The
ClubDiving Officer
The
ClubDiving OfficerTim gives some background on how he got into diving and became our Diving Officer...
Many years ago now, my childhood friend decided to join a scuba club. After much barracking I was eventually persuaded that I to should join the club, this I did albeit reluctantly on the next intake…
I enjoyed the training, I was given 12 weeks of lectures & 12 sessions in the pool which gave me the basics to begin my journey in to the silent world, vividly brought to us by the pioneering underwater adventurer Jacques Cousteau.
The time came when I was ready to try out what I had learned…
The first occasion for this to take place was with our Diving Officer one January evening as he worked shifts. Pitch black in a local Flooded ex-quarry, the air temp was -2ºC and the water temp just 1ºC. In the back of my mind I was thinking what the hell am I doing here I must be mad but in we went. The cold took my breath away! Ahead of me was a dive into the unknown, dark cold and silent with only the meagre light from a small underwater torch each to light up our way, a little daunting to say the least. Next followed my open water assessment…
This entailed removing and replacing my demand valve & mask under water, the mask bit went fine but when I removed my DV it began to free flow. This didn't really worry me as we had trained for this kind of thing in the pool. I passed my open water assessment and was told that I would make an excellent diver as this kind of thing could panic even the most experience divers this I thought was just reassurance and thought no more about it.
As I progressed thought the grades I became more and more hooked the dive's I had dreamed about in warm tropical waters became a reality but never really compared with the diversity available in our own coastal waters. I only intended to ever progress as far as club diver, this then extended on to dive leader so I could dive with my partner who was a novice.
All the time the Diving Officer was encouraging me to do more & more; Club Instructor, Diver Rescue, then Open Water Instructor & Nitrox Diver. The club members kept telling me that I had lot of enthusiasm…
This is something I find hard to believe as I'm quite a shy person and don't really think I get enthusiastic about any thing but I was Asked By the Diving Officer And then Chair person to become Club Chairman this again I did and to be honest Quite enjoyed.
The millennium brought The end of a era within the club as the then Diving officer Had decided after 27 years diving & training that it was time to take a rest and stand down as diving officer.
This left the club in a bit of a dilemma there was no-one within the club with the required Qualifications to take over as Diving Officer as the minimum grade is Dive Supervisor so it looked like the club was about to fold. The Diving Officer reminded me that I had done all of the practical assessments needed for DS and only had the exam to do, I hate Exams.
I seemed that the only option available to the club was for me to swat up and take the exam, which I did, and the rest, as they say, is history!
Safe Diving
Tim
(CWR-DO)
