Improve your personal diving at TEKCamp 2011 - Mon 25th to Friday 29th July

[Roz]

Date to pencil into your diary folks. The first ‘TEKCamp’ will be held from Monday 25th to Friday 29th July 2011 inclusive. Join ten of the UK's top technical diving instructors for five days of solid diving, lectures, presentations and - of course - fun at Vobster Quay, Somerset UK. More details to follow shortly.

[Roz]

Just packing for TEKCamp and getting excited because it promises to be a fun week.

If you can't get the time off work, but want to come to TEKCamp 2011 for a day next week, problem solved. You can sign up for single days.

Booking by the day allows you to come along to TEKCamp on one or more days. For just Ł80 per day, you get to enjoy a 3-hour tech workshop of your choice with one of the 10 tech instructors. Simply book one of the following topics…

- Rebreather
- Diver Propulsion Vehicles
- Propulsion
- Failures
- Line laying
- Ascents
- Side Mount
- Tech Rescue
- Stage Handling
- Dive and Survive

Phil Harrison (not the OBE one) from BSAC is going to be attending one day next week - I've heard it's either Tuesday or Thursday. Phil do you want to post on here when you'll be at Vobster please? He's going to be talking about BSAC technical training so come and have a chat with him.

Plus you'll get access to all the talks, kit trails and the exhibitor stalls running on the day you visit. In addition your TEKCamp ticket covers your entry into Vobster Quay, a mouthwatering BBQ and entitles you to one free raffle entry. (One raffle entry per day). There’s some superb prizes up for grabs including a Hollis Sidemount System, a Halcyon Regulator Set, a VR Trimix Computer and Fourth Element underwear. For more info log onto www.tekcamp.co.uk and see you there.

[Roz]

TEKCamp kicked off yesterday in beautiful sunshine. And this is what went on http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/forums/tek-talk/166328-tekcamp-2011-day-1-photo-thread.html#post1726234

[Roz]

Day Three of TEKCamp has kicked off and Phil Harrison, Regional Technical Training Manager of BSAC is in the house at Vobster Quay. He's come armed and dangerous with copies of the Sports Mixed Gas Diver Course Manual, the Explorer Mixed Gas Diver Course Manual, the Advanced Mixed Gas Diver Course Manual and the APD Evolution & Inspiration Vision Rebreather Course Manual.

Apeks, Silent Planet and Typhoon are also here today with gazebos filled with shiny toys. As I write this, the morning workshop sessions are getting underway. There's a quiet burble of voices and sporadic laughter from various corners of the site as the instructors brief up their groups. Today Howard Payne will be focuing on SMB's and ascents, Mark Powell is doing stage handling, Rich Walker line laying, Rich Stevenson and Phill Short are running Sentinel Try Dives and Martin Robson is doing side mount.

If you want to know what's going on down here, a good way to follow this is via Facebook where you can see all the latest photos and news. http://www.facebook.com/TEKCamp

[Roz]

This time last Sunday I was running around packing to drive down to Vobster Quay. It's hard to believe that TEKCamp is now closed because it's been part of my life for so long. And golly what a week it was.

We were blessed with the weather and generously supported by the UK Diving Industry who all put on stands and brought along equipment for the divers to play with in Vobster. (Apeks Aqua Lung, Atomic, DiveRite, Fourth Element, Hollis, Oceanic, O'Three, PADI, Sea & Sea, Silent Planet, Suunto, Typhoon, VR Technology). And thanks to Phill Harrison from BSAC for spending a day at TEKCamp on Wednesday.

We had a complete mixture attend. A third of the TEKCampees were Pros. We had a guy check in with 70 dives and at the other end of the scale, there were a couple of trimix instructors along to work on their skills. I know that BSAC and PADI divers attended. Not sure of other agencies, sorry. Everyone got so much out of the bespoke workshop sessions. You could see their standard of diving progress during the week, it was a joy to observe. And I got to learn some bits too as I interviewed divers and took photos.

If you want to know the full report on this, then check out the YD Forum. There are a number of threads with photos;
http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/forums/tek-talk/166328-tekcamp-2011-day-1-photo-thread.html
http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/forums/tek-talk/166469-tekcamp-2011-day-2-photo-thread.html
http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/forums/tek-talk/166600-tekcamp-2011-day-3-photo-thread.html
http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/forums/tek-talk/166694-tekcamp-2011-day-4-photo-thread.html

The TEKCamp Facebook page has lots of shots http://www.facebook.com/tekcamp and and anyone can access my TEKCamp album if they look at "Rosemary Lunn" on Facebook.

Pretty much to a man the attendees all said "same place same time next year, I'll be there". You're welcome to come and join us. Watch this space for a date announcement in the next couple of months....

[Roz]

A couple of blogs from TEKCamp;

http://www.scubatravel.com/blog/tekcamp-lowdown/4800/

http://iarediver.blogspot.com/2011/08/tekcamp-part-1-long-way-round-to.html
http://iarediver.blogspot.com/2011/08/tekcamp-part-2-wax-on-wax-off-dont-fear.html
http://iarediver.blogspot.com/2011/08/tekcamp-part-3-rich-walkers-human.html

[David Cowan]

.. and anyone can access my TEKCamp album if they look at "Rosemary Lunn" on Facebook...

Where are the photos? I can't find them!

[Roz]

Try;

http://www.facebook.com/TEKCamp?sk=photos

and

http://www.facebook.com/TEKCamp?sk=photos#!/media/set/?set=a.10150322390269715.393387.766259714

[Roz]

Another blog posting from Richard who came all the way from Germany to attend this years TEKCamp; http://diverscorner.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/vobster-tekcamp-2011-review/ (There's quite a nice short video in this of a line laying workshop).

And next year's dates have just been announced. TEKCamp 2012 will be held from Monday 9th - Friday 13th July inclusive. http://www.tekcamp.co.uk/

[Roz]

Worth grabbing a cup of coffee and taking five minutes. Two more blogs. Day 4 and 5 at TEKCamp 2011;

http://iarediver.blogspot.com/2011/08/tekcamp-part-4-did-you-hear-one-about.html

http://iarediver.blogspot.com/2011/08/tekcamp-part-5-wacky-races-and-dodgy.html