Who does the instructing ?
We have seven Assistant Diving instructors , six Open Water Instructors and one Advanced Instructor . ESAC has no snorkelling section , and our two snorkelling instructors teach at Ruislip Snorkelling Club . On a Tuesday club night , we often welcome their snorkellers for an extra session during our pool time .
What has been the effect of the pandemic on training ?
We had no new Ocean Diver trainees at the start of 2021 , while we caught up with the interruptions caused to the previous batch by the pandemic . Then in the second half of 2021 , a lot of weekend trips on hard boats took place . We have restarted in-person training , and lectures for Dive Leader are the current priority . Lots of our more recently qualified
Sport Divers have done less diving to build experience after qualifying than before , so there ’ ll be a big push in the next year or two . We usually run a number of Skill Development Courses : First Aid for Divers , Oxygen Administration , Compressor Operator , Drysuit Training and Boat Handling , but Covid stopped these too . In November , we ran our first Oxygen Administration SDC since Covid began .
What is the club planning for the next few years ?
We want to get back into the swing of training at all diver grades and do lots of club diving , including many more RIB trips from launch sites on the south coast . We have been busily planning , and trips to Scapa Flow ( 2022 ), Chuuk Lagoon ( 2023 ) and Kinlochbervie in north-west Scotland
CLUBFOCUS
( 2023 ) are booked . A live-aboard in Egypt is planned ( depending on travel restrictions ). At home , St Abbs and the Farne Islands is a regular destination , and a club week away to Porthkerris has been booked for September , along with various weekend hard-boat trips . A number of members have started to do some technical diving , which adds another dimension to the club .
Anything else you ’ d like to tell SCUBA magazine readers about ?
One of our members enjoyed diving so much that he has opened his own local dive shop : Scuba Tech in Eastcote . Wojciech Bernady is now qualified to test cylinders and service regs . He has many customers and if they are new to the area and want to go diving , he points them in our direction . �
Eastcote ’ s RIBs are often at Porthkerris Cove in Cornwall . Divers pictured are : Dave , Candice , Liam ,
Jonathan , Jackie , Sue , Nigel , Diederik
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