Yo-Han Cha considers the enduring appeal of dive clubs , and how diving has a unique way of forging life-long bonds
YO-HANCHA
United we dive
Yo-Han Cha considers the enduring appeal of dive clubs , and how diving has a unique way of forging life-long bonds
Strictly speaking , I don ’ t need a club to go diving . I just need a buddy to go either shore diving or with whom I can book spaces on a boat . All the same , I currently find myself a member of not just one , but two dive clubs : Clifton SAC and Reading BSAC . I ’ m also a member of two underwater photographic clubs , and several informal friendship groups with different diving backgrounds . So , if I don ’ t need a club to go diving , why then am I a member of several ?
I think it ’ s partly due to my personality type . If I learned anything during that first Covid lockdown , it was that I have a definite need for regular contact with people ; that social element is key to me . I love being able to meet up with my friends on a regular basis ; not just when I ’ m diving with them at the weekend , but also mid-week on a club night . I do love chewing the fat with friends over a pint or two !
“ I love being able to meet up with my friends on a regular basis ”
As BSAC celebrates its 70th birthday this year , I ’ m reminded of how being a member of BSAC has helped me personally over the last few years , especially as I ’ ve moved twice in that time . Of course , I could have approached Reading BSAC without initially being a BSAC member and I ’ m sure they would have been just as welcoming . But when it came to diving with a bunch of strangers , it definitely helped , both them and me , to be able roughly gauge what our diving abilities were before we got into the water . The same went for Clifton SAC when I moved to Bristol a year later .
Beyond diving , both clubs were invaluable in helping me settle down after moving to new places . This may sound a bit pathetic , but it ’ s really hard to make new friends as an adult ! Being able to so easily meet people who have similar interests was something that being a member of both clubs allowed me to do .
Fundamentally , I love being friends with divers . It ’ s not simply because we share a common interest , I think it ’ s also thanks to the close-knit community that diving , especially UK diving , fosters . Perhaps it ’ s sharing a room and putting up with each other ’ s snoring , or because we ’ ve seen each other perform the most visceral of bodily functions in and around dive boats ( the pre-dive spitting ; the post-dive snot ; the pungent undergarments and inverted pee valves ...)
Perhaps all of the above makes UK diving a great leveller . I ’ ve found we divers usually put up less of a front with each other , and that leads to more authentic friendships . That ’ s what it ’ s all about . A dive club shouldn ’ t be a cold , commercial operation . There ’ s friendships and community , which is what brings people in and binds them together . We enjoy the good times , help each other through the tough times and whatever happens , we ’ ll get together and laugh about it later , in the pub . �
Yo-Han with friends from Reading BSAC
19