FAVOURITEKIT
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It has to be my AP Inspiration rebreather ( pictured left ). A closedcircuit rebreather is the best way to dive at club diving depths . It gives you the best nitrox mix possible ; and using trimix below 30m gives you the clearest head to remember the whole dive . It maximises your bottom time on a second dive ; no deco and more scallops . My Inspo has allowed me to do more diving both inside and outside of the branch .
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What is it that has driven him to teach , I ask . “ I just love teaching Ocean Divers ,” he replies . “ The thrill of watching them go from nothing to fully fledged divers is great ; especially where they have struggled with a skill and then it all clicks into place . The buzz makes it all worth it .”
And the instructing ball just kept rolling . A recent job has been to rewrite and extend the BSAC AP Vision rebreather training course . It
Early days , in ABLJ and twin-hose now has trimix in it from the outset , in line with the ISO standards . He also created the Trimix Top-up course for those who have air diluent rebreather certification , want to use trimix and do not want to progress to 60m depths to acquire that knowledge .
Andy has too many SDC instructor tickets to name . Boat handling is a particular favourite , along with the CCR courses . “ I teach Accelerated Decompression Procedures to my OC buddies for purely selfish reasons ,” he says . “ I am still listed as a Rescue First Aid instructor even though the course was dropped years ago ; on that one you got to put on neck braces , and learn about intubating people and using a bag to ventilate the casualty .”
“ As an AI I also attended the Instructor Trainer Development Course . This is where you learn to teach / mentor new instructors . This was a revelation , and completely changed the way I thought about teaching .
“ It is a great feeling when someone comes up to you and says ‘ Hello Andy , you taught me on my … course .’ My apologies if that ’ s is you , and I don ’ t remember your name .”
We move on to talk about diving . Andy has logged more than 1,600 dives since he resumed diving in 1998 . “ That ’ s when I got a dive computer that saved the details , and I could download them .”
His day job is as a business analyst is designing computer systems , and so getting the computer to do the work of logging dives obviously appeals . There is a downside to electronic recording though , he admits : “ I lost a few dives when my Solution died after it had corrupted my logbook and I had to go to an old backup .” From the early days , he only has a handful of dives logged ; the ones recorded towards his Second Class Diver qualification [ now called Advanced Diver ]. These days , he admits , the logged comments for a dive may be a bit thin , especially for training dives .
As with most London-based divers , Andy dives in the sea regularly from Eastbourne , Swanage and Portland . He organises dive trips whenever he can find a buddy or a bigger group of willing divers . He ’ s not averse to travelling north and has been known to go diving in Scotland when there is still snow on the mountain tops .
Back in the south , “ I have done six trips to the Scillies ,” he says , adding that he would go back again , due to the sheer variety of dives available . “ It has wrecks from the 18th century through to the 1990s , stunning rock walls and seals . That ticks all the boxes . As a diver , you can visit many different places , but even the same place underwater is different each time .” �
SKILLSTIP
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My tip for other divers , young and old , beginner or experienced , is to never miss an opportunity to snorkel on pool nights . It helps you relax in the water and think about your breathing : in , two , three , four … out , two , three , four , five . And it allows you to practise your finning technique ; legs straight . Your gas consumption on dives will improve markedly . People think I fin too fast , when I think I am at a standstill .
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Become an Instructor !
Sports Divers and up ( for scuba ) and 16 + year olds ( for snorkelling ) can start instructor training .
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Or visit bsac . com / instruct 53