CLUBFOCUS
Cessna cockpit . Six sunken boats and a pair of concrete pipes to swim through complete the underwater attractions . There are also four training platforms . The Bluey is home to many species of fish ; pike , perch and roach are often seen , along with crayfish and the occasional tench or carp . Visibility can be good , although the soft , silty bottom means that divers arriving on site late can end up with their low-viz qualification signed off .
So , you really do know the Bluey well ?
We ’ ve been using techniques learned on Nautical Archaeology courses to map the Bluey . At present we have located objects to within 15cm . Of course , an accurate map is only part of the story ; to find things in bad viz , you still need to be able to use a compass . A few mystery objects remain unmapped on the far side .
How did the Covid lockdowns affect the club ?
When we couldn ’ t get to our clubhouse , we met over Zoom . When groups of six were allowed to meet , we scheduled socially distanced 90-minute slots at the Bluey so that we could all still dive . We didn ’ t lose a member .
Who is in your instructor team ?
Our team is nine Assistant Diving Instructors ; three Open Water Instructors ; and an Advanced Instructor . We are developing as many assistant instructors as we can . Last year , we arranged an Instructor Foundation Course for members , and these divers are now working their way through the Instructor Training Scheme . We actively involve them in supervised training , presenting parts of the lectures , for example . This frees up qualified instructors to lead on skill development . One of our long-term aims is to increase the number of female instructors . Having enough instructors to deliver the training is really important to us . We are all volunteers who enjoy diving , and we must get the right balance between personal diving and the amount of time we are able to offer for training activities .
How do you organise training ?
For beginners , we are trying to move away from running set courses , as we found during Covid that people would show interest and by the time we had a course organised , they had started something else . We are moving towards training new members as and when they arrive . But in such a large club , an ad hoc approach to
Diving at the Blue Lagoon
more advanced training doesn ’ t achieve the best results . Prior planning and preparation tend to work best , so we like to start Sports Diver training during the winter months , to get the theory done in the dark evenings . We also start Dive Leader training during the winter months and tend to break this down into the component Skill Development Courses . Doing it this way gives other members the opportunity to join in and develop their skills , even if they have no ambitions to become a Dive Leader .
Training at pool night
Sounds busy …
Yes . This year , in addition to our Ocean Divers in training we have seven Sports Diver trainees ; 12 Dive Leader trainees ; four Advanced Diver trainees ; and two working towards First Class Diver . In the past 12 months , our Training Officer has helped at BSAC-led events , meeting more BSAC instructors and committee members . But there are only so many instructors in the regional teams , and we think that clubs need to start helping each other more by
Try dive with instructor Steve Tearle 31