South Bristol Divers Club Some things just happen out of the blue (apologies for pun) and my trial dive was one of these things. I signed up as a member of the Bristol Active Social Club and, within a week, an e-mail landed in my inbox inviting members to try diving. I swim regularly but do it in a 1920s lady fashion (head above water with craned neck). It's not as graceful as it sounds, I look more like a drowning seal. So, needless to say, swimming under water would be a new experience for me. The trial dive was offered for the paltry fee of £10 by the South Bristol Divers Club. The Club have sole use of Bristol South Swimming Pool in Bedminster on Tuesday evenings and it's here that they practise, train and offer complete newbies taster sessions.
I arrived to meet a couple, Karen and Ian, who have been divers for 30 years and no doubt have a story or two to share. Ian was my trainer for the evening and after a detailed description of how the next 30 minutes would pan out, and the assurance that I would not be forced to drop myself backwards off the deep end, we got ourselves prepped for submersion. This involved, firstly, attaching an air canister to a divers jacket. The jacket itself looked, to me, like an airplane cockpit with all the knobs and pulleys (for inflation and deflation) but I got the hang of it eventually. Then, the lot was strapped to my back after a counter weight being tied around my waist to avoid toppling over and causing panic to the synchronised swimmers who were finishing their session at the deep end. I was provided with some goggles which I was encouraged to spit into to clean...my Nana would have been appalled. Then I was shown how to use the air tube thingy, a very important piece of kit for those who are not direct descendants of The Little Mermaid.
I found myself kneeling on the floor of the pool, breathing through a tube, watching the swimmers glide through the water and I felt very relaxed indeed. However the breathing apparatus took a bit of getting used to. In fairness, all you do is inhale and exhale but, in the context of the situation, I was thrown. I kept inhaling until my lungs were full and forgot to let any air out. When I did exhale I was surrounded by bubbles of my own air...pretty cool. My confidence grew quicker than I expected, by the end of the session I was kitted out in flippers and swimming up and down the pool. It turned out to be quite an uplifting evening despite my pre-dive nerves. The fact that it involved no actual diving was a relief.
The session was finished off with a well deserved half at the local pub where the club regularly meet. Having regulated my breathing to normal mode, I got chatting to Jas, who had sent the original mail through Bristol Active, and he introduced me to their various members. Steve was introduced to me as a "Paddy". I thought, "Ah, one of my own" but just before I asked him where in Ireland he's from Jas went onto explain that PADI is a diver training organization to which some of their members are associated. Good save. Aswell as earning qualification (BSAC membership), the club members organise trips abroad to dive proper like and see fish and all that palaver. I can imagine that would be awesome but baby steps for me, I have yet to master breathing through a tube.
http://www.southbristoldivers.co.uk
http://www.bristolactive.org.uk/
Image: southbristoldivers.co.uk
