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Wight Dolphins at 50
WIGHT DOLPHINS WAS FORMED ON 24 September 1975 with 12 members , and was formally named at its first committee meeting in February 1976 . Brian Paddock , who is now the club ’ s President and Honorary Member , is one of the only original members who still has a big interest in the club . Meanwhile , Dave Woodford came across a stand at a Sports For All weekend showing underwater photos around the Isle of Wight .
Ernie Howard was taking names of people interested , as a small group from Southsea wanted to start a BSAC club on the island and so the club was formed . The first pool session took place at Brambles Chine holiday camp on 10th October 1975 . Six more people had joined by December and the club has steadily grown over the years and now has a membership of 44 , almost a quarter of whom are women .
The club is very much a friendly , family affair . Gary Paddock ( son of Brian Paddock ), joined our snorkelling section as an 11-year-old in 1979 and has progressed to become the current Diving Officer , a role he has held for the last 15 years . The current Chair , Chris Marsh , is progressing through his Advanced Instructor ; he joined the club
in 2001 and took over from Paul Downes . The club boasts a number of highly qualified instructors , notably Andy Hunt who is a National Instructor and Andy Groom , who is an Advanced Instructor and First Class Diver . Andy has been a Wight Dolphin for 17 years . Dr Steve Elsmore has recently qualified as a diving doctor .
In 1995 , we bought a brand new 7.25 RIB costing £ 27,000 with the help of Sport England and Sports Match . She was named at the launch as Lord Brabazon , but soon became known as the Wight Dolphin and continues to serve the club to this day . Andy Skittlethorpe is an ex-matelot and takes care of the club boat . Wight Dolphins are attempting to fund and commission a second , smaller RIB , to support the diverse diving of the island coastline . We are also
Sports Diver with seahorses !
24
AFTER THREE AND A HALF YEARS OF slowly completing my Sports Diver , I decided to bite the bullet and travel abroad to complete it . Having consulted the list of BSAC centres and swapping some emails I booked in with Manta Diving in Lanzarote to finish the parts of the course I needed .
It was nice to find on arrival that another BSAC diver was there to do the same course . That made the rescue skills more interesting , as I was rescued as well as rescuing . Adam the instructor was very thorough , with an excellent laidback disposition .
The nice thing about doing your qualifying dives in Lanzarote is that you can spot a seahorse and an octopus on your qualifying dives . Something that is not impossible in the UK , but not as likely .
After completion and qualification , it was great to stay on diving for a few days . Especially when you get 15 litre tanks and 30 % Nitrox at no extra charge . Plus , there are your depth progression dives to do .
So , if you need a course or just a couple of dives with an instructor , I recommend a visit to Manta Diving in Lanzarote . Not only are the people great , but the prices are as well .
I attach a photo of ( L-R ) Gwen Dalgleish from Dunoon , Adam Powers , Instructor at Manta Diving Lanzarote and myself . CHRIS HAYES , Brighton