You’ve probably realised by now that there are quite a few dive schools out there all eager to teach you to dive. You’ve looked in the ‘phone book or surfed the web and found out that there’s lots of dive outfits listed. It’s possible that you’ve learned to dive abroad whilst on your holidays and you want to keep it up now you’re back home. After all, diving once a year just doesn’t do it for you, does it? This is where dive clubs come in. Unlike a lot of UK dive schools we have our own extremely successful club.
It’s called ScubaVentures UK.
The beauty of belonging to a dive club, is that it puts you in a position where you can pick and choose when, where, with whom and what type of diving you do. There are lots of dive buddies to choose from and a huge pool (a little pun there) of knowledge to pick from. We have over 200 members in our club and as far as we know, that makes it the biggest in Essex and one of the biggest club memberships that we know of anywhere. We like to think, actually we know, that we are also one of the friendliest. Don’t just take our word for it, come along to the shop and meet our other victims…sorry, club members. We don’t do committees. We don’t do politics and we don’t do cliques. What we do do, is diving. Loads of it. We dive all year round, and I mean all year round, and in all conditions. Yeah, OK, we probably need to get out more but that doesn’t mean to say that you have to be that idiotic….sorry, dedicated. You choose how much you want to get involved.
We have a pool night every Thursday evening and this is free to club members, so long as you have all your own equipment. That way you can come along to try out that new toy you’ve bought, meet other club members or just practice your skills. There’s always plenty of staff about to put you through your paces if that’s what you’d like. Or you could of course just “do your own thing… Man”. After that we all meet up at a local hostelry in order to indulge in the odd libation or two.
As a club, we dive regularly in both the UK and overseas. We would run between three and six ‘short haul’ overseas dive trips per year, along with one ‘long haul’ trip to a more ‘adventurous’ destination. Over the last twenty six years of our existence, we’ve had numerous ‘long haul’ outings to destinations such as the Maldives, Thailand, South Africa, Mexico, Monado & Bali. Most of our short haul destinations tend to be centered in the Egyptian Red Sea because it’s easy to reach. The prices once you’re there are riduculously cheap and it has got fabulous hotels, weather and diving. What more do you need. We’ve dived with Manta Rays, Eagle Rays, Dolphins, Manatees, Pygmy Sea Horses, Ghost Pipe Fish, Hairy Frog Fish, Whale sharks, Sand Tiger Sharks and even been in the water with a number of Great White Sharks. (OK that was in a cage but we’ve done it on a club trip) We’ve not mentioned all the stunning reef fish, coral gardens, glorious sandy beaches, historic sites and other attractions unique to the area in question. We run lots of weekend and day trips to all parts of the UK for club members with various degrees of experience. It doesn’t matter if you’ve logged hundreds of dives or have only just qualified, we can accommodate you. We make it a policy here that if you are inexperienced, we will always ensure that a staff member dives with you. That way you don’t have to worry that something is going to go wrong ‘cos you’re not too confident yet. We’ve all been there. Trust me. Actually, come to think of it, one or two of us are still there….!
We’ve dived all around the UK and Ireland. From Dover to the Orkney Islands (look them up on a map) to the West Coast of Ireland and everywhere in between. We’ve been in the water with Basking Sharks, dolphins, seals and just about every other bit of marine life in our waters. We’ve dived ship wrecks by the hundreds and at the same time had the opportunity to visit some of the most spectacular scenery in the British Isles. Both above and below the water. That’s what dive clubs are all about. Giving you the opportunity as a club member to dive as often as you like, with people you like and in places you like.
We realise of course that sometimes it’s not just you involved. We have families join us for most of our weekend trips away as well as our overseas outings. We also run days out that have nothing to do with diving. Maybe ten pin bowling, beach clean ups, a restaurant or just a country walk ending at the pub. It doesn’t matter. So you see whatever you’re looking for both in diving terms and social terms, we have it.
Give us a call on 01702 542759 or e-mail us at debbie@diveodyssea.net