CLUBFOCUS
Paul in the 21m tunnel
Who can join the club?
Our members are all qualified technical divers from a range of training agency backgrounds, but they all join BSAC and NWTD( North Wales Technical Divers). Their qualification must meet or exceed NWTD’ s minimum certification requirement; to conduct planned decompression dives to a depth of at least 40m using a redundant breathing gas supply. The diver must also have experience of cold-water diving demonstrated by a certification achieved in the UK or in similar conditions.
For example, you could be a BSAC Advanced Twin-set Diver( Twin-set Diver and Advanced Decompression Procedures), TDI Decompression Procedures Diver, IANTD Advanced Nitrox, CMAS three star, PADI Tec 40, and SSI Extended Range Nitrox Diver.
How many members do you have?
We have 365 registered members.
What is your club membership fee?
It’ s a one-off £ 25 to join the club and then the cost of running the club is funded by a daily gate fee of £ 20 per diver at Dorothea. In the past year, NWTD has achieved financial sustainability and implemented safeguards to protect the club, its committee and its members better.
What is the breakdown of your diving members?
Around 40 % are BSAC qualified, around 20 % are TDI qualified and 20 % are IANTD qualified. Other agency divers make up the rest.
When is diving available?
We typically dive at Dorothea at the weekend or on weekdays by arrangement. Groups of members dive in the sea too when the weather is nice. Some of us dive at Dorothea to remain sharp for other deeper diving. It’ s a great training site, enabling members to enjoy diving on deep wrecks, reefs and in other caves and mines.
What is it like to dive at Dorothea?
Contrary to what you may read in the media, or hear from those who are less well informed, the site itself is very easy to plan a dive at and usually has excellent visibility. That’ s outside two annual algal blooms.
Isn’ t it a deep site?
Despite its reputation as a deep dive site, divers must swim beyond a 3m ledge, a 10m ledge, and a 25m ledge in order to reach 40m( the minimum depth members must be qualified to dive to) and deeper. So, if divers plan their diving, and stay within their limits, there is no reason that they would end up in 60m, 80m or 104m of water.
Mike on the club ' s newly installed steps
26
An autumnal view of the access slope