UK scuba training - my experience so far

[Firebar]

I seem to have had the opposite experience of the volunteer system than some others, it varies from club to club significantly!

The club I first joined was well organised and managed to get me through Ocean Diver in about 6 weeks, we arranged a schedule of Wednesday nights at the social club that was used as a meeting point and would continue to the pool from there. Partly it was quick because it was just me braving the quarry in March.

Sports Diver and Dive Leader we did in a much more normal club setting, having a room booked at the social club and regular Wednesday meets to do theory and pool work, then weekends in the local quarry or in the Lakes for depth progression.

The club I dive with now doesn’t really teach, but there’s plenty of other local ones that do, but have enough instructors to sign off the progression stuff.

I think the biggest differences between the PADI and BSAC courses are: that you can do them in drysuits and get your ticket there; AOW doesn’t exist in BSAC, SD is equivalent to Rescue; there’s a lot of emphasis on going diving.

On the going diving front, each course has a tick list of conditions you must have dived in (normally 5 of about 10), a minimum no. of dives/ bottom time, and a tick list of mandatory dives (for Dive Leader it’s about 24 dives in the tick list).

I really enjoy the club aspect of BSAC it’s great to have people to go diving with, and to have a support structure all round the country.

 

[KenGordon]

I'd love to go back to the UK and get to dive the various locations after getting an orientation. The UK waters are full of history and intrigue for me. It does need solid orientation to dive there however. I was told that it isn't possible to dive there many months of the year, Fall through Spring, due to water conditions. In other words, you can dive in the ocean/sea for very few months of the year. (I have no desire or interest to dive in the quarries or lakes there).

My experience with BSAC "volunteer" teaching system is that the scheduling and arranging for a set schedule or trying to start a course is a big pain because of the "volunteer" mentality. I'd rather pay money and have everything done at a more committed basis.

Honestly, it is the commitment of the students that counts. We don’t have a set schedule because it lasts about a week and then someone (ie a student) has to stay late at work, go on holiday or stay in to wash their hair. We teach adhoc and try to have a bit of a group that lines up wrt lessons. Still, people have lives and priorities. Those that prioritise diving progress faster than those that do not.

We are very happy to have PADI divers turn up, it saves a lot of our time and still fills boats eventually.

 

[BoltSnap]

I really enjoy the club aspect of BSAC it’s great to have people to go diving with, and to have a support structure all round the country.

True but having to clean the club's boat after a long day of diving was tiring to say the least when I had to do it in Dubai. I usually want to have a big meal and drink lots of cold drinks and take a nap after spending a full day on the boat diving

 

[BlueTrin]

@Firebar totally agree, in some clubs you’ll have very active people who will be willing to help you catch up on a missed class or dive.

My favourite part of the club system is that you get to do a lot of local dives and discover places.

 

[BoltSnap]

My favourite part of the club system is that you get to do a lot of local dives and discover places.

You joined a BSAC dive club in London? Where do you dive there?

 

[BlueTrin]

You joined a BSAC dive club in London? Where do you dive there?

They usually go on south coast.
Not so much diving in London, there is a lake for training called Wraysbury but it’s not very exciting

 

[BoltSnap]

They usually go on south coast.

How long of a drive to get there from London approximately?

 

[BlueTrin]

How long of a drive to get there from London approximately?

So to Brighton/Newhaven about two hours.

Portland: 3-4 hours

Plymouth 5+ hours.

The problem when you go south west of London is that the traffic can become horrendous ... I was supposed to be able to go to Ilfracombe (to dive in Lundy) in 4-5 hours on a Friday by taking the day off. It took me 7 hours due to various problems on the motorway.

If you use google maps and choose the option to arrive at a certain time you’ll get good estimates by entering your own postcode: it really depends where you live in London, takes me ages to just get out of London ...

 

[BoltSnap]

So to Brighton/Newhaven about two hours.

Portland: 3-4 hours

Plymouth 5+ hours.

The problem when you go south west of London is that the traffic can become horrendous ... I was supposed to be able to go to Ilfracombe (to dive in Lundy) in 4-5 hours on a Friday by taking the day off. It took me 7 hours due to various problems on the motorway.

If you use google maps and choose the option to arrive at a certain time you’ll get good estimates by entering your own postcode: it really depends where you live in London, takes me ages to just get out of London ...

I guess not living in London is best thing. I'd live closer to the better dive regions