Anyone on here know of a good SCUBA school / club near Heathrow? I'm looking for personal recommendations rather than google. I want to get back into this.... and try a get a little healthier, SCUBA you can do in all weathers.
Thanks, but I was hoping for something closer..... mainly to keep me out of the pub... two doors down.
www.bsac.com And they'll hate me (PADI rescue diver).... it's a clan thing. Like I said I wanted a personal recommendation... Long story short Famous West London Dive school..... turned out to be mainly gay. I'm not homophobic, but I really didn't fit in... if you pardon the expression.
Buy a bloody track suit, put a bit of garden hose in your mouth, give it until your nuts hit your throat
Awwwwwww.........noooooo.........not a bloody PADI (joking diver)........haaaa! You did it abroad didn't you eh!
I’m a PADI Rescue diver too. But I’ve not been diving for about ten years now. Other leisure activities have taken priority in that time.
I worked in the far east for around 10 years, where as you can imagine BSAC was nearly unheard of and never taught. One training is based around a club and the other is around a shop. BSAC (bunch of fun amatuers, cheaper and club based) treat PADI as a joke (paid professionals who teach diving as a career) and PADI just think "who?" When asked about BSAC. Cost and time is really the issue. Having dived for +25 years and over a 1000 dives I've heard all the jokes and jibes. If you are considering diving, BSAC or PADI, just get started as soon as possible. ... it's as much fun as motorcycles.
Nah! never, never as much fun as motorcycles and the closest buzz to bikes for me was skiing, unfortunately my days of diving are long over though AC. Done my dive training with BSAC and had to do a lot of training and test passing (ABLJ days) before I was allowed any where near open water, and once or twice being really grateful that I had. That's why I'm not a fan of Padi, especially abroad, 10mins lecture then your out in open water. Things may have changed now though so perhaps my apprehension is misplaced. But anyway glad your getting back into it p.s. Have you ever dove in Ramsey sound ? That's one I'll never forget
I've never dived in the UK sadly. at the beginning I was taught one on one by a Canadian instructor in a German resort in Thailand. 3 days in the pool and 2 in a shallow sea.
Me and SWMBO were originally taught by a George Clooney lookalike in Cyprus. Same deal of 3 days in a pool and 2 in shallow seas. We then went to the Philippines for a few weeks with friends and I did my Advanced whilst I was there with a friend. Did my Rescue Diver course again in the Philippines a few years later but sadly I've not done much since (thinking about it prolly about 15 years!). So much so that SWMBO recently sold some/most of my gear on our local community FB page.
Did my PADi training in the Maldives. Which was nothing short of amazing....after that it went rapidly downhill to the point that i (or the other half) would never go diving again....every time ive been (4 times in total) its not gone well. The third time was in egypt and if i hadnt have noticed my wife i think she would have died (at one end of the scale) and at the other end they were so inept (at pre dive and getting your gear ready and set up) it was like a comedy sketch - you couldn have wrote it...honestly...
I've had dive shops like that. The first time I took my wife out on a boat, while I was diving a "snorkeler" was found dead in the water.... we gave as much as help as we could, but we think his lungs had collapsed. The dive shop crew were insisting that he wasn't a diver in their group, but instead from the snorkeler group. .... They didn't like it when I said I think I've found the problem.... he had about 7Kg on his weight belt.... for skinny guy he must of been a hell of a swimmer. Lying Johnny foreigner !!! I also refuse to buddy up with Americans.... sorry, but I won't risk my life with someone who won't listen to a dive plan and insists on standing / touching everything. Swims with a video camera in front of their eyes, so they can watch it all on telly later.
