training

[graham h]

i am interested in learning to dive i have sent e mails and called clubs but have had no replies all iwanted to know is how you go about learning and where to start.luckily ifound this site ,but again i have sent e mails and again no replies can anybody help around the teesside area.:mad:

[Ben Panter]

Hi Graham,

Often the problem with sending clubs emails is that both the responsible person, and that person's email address, often change faster than whatever is your reference for that address. I'd suggest giving a few of them a ring - usually much more instant response. Failing that, turn up on a club night and introduce yourself!

good luck,

Ben

PS: I guess you've alredy spotted the following, but if not they might be useful:

http://www.bsac.com/meet/branchsites.html#09

http://www.bsac.org/branches/northern.htm

[AndyDavis]

..or contact BSAC HQ directly.

[Neil R]

Hi graham

Give us a clue where you are and someone on here might be able to offer help in finding a local club near you. :)

[David Walker]

Give us a clue where you are and someone on here might be able to offer help in finding a local club near you. :)

That'll be the "can anybody help around the teesside area" part of his message then? :rolleyes: :p

David

[stu wall]

i am interested in learning to dive i have sent e mails and called clubs but have had no replies all iwanted to know is how you go about learning and where to start.luckily ifound this site ,but again i have sent e mails and again no replies can anybody help around the teesside area.:mad:

Hi Graham,
A warm welcome to the underwater world and i am so pleased that you have chosen BSAC as the agency you wish to train and learn to dive with.

First of all i would advise that you review the contact details of the local branches listed on the enclosed link, hopefully you will find a club near to wher you reside,

http://www.bsac.org/branches/northern.htm

If all else fails , please do not hesitate to drop me a line and i will endeavor to help you out where i can and point you in the right direction of a club nearby to where you live .

Best Regards

Stu Wall

[David Walker]

Hi Graham,

Just got your PM, thought i'd be better responding in here so we're not all asking the same questions and giving the same answers in private.

You mentioned that you're heading off on holiday - were you intending to get trained before you went, or just pointing out that you'd need to hold off finding a branch until afterwards? If you planned to get trained very quickly, then the chances are a BSAC Branch will not be able to help. We offer much more progressive training, and depending on the branch and your availability it can take from a few weeks to several months.

I can't help in Teesside, although I know there are several branches in the area - Hartlepool has a very good branch I believe, but don't know about any others specifically. As others have said, if you can get a phone number you'll get a far better response rate - although many branches publish email addresses, they do as others have said go out of date, and often people just don't check their email very often. That said, its not unique to clubs - i've had shops ignore / not get emails either so if you want anything in any kind of a hurry use the phone.

The only other obstacle you might hit is that some clubs cut back on training over the summer months - there's not usually much diving on over the winter, and so it gives the perfect time to get trainees through courses. If that is the case, then you can try different clubs, or if you really want to get in the water this summer then a BSAC or (dare I say it) PADI school might be a good choice. You can of course, once you're qualified, go back and join a club to benefit from what they can offer, and once you've got a basic qualification at least you can get out and dive!

No quick easy answer i'm afraid, but hope that helps?

David

[Chris Cherrington]

Graham I am sorry you have got off to a "bad start". There are lots of good clubs out there and you have had some good feedback from the forum.

One thing to think about is that you might want to train with a school and then join a club as a qualified diver. The advantage of this is that it is a very quick way to get diving.

I don't think there are many BSAC schools in your area but the PADI Open Water is the equivalent of BSAC Ocean Diver and will give you a good start. You will find the BSAC Sport Diver training very worthwhile after the PADI course.

One of the great things about joining a club is getting people to dive with and meeting new friends. I hope that you find all you need to get you started.

All the best

Chris

[Badders (Dave)]

Hi Grayham

I'm new to diving myself and almost through the Ocean Diver course, so can speak from a little bit of experience, if you're looking to get trained 'quickly' it isn't how a club teaches Diving.

Clubs are indeed, as David said, very progressive, this style of training is also lots of fun, not at all pressured, safe and the syllabus and teaching is second to none.

For an idea of time scale, I started training during the 2nd week in February this year, I'll hopefully be starting the open water bit in three weeks time.

Something worth mentioning is that our club meets on a Monday so We've missed 2 or 3 sessions because of bank holidays, 1 session because of an A.G.M, one session due to pool closure and another bank hol in a fortnight, so taking that into account it would have taken 3 months if unhindered (give or take) to get me into a puddle from absolute total beginner.

If your not in a rush I highly recommend this route, primarily because of it's thoroughness and relaxed environment.(presuming all clubs are the same).

All the best in finding yourself a club and I look forwards to reading about your progress.

I'll finish with a question, sorry for poaching on your thread, but it will perhaps be relevant to Grayham as well; Could anyone give me an idea how many visits to a puddle is the norm before they'll let me loose in the sea?

Badders

[Gareth]

Badders

There are 5 openwater dives in the Ocean Diver syllabus.
Dependent on conditions & time, It is possible to complete two dives per day.

There are some logistical questions where multiple ascents are required.
(I would personnally avoid doing the AAS & CBL dive on the same day unless a considerable surface interval had been achieved).

It is therefore possible to complete your Ocean diver Open Water Dives in three days. Assuming you achieve the required standard on each dive.

It is possible to do all your openwater dives in salt water - but if you are a member of an inland club this would be unusual.
It is also possible to 'go diving' without completing all the Ocean Diver qualifiying dives as a trainee - as long as you are buddied with a suitable qualified diver.
In my club this 'may' happen if a minimum of three of the qualifying dives have been successfully completed. The buddy is an NQI, the DO approves, the site is suitable, you are believed to be sufficently competant & confident for the proposed dive/trip.

Generally we want you to go diving & enjoy it. We tell our trainees that they don't 'have' to do a qualifying dive on every visit to an open water site. If they want time out to just dive thats no problem (unless they look like they are never going to complete any lessons).
Obviously we want you qualified, its easier for us to orgainise dives if we have qualified divers. In my branch we really want everyone to get to Sports Diver. At this level they should have developed sufficent skills & experience to dive with the club without to many 'special requirements' (NQI buddies).

If you are enthusiastic & ask to go diving, etc you will probably complete the Openwater stuff quite quickly.

Enjoy it & don't get stuck in the rut of doing a lesson, you took up diving to dive, not do exercises!

Gareth

[Badders (Dave)]

Thanks Gareth

Now I know whats left to do. Shouldn't be long now then

Badders

[PeteM]

There are 5 openwater dives in the Ocean Diver syllabus.
Dependent on conditions & time, It is possible to complete two dives per day.

There are some logistical questions where multiple ascents are required.
(I would personnally avoid doing the AAS & CBL dive on the same day unless a considerable surface interval had been achieved).

It is therefore possible to complete your Ocean diver Open Water Dives in three days. Assuming you achieve the required standard on each dive.

Actually given good conditions and a suitable student it is easy to do it in two days. From page 10 of the instructor manual "Where conditions are suitable, the lessons may be condensed into four dives"

I've done it and it can work well but only for the right students in the right conditions, but it is virtually impossible to plan for as essentially what you have to do is combine OT1 and OT2 into one dive - you can only do this if the OT1 skills are done faultlessly which you will not know about until you are underwater