Kirsty Andrews considers the mindset of an overseas diver visiting the UK – is there a practical way for them to dive our shores ?
KIRSTYANDREWS
The travelling diver
Kirsty Andrews considers the mindset of an overseas diver visiting the UK – is there a practical way for them to dive our shores ?
If I may lead you momentarily into the dim and distant past , in the year before Covid I was lucky enough to spend some time based in British Columbia . I wasn ’ t there exclusively or even mainly for diving , but the Pacific Northwest is absolutely brilliant underwater so , of course , I had to pack my scuba gear , including drysuit , undersuit and , non-negotiably , my camera , ‘ just in case ’.
I didn ’ t have a car there ( Vancouver is actually a brilliant city for car-shares and at the time of my visit there were three companies offering an app-based car rental subscription , but I digress ); whenever I wanted to go diving , I took the bus . I had a voluminous dive bag with wheels and I may have looked slightly unusual to the commuters but the system worked . I arrived at the local dive shop and they looked after me from there ; I hired weights , cylinder and found a buddy who would show me a giant Pacific octopus and give me a lift to the dive site and back to the bus stop in time for dinner .
The reason I hark back to these fond if back-breaking memories was that I recently tried to assist a friend making the similar trip , but in reverse . She ’ s
“ We also in my view have brilliant diving in UK waters , that I love to shout about ”
an experienced diver based overseas and has dived all around the world ( we met in the Red Sea ), but was having trouble planning a dive in British waters . As with my Canadian adventurings , diving wasn ’ t the primary purpose of her journey , but in between visiting friends and family , a quick dip into the salty stuff would be good . Worth bringing dive gear and drysuit , certainly .
I ’ ve mentioned before in this column how much I value our unique Great British Diving ; our BSAC club-focused experience with a rich history of working together to explore our seas in a community-spirited way . We also in my view have brilliant diving in UK waters , that I love to shout about and encourage my friends to enjoy , wherever they may live .
A flip side to our club set-up is that unlike almost anywhere else in the world , the standard experience is not to walk into a dive shop , hire some gear and go for a dive . We join a club . Of course , there are some dive outfits that offer these services , but unfortunately none it appears in the area my friend was looking at . Charter boats tend to cater to clubs who arrive with all their own equipment and buddies ready , so it ’ s not worth their while having much kit to hire on the off-chance they have a visitor who couldn ’ t take her weight belt on to the plane . So it ’ s not simple , which is a shame as I can rave about UK diving as much as I want , but if it ’ s difficult to do it then I can ’ t blame folk for heading elsewhere .
Where am I going with this ? Certainly , I ’ m not suggesting we all set ourselves up as rental companies ; goodness no . I ’ m hoping my friend will sort out her trip - I ’ ve passed on a local contact or two . I myself have enjoyed the generosity of BSAC divers away from home , with the benefit of their local knowledge and so much more . In my experience clubs tend to be welcoming , within the bounds of safe diving practices of course . I ’ d like to think that we ’ d all do what we can to lend a hand ; to enable visitors to enjoy what we might take for granted : Great British diving . �
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