Nick Bailey earned his diving wings in the RAF and went on to work with both service and town branches. Interview by Kristina Pedder
FACTFILE
Name: Nick Bailey Current job title: Branch Equipment Officer
First dive: Stoney Cove in February 1988, in a hired semi drysuit
VOLUNTEERLIFE Chocks away!
Nick Bailey earned his diving wings in the RAF and went on to work with both service and town branches. Interview by Kristina Pedder
BSAC Advanced Diver and Advanced Instructor Nick Bailey, like many others of his generation, was enthralled by the iconic Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau series shown on the BBC in the 1960s. The adventures of the divers aboard the research ship Calypso sparked a desire but, he tells me, he never thought he’ d get the chance to dive. Little did he know then that the underwater would become a place where he felt at home. Roll on to the late 1980s and Nick was in the RAF.“ A couple of pilot friends who were part of the base’ s club took me to the local pool. It started from there,” he says.“ To be under the surface of the sea, in the close company of marine life, and being able to share that with my dive buddy is the reason I volunteer. I can help others enjoy that underwater world.“ If something needs doing at a club, see if you can help. You may have skills or knowledge that the club needs.“ I have held most committee roles over the years,” Nick says.“ My first was Club Membership Secretary with the Gibraltar Joint Service Club. My next club was RAF Odiham. In a services club you have an Officer in Charge of the club, there to help club members get the best experience with your club, and I was willing to do that. You try to keep your members feeling that someone is there to help.
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TEACHINGHIGHLIGHT
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Teaching people at different stages of their personal diving careers is a highlight. For example: I taught alongside an instructor whom I had first met as my student on a Combined Cadet Force Ocean Diver course; also I instructed another person as a cadet, then on an instructor course at Joint Services Sub Aqua Diving Centre( JSSADC), and she became a doctor working on a ship providing medical care to third world nations around the world.
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