News
Diving with…Michael Gary Aldridge, Orca Scuba Diving Academy, Essex, UK
In this ongoing series, we speak to the people who run dive centres, resorts and liveaboards from around the world about their businesses and the diving they have to offer
What is your name?
Michael Gary Aldridge
What is the name of your business?
Orca Scuba Diving Academy
What is your role within the business?
Owner
How long has the business operated for?
10 Years
How long have you dived for, and what qualification are you?
25 Years – Master Instructor
What is your favourite type of diving?
I would say drift diving. Drifting along a reef, watching the underwater world go by.
If you could tell people one thing about your business (or maybe more!) to make them want to visit you what would it be?
Before I set up Orca, I was working for a local company and realised they were selling courses, not teaching people. With this in mind, I set up Orca to teach people and not just sell courses. Right from the onset I decided to concentrate on working with families, in particular young people. And to that end, we have spent a lot of time nurturing links with local schools, colleges and youth organisations. I am proud to say we were one of the first centres to be awarded the PADI Youth Approved Training Centre certification accreditation. We continue to encourage people of all ages to come and dive with us.
What is your favourite dive in your location and why?
A few years we were approached by one of the teachers we work with in a local school and were asked if we could do a DSD for her sister. This in itself isn’t usual until we found out that the sister had lost the use of her legs and was blind due to terminal cancer, so without hesitation I put together a five man team, which included a videographer, to make sure that she had a great time and was safe and the whole family would have the memory forever.
What types of diving are available in your location?
We have pool diving from 3 – 20 ft, UK lake and coastal and overseas trips through Scuba Travel.
What do you find most rewarding about your current role?
Having someone say they can’t do it, then seeing their smile when they achieve something.
What is your favourite underwater creature?
Thresher Shark
Are there any exciting changes / developments coming up in the near future?
Shop expansion to have in-house equipment servicing and tank testing, plus the completion of the two classrooms.
As a centre what is the biggest problem you face at the moment?
Online retailers selling equipment at an unmatchable price but not training new divers, so just skimming profit off the industry.
Is your centre involved in any environmental work?
Indirectly. We have trained up a lot of students who have gone to work full time or voluntarily for conservation organisations and this is something we promote in the centre to all students.
How do you see the SCUBA / Freediving / snorkelling industry overall? What changes would you make?
I see the industry as quite strong overall, although it is going through some major changes with new training organisations coming into play. This can only add to the public awareness of our planet and conservation problems. I would like to see more control over the quality of the diver training worldwide. We have heard a lot of horror stories from divers who have come into us regarding some resort training. This goes from a 13 year old having cave and wreck penetration on an Advanced Open Water course, Discover Scuba Diving students being taken to 20 metres or a ratio of four to one to a single dive master in open water. As well as flagrant standard breaches just to achieve certification levels and take money.
What would you say to our visitors to promote the diving you have to offer?
I come across a lot of people who say ‘I don’t like that’ or ‘I can’t’ before trying. So I always say ‘Just have a go, you never know… you might just enjoy it’.
Where can our visitors find out more about your business? (This is where you enter your contact details and any specific details on how our audience can reach you)
Visit the shop at 17 Repton Close, Repton Court, Burnt Mills Estate, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1LN
Visit the website at www.orcascubadivingacademy.co.uk
Send us an email at info@orcascubadivingacademy.co.uk
Call us on 01268 520111 or 07960 140520
You will also find us on facebook, twitter and instagram.
By Pablo Mir
We all enjoy those unexpected encounters that come with wreck diving, no matter how small, during our open water scuba dives. Exploring those nearly vanished remains of a ship scattered across the ocean floor is frequently the climax of the otherwise regular dive.
What is Wreck Diving?
Wreck diving involves exploring underwater shipwrecks while scuba diving. Sometimes, the wreck we encounter is more than just the remnants of a small and forgotten old vessel. Or perhaps we didn’t deliberately choose it, but the charter we boarded had that destination planned that day. The Benwood, less than 14 meters or 45 feet deep, in the clear waters of the National Marine Sanctuary in Key Largo, Florida, or the Copenhagen of Fort Lauderdale, also Florida, are good examples. Divers, many beginners who haven’t even devoted half a second to thinking about wreck diving, enjoy exploring their remains and the fauna that inhabit them. In some way, and at different levels, we all seem to potentially be wreck divers, even without a higher and explicit intention.
First Encounters: The Unplanned Dive into Wreck Exploration
But the trek is long and has many branches. Wrecks present themselves in vast possibilities, from shallow and clear waters to deep and dark ones. The Ancient Mariner, Captain Dan, U352, Great Isaac, Grecian, Lady Luck, Hyde, Aeolus, Hydro Atlantic, RBJ & CC, Algol, U869, and the Andrea Doria -the Grand Dame of the Sea- are some of the names that resonate among thousands in the minds of many wreck divers on the East Coast of the USA. For many of us, getting ready to traverse that path of increasing challenges, increasingly demanding environments, and more astonishing, transcendent dives is a life goal in terms of recreation.
A Diverse World: The Spectrum of Wreck Diving Experiences
Now, it is well known that the label of wreck diving is not only applied to shipwrecks. It is common to extend it to any artificial structure or piece of it that can be explored during our dives. For example, Texas Tower #4, an Air Force radar station off the coast of New Jersey, toppled in 1961 by a storm, is frequently visited by numerous local technical divers and visitors who want to test their skills in those demanding waters. Similar structures of different natures and purposes exist in many other places, with the most different levels of certification and experience requirements we can imagine.
Is Wreck Diving Dangerous?
Wreck diving is not inherently dangerous, but proper training is required. Describing with words the feeling of wonder and the adventure involved in wreck diving is not easy. In the same way that regular open water diving is the entry point to another world, a unique, fascinating world, wreck diving is also an entry point to one of the additional levels of enjoyment and fascination the world of recreational diving poses. Wreck diving, we live the adventures others just dream or fear. We are there, explorers of a distant land. Often, we witness the remains of real human tragedies; other times, we are visitors to the most wonderful amusement park we can imagine.
Learning Curve: The Path from Novice to Experienced Wreck Diver
Sometimes, watching groups of recreational divers exploring a wreck might seem like witnessing a scene from a pirate movie. Two or three divers here, two or three more there, ascending and descending along its sides, from bow to stern, sticking their heads in to look inside compartments and passages. In some cases, entering and exiting the bridge or any space allows penetration in areas with abundant natural light and generous access points. Their expressions and body language make it easy to notice that they are having a great time. There is no doubt they are enjoying it, and it will be an experience they will vividly remember.
If they are a group traveling together, an instructor or divemaster may be there to ensure everything goes well. The passion for exploration, for discovery, and that thirst for adventures we all have within us can sometimes hinder us in making our best decisions. Therefore, to become actual wreck divers, we must not only desire to do so but also have the will to learn and gain experience, slowly and safely, in everything this specialty implies. While it is true that exploring the exterior of a wreck may seem like something that doesn’t require specific training, the reality is that it does. Fishing lines, sharp surfaces, parts that can easily come off, suddenly disappearing visibility, disorientation, etc., are dangers we must have learned about, developed strategies to avoid, and implemented procedures to solve with the proper tools.
And so it will be; many will traverse the paths of wreck diving by starting with proper training. Sometimes, the first step is part of the regular advanced diver certification many divers take; other times, it is going straight for a wreck diving specialty. They will learn and start practicing, gaining experience and ease in their procedures. They will fall more and more in love with those twisted iron environments and proudly display the rust stains on their diving suits as if they were scars from a well-fought battle.
Deepening the Dive: Advanced Wreck Exploration Techniques
But the journey continues. Sooner or later, some will want more than just hovering around the wrecks. Crossing well-lit passages with the exit in sight will no longer be enough for them. What they recently may have told themselves they wouldn’t do will begin to intrigue them, and they will want to continue training “just in case.” They will want to start moving away from those open corridors and see with their own eyes what lies beyond. They will no longer see wrecks as enemies to overwhelm in large groups but as a mystery to unravel slowly, passage by passage, room by room. They will split into small groups. They pursue a specific goal, have a specific plan, and seek to minimize unexpected situations, and this is more controllable and achievable when done by two or three rather than four or five.
They will keep learning, venture through narrow passages, dodge cables and pieces of metal hanging from what is now the ceiling, and proceed cautiously to avoid stirring up sediments. They will use different methods to establish positions at crossroads, place strobe lights, carry multiple penetration reels, and carry substantial knives, the kind they used to laugh at not long ago, thinking they were unnecessary exaggerations.
The Wreck Diver’s Journey: A Path of Endless Discovery
Over time, they will penetrate deeper and deeper into larger, darker, gloomier, more frightening wreck structures, simply because they can. They will descend to greater depths because that’s where they are in better condition and farther away from the boarding hordes.
They will transition from Air to Nitrox, later return to Air, and later delve into the world of Trimix. They will start planning and executing dives with decompression stops, as otherwise, their bottom times will be insufficient for their intentions. From one decompression gas cylinder, they will move to two, and in some cases, three or more. Those who can afford it will buy rebreathers; those who can’t will stick to open circuit, carrying multiple large cylinders.
The Eternal Call of the Deep
But genuine amazement will hit them hard on the day they, thinking carefully about all the steps they have taken and accounting for the time and effort dedicated, conclude without a shadow of a doubt that it was worth it. It will be too late for them; they will have fallen victim to this curse of shipwrecks that has trapped so many. There will be no escape for them; from now on, they will be wreck divers without cure or remedy. They will be condemned to spend the rest of their vacations and days off among twisted irons at the bottom of rivers, lakes, and oceans. Cheers buddies! And a warm welcome to all those newcomers to recreational diving who, unknowingly, may be destined to wander among old wood and rusted metal, seeking to put out that thirst for real-life adventures.
To find out more about International Training, visit www.tdisdi.com.
Main Image: William Drumm/International Training
Voted No. 3 on the Top 10 Ultimate British Isles Bucket List by The Independent, these dives offer the closest marine mammal encounter available to divers in the UK. Friendly and playful, respectful divers are often rewarded by incredible interaction with the Lundy Seals.
Easy Divers has been running guided dive trips to Lundy for nearly 10 years and offers dive equipment hire if required. Trips depart from the stunning harbour town of Ilfracombe in North Devon and Dolphins are often seen during the boat passage.
In addition to diving, Ilfracombe is a great base from which to hike the South West Coast Path, dip into surfing at the UK’s first World Surf reserve, enjoy other water sports or head to Exmoor National Park.
Easy Divers also runs a diver-friendly guest house, with a discount for diving customers and kit rinsing and drying facilities.
The Seal encounter dive sites are shallow and sheltered and are suitable for divers of all levels, making them a great introduction to British diving.
Exclusive Offer for Scubaverse Subscribers
Use your exclusive Scubaverse discount code scubaverse10% before the end of June and join us for a Seal encounter dive trip to Lundy Island, on any trip date with availability this Summer. Visit https://www.easydiversnorthdevon.co.uk/lundy-dive-trips/seal-encounter-dive-trips/ and enter code scubaverse10% at the on-line check out.
Trips book out well ahead, so book now to avoid disappointment. To save 10% on any 1 night stay at our guest house, please call 07833 020424. We offer free cancellation for divers who book a 1 night stay, if we have to re-schedule due to unsafe weather.
Join us for Britain’s best marine mammal diving experience!
Trips run from end of May to mid-October and are bookable via email at info@easydiversnorthdevon.co.uk, on-line via the Easy Divers website, www.easydiversnorthdevon.co.uk, or call 07833 020424 for more info
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