'And I'll tell you what: People are not good shark food. They much prefer a nice oily fish.' Ellen Prager
A group of members interested in scuba diving and other underwater sporting activities meet on the first Tuesday evening of every month at Pall Mall. The section comprises of experienced, newly qualified and eager-to-learn male and female Club members. The section also has equipment which members of the group are welcome to borrow.
The Sub Aqua Committee:
Marty Barker - President
John Mills - Chairman and Secretary
Gordon Hewitt - Diving Officer
Nicholas Posnansky - Treasurer
Chris Barsley
John Cassidy
Dick Cowan
Jonny Hills
Stephen Jones
Email subaqua@royalautomobileclub.co.uk
Telephone 020 7747 3295
First Tuesday Dates 2012
7 February
6 March
3 April
1 May
5 June
3 July
7 August
4 September
2 October
6 November
4 December
Main image: Diver at Brother by Tim Farmiloe
We are always delighted to welcome new Club members to the Sub Aqua Section. The section provides the opportunity to meet fellow divers, as well as to participate in both the diving and social calendar of the section. You can join as a section-only member, or join the section and BSAC together, although members wishing to be active divers with the section should also join BSAC.
Membership of the Sub Aqua Section costs £30.00 per year with a one-off £10.00 joining fee. Your annual subscription gives you:
Complimentary access to section guest speaker evenings, which are normally held three or four times a year. In the past guest speakers have included Tanya Streeter (former World Champion freediver), Mike Rutzen (The Great White Shark Man), Mark Ellyat (World Record Deep Diver) and Paul Rose (Antarctic explorer, diver and documentary maker)
Reduction in the ticket price of the Sub Aqua Section Christmas Dinner and other section events held at the Club
Use of the section's equipment
Complimentary drinks and nibbles on First Tuesday evenings held each month.
The section is a BSAC special branch but if you are a PADI diver you are still most welcome to join the section as a ‘section-only’ member. However, if you are keen to dive with the section, you should join BSAC so that both you and the section are covered by BSAC's third party insurance. BSAC membership also includes a subscription to DIVE magazine and access to a plethora of courses and events.
The section does not provide PADI training but if you wish to further your diving career and are a PADI member, you can choose to continue to train externally with PADI, or do a conversion course to BSAC. BSAC courses and referesher sessions are organised periodically. Please contact the section for further details.
Try Dive
Each year in March, the section holds a try-dive in the Pall Mall pool. This is a great opportunity for members who have never tried scuba to learn about diving and the section, try on the kit and have a go in the pool with experienced instructors. Details can be found on the section notice board in Pall Mall or in the 'news' section of the website.
BSAC Ocean Diver
The BSAC Ocean Diver Course is an entry-level certification that qualifies you to dive without direct supervision to a maximum depth of 20 metres. The section offers the course annually and members can complete the basic training over a weekend, usually in May. See the news section for updates.
The course comprises of three elements:
Theory sessions – where you learn about the kit, technique and basic scuba physiology
Confined water (pool) sessions – where you practice kit use and diving skills
Open water dives – where you will demonstrate that you can put it all together under the supervision of your instructor, either in the ocean or in an inland lake
The Club course allows you to complete the first two of these steps to becoming an Ocean Diver.
The training can be completed on a section dive weekend either in the UK or in warmer climes in the Mediterranean or Red Sea. Alternatively, we can refer you to another BSAC school overseas if you have a trip already booked.
For more information on learning to dive or to sign up for the next course please contact: subaqua@royalautomobileclub.co.uk
City Divers
If you are keen to complete a diving course quickly the club can help organise training through our partners at City Divers, a dive school based in central London. City Divers arrange weekend and midweek courses throughout the year.
We don’t only dive, we play Octopush too! For those of you that haven't played or even heard of Octopush before, it's great fun! It's best described as underwater hockey and is played in the pool with mask, snorkel and fins as opposed to full scuba gear.
Octopush is a fast-paced game that is easy to pick up and a good way to exercise and put the stress of office life behind you. If your stress has not been released by the end, we normally end up in the Long Bar afterwards.
Octopush is organised in conjunction with the Swimming Section on one Friday evening each month. If you are interested in finding out what it's all about, keep an eye on the Sub Aqua Section notice board in Pall Mall for dates, or contact: subaqua@royalautomobileclub.co.uk
Octopush at Pall Mall from The Royal Automobile Club on Vimeo.
Octopush Royal Automobile Club vs Hurlingham