FAVOURITEKIT
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My UWATEC Galileo Sol is coming up to 20 years old and has logged 960 dives. I’ m hoping I get it to 1,000 dives.
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SKILLSTIP
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Take your time to read your student; they’ ll need differing times for the skill you’ re showing them, to acquire the understanding of what’ s going on and be able to master it.
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“ Then, I would have to thank the late Mike Todd, former National Diving Officer and BSAC Chairman, for my instructor training. He got me involved with the Combined Cadet Force dive team where I was able to work alongside a number of great instructors.”
Now, Nick is the Equipment Officer at Buxton Sub Aqua Club in Derbyshire, where he looks after the club-owned kit ensuring it’ s fully serviced and ready for club members at the pool and for open water diving. He’ s also part of the instructor team.
“ My favourite sessions are taking in try-divers and teaching Ocean Divers,” he says.“ Recently I have been training a 10-year-old Discover Scuba student who’ s been coming to the pool since he was about eight, as his elder brother has trained with the club.
“ Then there’ s organising trips: I organised a Red Sea trip for 15 club members and two guardians to Camel Diving in Sharm El-Sheik this June, with a range of 14 to 80-year-old divers.”
" Keep your members feeling that someone is there to help "
His 4,000 logged dives don’ t quite tell the whole story.“ Initially I logged all my dives,” he says.“ Then I stopped, but I started again when I started working professionally as an instructor. I remember one July recording 76 dives in a month: most of those off Chesil beach.”
Nick says he’ s been very fortunate to be able to dive extensively around the globe. This February he and his partner travelled to Semporna and Sipadan in Borneo. A few years back they visited Komodo in Indonesia.“ But a couple of places I
would love to go back to,” he says,“ are Rangiroa in French Polynesia, as it’ s where I saw my one and only whale shark, and Yonaguni in Japan, where we dived with schooling hammerhead sharks.
“ Closer to home, highlights are having a seal sit in my lap in the Farnes Islands and tickling it under its chin. Or having George the dolphin between my legs while descending to the wreck of HMS Hood in Portland harbour, when we could dive there, and thinking:“ How do I get out of this!” �
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