SCUBA Editor Simon Rogerson looks at the rise of scuba travel , which has seen some of the most obscure corners of the planet transformed into thriving enclaves a brief history
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The diving holiday
SCUBA Editor Simon Rogerson looks at the rise of scuba travel , which has seen some of the most obscure corners of the planet transformed into thriving enclaves a brief history
The notion of diving for pure personal pleasure only arose in the 20th Century ; prior to that , the sea was a place for work , or survival . While the first generation of BSAC divers toughed it out in rugby shirts in home shores , some had experienced the balm of warm water while stationed in the tropics during the Second World War , or on National Service . Jacques Cousteau ’ s 1956 film , The Silent World had shown them a world beyond our temperate shores , and the first wave of divers were keen to expand their horizons .
Blue heaven
While a few Brits had made the pilgrimage to the Med , it took the introduction of a modern resort concept to open the floodgates . In 1955 , the French company Club Meditérranée bought a dozen Aqua- Lungs and started diver training at its holiday village at Palinuro in Italy . The diving courses proved a success , and the company decided to hire some British divers to join their elite group of instructors ( known as ‘ moniteurs ’) to attract more business from the UK .
After 60 years of over-fishing , the Mediterranean has a mixed reputation among divers today , but back then it was pure heaven . For early BSAC member
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