and seals.

Please click here and answer a survey about what you want from diving this coming year

Many Thanks !!!