FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: DO I HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SWIM TO LEARN SCUBA?

A: YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO SWIM 200 YARDS/METRES, BUT DON'T WORRY ABOUT BEING AN OLYMPIC SWIMMER.

Q: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO LEARN HOW TO SCUBA DIVE?

A: IT DEPENDS UPON YOUR TIME SCHEDULE AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO TRAINING. WITH A CONCENTRATED COURSE, TRAINING CAN TAKE AS LITTLE AS 5 TO 7 DAYS. MORE COMMONLY WE CONDUCT TRAINING OVER A PERIOD OF 5 TO 6 WEEKS. YOU UNDERTAKE 1 EVENING A WEEK OF POOL TRAINING, SOME HOME STUDY WITH TRAINING CULMINATING IN A FINAL EXAM AND 4 OPEN WATER DIVES CONDUCTED OVER 2 DAYS.

Q: I AM CLAUSTROPHOBIC..DOES THIS MEAN THAT I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO TRY SCUBA DIVING?

A: IT MAY OR MAY NOT BE A PROBLEM.. IN THE PAST WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL DIVE STUDENTS WHO HAVE SUFFERED WITH THE SAME PHOBIA AND THEY HAVE GONE ON TO BE CERTIFIED PADI DIVERS. THE BEST WAY TO FIND OUT IF YOU CAN SCUBA DIVE WOULD BE TO COME ALONG TO A TRY DIVE AT THE POOL AND SEE HOW YOU GET ON. IN OUR EXPERIENCE WHEN A STUDENT WANTS TO DIVE STRONGLY ENOUGH, THEY GET BEYOND THEIR PHOBIA.

Q: I HAVE A DISABILITY..DOES THIS MEAN I CANNOT LEARN TO DIVE?

A: ABSOLOUTELY NOT...PADI COURSES ARE FLEXIBLE TO ADAPT COURSES TO MOST STUDENTS NEEDS.. OFTEN A DIVE SKILL NEED ONLY BE MODIFIED TO ADAPT IT FOR A STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.

Q: I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT I MUST COMPLETE A MEDICAL QUESTIONNAIRE BEFORE I CAN START A DIVING COURSE..IS THIS TRUE AND WHAT IS INVOLVED?

A: YES THIS IS TRUE..WE WILL REQUIRE INFORMATION ABOUT ANY CONDITIONS THAT MAY AFFECT YOURS AND OUR SAFETY WHEN YOU ARE BREATHING COMPRESSED AIR UNDER WATER. IF ANY OF THE ANSWERS ON THE QUESTIONNAIRE ARE YES, THEN YOU WILL NEED TO SEE YOUR GP OR SPECIALISED DIVING DOCTOR TO GET CLEARANCE. WITHOUT THE CLEARANCE IN ADVANCE OF THE COURSE WE CANNOT COMMENCE ANY IN WATER TRAINING. TO VIEW A COPY OF THE MEDICAL QUESTIONNARE WHICH DETAILS AILMENTS, CLICK ON THE LINK"MEDICAL STATEMENT" IN THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN ON THIS PAGE.

Q: I WEAR GLASSES AND CONTACT LENSES..CAN I STILL LEARN TO DIVE

A: NO PROBLEM..YOU CAN WEAR CONTACT LENSES WITH A MASK ON OR IF YOU PREFER YOU AN INVEST IN A MASK WITH A PRESCRIPTION LENSE.

Q: I TAKE A PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE..CAN I STILL LEARN TO DIVE?

A: THIS WOULD BE A QUESTION ON THE MEDICAL QUESTIONARE AND WOULD CONSTITUTE A "YES" ANSWER AND WOULD REQUIRE A CLEARANCE FROM YOUR DOCTOR.

Q: HOW SOON COULD I START A SCUBA COURSE?

A: WE RUN COURSES EVERY WEEK AT SEVERAL LOCATIONS.. IF YOU WANT TO START TODAY WE CAN GET YOU STARTED TODAY!

Q: ONCE I QUALIFY AS A DIVER WHERE CAN I DIVE AND WHO CAN I DIVE WITH?

A: AS A PADI OPEN WATER DIVER, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DIVE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD AS LONG AS YOU DIVE WITH ANOTHER QUALIFIED DIVER. IN ADDITION WE PLAN DIVE TRIPS HERE IN THE UK AND ABROAD THROUGH OUR DIVE CLUB AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE WELCOME TO JOIN US.. WE KEEP ALL OF OUR STUDENT DIVERS UPDATED WHEN WE ARE DIVING. THE DIVE CLUB IS A GREAT WAY TO MEET WITH FELLOW DIVERS WHO HAVE THE SAME LOVE OF DIVING AND FORGE NEW FREINDSHIPS.

Q: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SCUBA DIVER COURSE AND THE OPEN WATER DIVER COURSE?

A: AS A SCUBA DIVER YOU WILL ONLY QUALIFY TO DIVE TO A DEPTH OF 12 METRES AND THEN ONLY WHEN ACCOMPANIED BY A PADI PROFESSIONAL (DIVEMASTER OR HIGHER). AS A OPEN WATER DIVER YOU ARE QUALIFIED TO DIVE TO A DEPTH OF 18 METRES AND YOU CAN DIVE WITH ANY OTHER FULLY CERTIFIED DIVER.

Q: I HAVE READ IN THE PAPERS THAT SCUBA DIVING IS A REALLY DANGEROUS SPORT..IS THIS TRUE?

A: GENERALLY SCUBA DIVING IS VERY SAFE THESE DAYS..DIVE TRAINING IS EXTREMELY SAFETY FOCUSSED AND PADI COURSES ARE CONTROLLED BY GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION ACROSS THE GLOBE. EQUIPMENT IS VERY RELIABLE NOWADAYS AND HERE IN THE UK WE ARE ALSO GOVERNED BY HSE GUIDELINES. ANNUALLY THERE ARE AROUND 20 TO 25 SCUBA DIVING RELATED FATALITIES WORLDWIDE AMONGST A DIVING COMMUNITY OF APPROXIMATELY 6 MILLION DIVERS.. UNFORTUNATELY THIS FACT IS NEVER REPORTED! MOST FATALITIES ARE RELATED TO DIVERS ACTING BEYOND THEIR TRAINING OR ABILITY. WHEN YOU BEGIN YOUR TRAINING YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY OBSERVE HOW FOCUSSED ON SAFETY THE TRAINING IS AND HOW SERIOUSLY WE TAKE YOUR TRAINING AS WE PREPARE YOU TO BECOME A CERTIFIED DIVER.

Q: I HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT SCUBA DIVING IS AN EXPENSIVE SPORT, EQUIPMENT ETC..IS THIS TRUE?

A: BY TODAYS STANDARDS THE SPORT REPRESENTS GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY. YOU CAN BUY AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE EQUIPMENT AS YOU LIKE DEPENDENT UPON THE FREQUENCY OF DIVING THAT YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING TO DO. IF YOU PLAN TO DIVE ON HOLIDAYS ONLY THEN YOU MAY DECIDE RENTING EQUIPMENT IS THE WAY TO GO. HOWEVER IF YOU PLAN TO DIVE REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR THEN THIS MAY BE AN EXPENSIVE OPTION. MANY DIVERS BUILD THEIR EQUIPMENT UP A PIECE AT A TIME AND WORK TOWARDS HAVING THEIR OWN FULL KIT. HOWEVER UNLIKE MOST SPORTS, ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR KIT IT BECOMES A RELATIVELY CHEAP SPORT TO PARTICIPATE IN.

Q: I WOULD LIKE TO BECOME AN INSTRUCTOR..HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE ME TO ACHIEVE THIS?

A: IT WOULD VARY DEPENDENT UPON YOUR FLEXIBILTY AND COMMITMENT TO YOUR TRAINING.. REALISTICALLY YOU WOULD BE LOOKING AT A MINIMUM OF TWO AND A HALF YEARS TO REACH INSTRUCTOR LEVEL AND POSSIBLY AS LONG AS THREE AND A HALF YEARS. TO ACHIEVE INSTRUCTOR STATUS IS NO MEAN FEAT AND REQUIRES A HUGE DEDICATION TO LEARNING DIVE THEORY, MAN MANAGEMENT SKILLS AS WELL AS DEVELOPING YOUR DIVE SKILLS. THERE ARE SOME DIVE AGENCIES AND DIVE CENTRES THAT WILL "FAST TRACK" YOUR TRAINING.. HOWEVER DIVE KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE CANNOT BE FAST TRACKED AND AS RESPONSIBLE DIVE EDUCATORS WE FIRMLY BELIEVE IN PRODUCING THE COMPLETE AND FINISHED ARTICLE AS AN INSTRUCTOR.