What a weekend!

Massive congratulations to the 7 successful IDC candidates that all passed the IE this weekend in Peterborough. Even Alex although terribly afflicted by 'The Ginger Gene' managed to pass. Bridget kept her bikini top on whilst getting changed this time much to everyones disappointment.



The 8 students on the Open Water course all passed with flying colours so well done to them as well. Although Vobster Quay is a bit of a trek away it's proving to a superb location for Open Water training with 2 platforms located at a perfect depth of 6 meters to do the skills on.

Finally, yesterday saw 12 of our Instructors, Dive Masters and shore covers attend a free CPR refresher training session. They also completed a course in Advanced O2 administration. Safety is paramount on our courses so having staff properly trained and current in First Aid and O2 administration is something that we insist on.

Once again congratulations to all 27 students who passed this weekend.

Ian Becomes a Media Tart - Express FM Saturday16th Aug at 10.00 am

Ian has jumped onto the media bandwagon and spent ages being interviewed yeasterday for Express FM. The fame has gone to his head a little and he is now considering joining Equity. If you want to listen to him he will be on Express FM on Saturday at 10.00 with Heather James. I will be listening as I need to know what he said and if we are going to need a lawyer!

Quick Update on last weekend

We were packed out last weekend - so much so that we had to bring in more instructors to cover. What was going on I hear you ask:
Dartmouth trip - 12 club members, some interesting dives and a great couple of nights out - more details in the next news letter. The IDC reached its conclusion and 7 out of the 8 candidates will be off to Peterborough this weekend for the examination. Ian P will be doing his IE later in the year. 11 students started an open water course and will be travelling down to Vobster this weekend, one finished the open water and 4 successfully completed the Rescue Course down in Portland. So well done to everyone who passed on one of our busiest weekends of the year.

Newsletter - Sorry it's Late

What with work in the Bahamas, Instructor Courses and general business the Newsletter is a bit late. Sorry about that. You can get it now .. here

Increasing your diving experience....

Please see the forum for some information on easy dives and weekends away in August.

PADI Advanced Open Water Course Success

Congratulations to all the students who passed their Advanced Open Water course last week!

Coming Home

I am on my way back from the Bahamas. The first 5 days were spent working on the CBBC "Inside Life" programme and I am happy to report that James successfully dived onto the wreck after some training. Well done James. The trip for the LIFE team was extended in order to get some more footage so I ended up staying a bit longer than planned. Unfortunately I have to get back for a big IDC and the summer ball, leaving the rest of the crew behind. 12 months after we sank the wreck it looks totally different. Shoals of fish have moved into the cabin area and the boat is covered in invertebrate life - one of the main things that the producer was looking for. Mike Pitts has got some amazing results and Sinclair Stammers a micro and macro camera specialist has got up close with cameras attached to microscopes. That is probably the end of my work with the LIFE programme. It is now a case of waiting until next year to se the results of this amazing series.

Bahamas Update - Night Shark Dive

I have been working with the BBC on the new LIFE project in the Bahamas for the last 10 days and unfortunately have not actually got around to posting any blogs yet. There will be a more full report in the next newsletter (which might be a bit late as it is now the 1st of August and I am still in the Bahamas!). However, the other night we did something quite unusual - a night shark dive. The dive on the "Ray of Hope" was a great opportunity to get up close. The aim was to get a shot of a rebreather diver over the bow of the wreck with a shark. The results were stunning. Because it was night time and there was a lot of food in the water, we all had chain mail on which was weird. There were about 12 sharks in the water with us at the time and it was a truly memorable experience.