Where did you go ?
Malta is blessed with a fantastic BSAC Centre of Excellence that is also MOD-approved and accredited to offer diver training and support services to HM forces expeditions : Dive Deep Blue , run by Jonathan and Catherine Thomas . So , in April 2016 , we decamped to the centre and basically their staff did all the work . I was put on the Dive Deep Blue books as a member of their staff and this enabled me to run some extra training . I might add that the decision to drive to the airport straight after the cadets ’ passing-out ball at two o ’ clock in the morning was an interesting one , an example of the time pressures we were facing at the time .
What did you achieve ?
By the time the week was over we had produced eight Sports Divers , two Dive Leaders and two Open Water Instructors . The cost per head was in the region of a third of a normal overseas club dive trip , owing to military subsidies to promote adventurous training . A win-win situation all round .
That sounds like a great start to a new era for BRNC SAC …
It was , but in 2018 , the rules on diving at work in the military changed . It was decided that even a try dive for military personnel required a full diving medical . This meant that we could no longer offer try dives to attract new members . So diving went on hold at BRNC for a while . Then came the announcement that civilian SADS were to be dropped from 1 October 2020 . So my supervisor role was made redundant , and the chances of getting the club up and running looked pretty bad again .
This must have affected all military branches ?
Yes , this club was just one of practically all the military clubs , across the UK armed forces , that relied so heavily on their civilian members to keep going . And all decided to pack it in at pretty much the same time .
What could be done ?
Finally , I found a glimmer of light glowing at the end of what had been a very long tunnel of inactivity . What if we became a civilian club with ‘ encroachment rights ’?
What does that mean ?
Well , essentially a club could continue to operate at the college , using the facilities , but not under military rules . [ The Army Sport Control Board defines ‘ encroachment ’ as the authorised temporary use of MOD land and buildings by off-duty service personnel , MOD civilian employees or department associated bodies , for recognised recreational , sporting , and welfare purposes beyond agreed service scales .]
Mask clearing exercises
What are the consequences of this change ?
It means we do not require a medical for every single diver , including try dives . We no longer have to have our gas tested , which had proven costly in the past . The process of risk assessment is now much simpler to operate . We do not require a SADS ; a surface supervisor will suffice , and they are much
Dive Manager Sophie Rennie
Commander Rob Dunn photographs the now-collapsed Azure Window
CLUBFOCUS
easier to obtain . We do not have the same level of potential inspections that are normal with military activities . And finally , we can still go on our expeds .
So you will continue to go on expeds ?
Yes . For expeds , encroachment clubs go back under the military diving at work rules , including those on dive supervision . If we were to go on a Red Sea liveaboard just to go diving , or do some diving and training , then we would still require a SADS – and that SADS cannot go in the water unless there is another SADS to take over the supervision . We will , however , always go to a MAC centre – thus negating the need for a SADS on our training trips . So it is onwards and upwards for Britannia SAC . All that we need now is for the pesky Covid virus to be brought under control . Then Britannia Sub Aqua Club ( less the RN ) will be back . �
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