If there is anything that you’d like to know about the club, why not contact us and we will answer your question and add it to our FAQs. For more about our entry-level Ocean Diver courses, see our Training FAQs.
Underwater life around the British Isles is particularly rich and varied. Add to that the history of peacetime and wartime shipping, and UK diving offers not just a huge variety of life but also wrecks and structures to explore. There are a wide range of dive sites at depths to suit both novices and experienced divers alike. Dacorum Scuba runs a variety of UK dive trips to the coast; these range from day trips to the south coast to five-day trips to the north-east. We visit somewhere in Scotland most years, including the west coast, Orkney and Shetland.
With proper exposure protection, that is wetsuits or drysuits, diving in UK waters can be perfectly comfortable all year round. Train with us and you’ll understand what is appropriate for different water conditions and be able to confidently dive in the UK both at inland sites such as quarries and lakes, and in the sea.
From diving with seals in the Farne Islands or Lundy, to searching for brightly coloured nudibranchs, anemones, soft corals (yes!) or crustaceans along the ribs of a well-preserved wreck, there is something for all interested in the underwater world. The background colours may be more muted than in Egypt’s Red Sea, the water may look green not blue, but with experience you’ll appreciate an incredible wealth of things to see and explore.
Of course; we’d be pleased to see you. If you join Dacorum Scuba, you can dive with your existing qualifications, enabling you to keep doing the diving you’re accustomed to. If you want to do further training you can join the BSAC Diver Training Programme at an equivalent level.
See the BSAC equivalent scuba qualifications chart
Are you already a Qualified PADI, SAA or SSI Scuba Instructor?
Diving will never be a cheap activity, but by being a member of Dacorum Scuba you’ll benefit from affordable kit hire from the club during your training. You can often find second-hand dive equipment offered for sale by other members who are upgrading their kit or changing kit configuration. You’ll also benefit from advice and helpful guidance in equipping yourself sensibly from other sources such as eBay. Don’t buy secondhand without advice.
Club members can arrange to use items of club kit if they are not being used by the Ocean Diver trainees. The club maintains a range of cylinders, regulators, BCs and some entry-level dive computers (Suunto Zoop). The cost is £5 per item per day of diving. Monies must be paid to the treasurer in advance. You’ll need to contact the Equipment Officer to check availability. It is always a member’s responsibility to return cylinders to the kit store full of gas. Any problems with club kit should be reported to the Equipment Officer immediately.
During training, you’ll be exposed to a variety of sites, from the swimming pool to inland lakes and the sea. Soon after, you will also be offered some experience of boat diving. This will give you real confidence in tackling these different environments as well as the skills to do so. As you qualify you’ll be able to join club-organised trips within your qualification level to gain additional experience. As you progress to higher qualification levels, you’ll be able to organise club trips yourself within the UK and abroad.
For inland training, we often use Stoney Cove in Leicestershire or Wraysbury near Heathrow. However, our members really enjoy week-end or day-trip diving at our nearest sites along the south coast. Longer trips to Scotland or elsewhere in the UK are organised throughout the year and are always very popular.
Our experienced diving instructors will train you at a comfortable pace, on evenings in the pool or weekends in open water environments. BSAC eLearning allows you to cover the theory learning at your own pace. How long it takes can also depend on your availability. We suggest allowing three months for the pool and open-water training needed to qualify as an Ocean Diver. Then you will be able to dive to a maximum of 20 metres.
Safety is the primary consideration in everything we do, because of the dangers of being underwater. Training will give you the skills to understand the potential hazards and appropriately manage the risk inherent in the sport.
See BSAC’s interactive Safe Diving guide
Some of our members prefer to kick off their diving season in May, and warm up to diving through the summer before calming down in October. However there is diving activity all year round and many members dive or train throughout the winter months; our traditional post-Christmas dive is always a great way to shake off some of the effects of a Christmas dinner.
Absolutely not. Many members just adore the warmer waters of the Caribbean or Red Sea, but appreciate a club environment that allows them to keep their skills current. Practising in our pool sessions allows dive kit or photography equipment to be checked before heading off to warmer climes.
Dacorum Scuba has a social meeting every Thursday evening and we hire a local swimming pool twice a month. The pool is 4m deep, and is great for building up your snorkelling skills, refreshing your scuba skills or testing your kit.
Diving with a club brings the opportunity to find a like-minded buddy and join in on club trips. The training team offers the BSAC Diver Training Programme and a variety of Skill Development Courses including technical diver training.
The club has a compressor and air is provided to members at no cost. There is also a mixing panel for blending nitrox and trimix at a reasonable cost per litre. Once you have done our familiarisation sessions you can use the compressor at any time. The club owns oxygen first aid equipment for use on club trips.
Have a look at the Contact Us page and call us or send us a message through the form. We’ll be very happy to answer any questions you might have.
