News
Is club diving getting more popular?
BSAC has seen a recent flurry of new clubs coming on board, with a rise in BSAC clubs created by already qualified divers or clubs crossing over from other agencies.
Welcoming and delivering a great product for divers from all agencies is a key part of BSAC’s growth strategy and the influx of new clubs coming online is evidence that the support BSAC offers is a real draw.
An increasing number of clubs are being set up by groups of trained divers recognising the benefits of diving as a BSAC club.
Did you know…You don’t need to be BSAC trained to set up a BSAC club, and you don’t need to cross over your qualification. See www.bsac.com/switchtobsac
Setting up a BSAC club has never been easier
Dave Howson of recently formed North Wales Technical Divers (NWTD) said:
“NWTD initially pursued an unaffiliated club route as we weren’t BSAC trained. However, as it turned out BSAC was the perfect option – the support from head office has been great, we’ve grown to 71 members and we’ve saved a small fortune on insurance.”
With BSAC providing clubs and members with comprehensive liability insurance as part of the membership package, the ideal solution was found. Now with 71 members and rising, NWTD has proved to be one of BSAC’s fastest growing clubs so far this year.
“More and more divers are seeing the benefits of creating their own club and are coming to us for help. Ultimately BSAC is here to support all divers to enjoy the types of diving they want to do. From insurance and training to marketing support, being part of the BSAC club network is proving to be an attractive proposition.” – Debbie Powell, BSAC marketing manager
Debbie believes that the support offered by BSAC means that as well as more standard training and diving clubs, many divers are creating clubs that are geared to the specific type of diving they want to do. One such club is North Wales Technical Divers (NWTD), who initially struggled to find an affordable liability insurance package for their new tech diving-only club.
Diving Officer Dave Howson said that the support from BSAC HQ meant that they could create the club they wanted:
“All our members are experienced divers with technical qualifications from different agencies. Our certifications mean there is no requirement to do cross over training to a BSAC certification, so we can simply go diving!”
How to set up a new BSAC diving club
BSAC has put together an easy-to-use application form and online guide to setting up a new BSAC club, as well as advice and support on how to grow your membership.
If you’re an existing scuba diving or snorkelling club and would like to understand more about the benefits of becoming a BSAC club, please get in touch. Call us today on 0151 350 6201, we’ll be happy to chat it through and see how we can help. Alternatively, please email us membership@bsac.com.
New BSAC clubs come aboard
We asked two other clubs why they made the move to affiliate with BSAC.
Scubadiving-Indepth SAC
Based in Ripley, Derbyshire, Scubadiving-Indepth SAC started as a dive school in 2010, with its own non-affiliated diving club. Wanting to grow, Indepth moved its club over to BSAC in August and hasn’t looked back. With 13 members so far, Diving Officer Richard Barton said the support from BSAC has been key to the club’s smooth transition:
“The club membership system offers a lot of formal and informal support especially for UK diving which commercial agencies don’t. With help from the diving staff at BSAC HQ, we are moving forward at a great pace. It’s early days but all of us have a positive attitude to making it a long-term success.”
Carlisle Sub-Aqua Club
Set up back in 1964, Carlisle SAC was affiliated to ScotSAC but felt they needed to widen their support for members’ diving and training, as well as grow as a club. Attracted by the range of courses on offer, the club made the decision to move over to BSAC in mid-2017.
Club Chairman Jim Cookson said the change-over has gone well: “The support we’ve had from the BSAC team has been excellent. All our instructors have attended cross over training courses and have got to grips with the slightly different way of training.”
BSAC is recognised worldwide and the option of doing training in a club environment as well as attending a specific course held anywhere in the UK helps members achieve their diving goals. We now have around 40 members with a steady stream of enquiries from potential new members. I think it has definitely been the right move for us as a club.
For more information about BSAC visit their website by clicking here.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 1
For a week at the end of February I was invited to sample the diving with Orca Dive Club based at the Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge by courtesy of SOMABAY.
Somabay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds. Somabay caters for scuba diving as well as many other sports, including windsurfing, golf, sailing, go-carting, horse riding and many other activities.
All the activities are of a world-class standard and any or all of these can be booked directly from The Breakers.
I took Easyjet from Bristol (UK) to Hurghada. Easyjet are not by any means my favourite airline but the flight was cheap and direct (except for the surprise extra £48 I was charged at the gate for my carry-on bag).
I was met at Hurghada airport by a driver and car and taken to the Breakers 28 miles (45Kilomaters) south along the coast. Once at the hotel I was too late for an evening meal and so a basic meal was delivered to my room. That and a beer from the fridge and I was fast asleep.
Early the next morning after breakfast I arrived for my rep meeting at the Orca Dive Center for 8.00am. I was immediately made to feel welcome, and after brief introductions I got some dive gear from the store, had a chat with my dive guide Mohamed and got ready to try the house reef situated at the end of a very long wooded pier where all diving gear and divers are taken out by buggies.
Once at the end of the pier, a helping hand from staff makes sure your gear is set and then it’s a short walk to the very end where you can either climb down a ladder of simply jump in the water next to the reef. The house reef extends both north and south giving a very easy and safe dive with plenty to see. At this time of the year the water temperature was a constant 22 degrees Centigrade and there was little or no current, so there were no issues in swimming back to the pier.
Quite a few divers were in dry or semi-dry suits, but being from the UK and used to the cold I found a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm neoprene vest quite comfortable. Even after 50 years of diving I still find that first dive of a trip slightly nerving until I am actually underwater and then all becomes relaxed and I ease into auto diving mode. There was plenty to see with many of the Red Sea favourites along the way.
After the dive and a buggy ride back to the hotel for a very good buffet lunch I was back in the water, once again on the house reef for an afternoon dive.
Check in for part 2 tomorrow when Jeff gets on a day boat and dives a few of the off-shore reefs.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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