Weekly Catch Up!

It's been a busy week for all of Orca. On the weekend we had Nimrod & Jasmine qualifying as Open Water divers, Danni and Ben qualifying as Dry suit divers and Fred, Travis, Laurynas and Arron qualifying as Advanced Open Water divers. There was a huge effort from both students and staff.

Monday and Tuesday entailed a lot of soggy kit being washed,checked and put away. We were in the deep pool on Tuesday with some more DSD's from Writtle college, who will be going on a trip to Egypt next year with us. We also had a new Open Water course starting plus a few people getting in to test their skills before heading up to the Farne islands!

On Wednesday, Janie was putting away all of the kit  whilst Gary was in The Basildon Upper Academy talking to the pupils about self-esteem and his own experiences. Gary mentors in this school every day and often holds these events. Several pupils had thanked Gary and said that his talk helped them to understand a lot about themselves and their affect on others.

Thursday was a very busy day with customers hiring kit for the weekend. We also had to get kit ready for the pool night at South Woodham Ferrers. The Seal Team carried on as usual with one Open Water course and a few swimmers. This was a great opportunity for our trainee Dive Masters to get in and practice some skills as there was not many people in the water. It also meant that they could watch the instructors teach and learn their particular teaching methods.

Friday consisted of putting away kit and getting kit ready for people heading up to the Farne Islands. Everybody was very excited even though they had a long 6 hour drive! Everybody arrived safely and met for dinner.They then headed to bed for an early night!

Saturday and Sunday were fantastic for those up in the Farne Islands despite testing weather conditions on Saturday resulting in us only doing 1 dive. Everybody enjoyed themselves and commented on the great atmosphere. Sovereign Divers are wonderful and ensured that everybody was happy. Lots of seals were spotted as well as, crabs, lobsters, nudibranches, starfish, sun-starfish and lots more! We also had Jamie down at Nemes with Emily and Heather doing their navigation dive in order to qualify as Advanced Open Water divers. They were then joined by, Zoe, Faith and Angelina who wanted to log up some dives! The girls were all from last years Writtle trip and have continued diving with us since, some of which are now Rescue divers!!

Gary and Ian S were also in RAF Lakenheath talking to some staff from the US Airforce about running an Open Water course with them next year. It was great to talk to all of the staff and get to know them. We look forward to working with them in the future

We are currently doing a Christmas promotion! Buy a Suunto Zoop in any colour and get a FREE compass! For more information, call the centre.

Weekly Catch Up!

On Monday, Gary met with Danny Ayling from Anglia Ruskin University to discuss setting up a date for the students to complete some DSD's. We are looking forward to the dive society expanding and encouraging new people to dive!

Then on Tuesday, we had students from Writtle College completing their DSDs, before signing up for a trip to Egypt next year. Joe & Steve S. went through the briefing with them, and although a few were quite nervous, they all enjoyed it and are hoping to complete an Open Water courses. We also had Nick taking a new Open Water course with 3 new students.

Gary & Janie met on Wednesday with Justin - the representative for Atomic Aquatics. Justin showed us a lot of new stock and put in an order for snorkels, masks, BCD's, gloves and hoods! We now have the Zeagle Zena BCD - which is made by women, for women. It is a wing jacket that has a removable front panel making it easier for transitioning from a pool BCD to an open water BCD, as you can buy panels in multiple sizes and colours, but they will all fit the same BCD.

We also have the Zeagle Express Tech Deluxe which is a men's wing BCD. It's a one-size-fits-all design, with the no sewn trim so that you can adjust the length to your preference and cut it to the required length.

Zeagle Zena BCD

Zeagle Express Tech Deluxe

On Thursday we loaded up lots of kit in the truck for South Woodham Ferrers, as we had a busy night. Lucy came to do Confined Dives 4 & 5 of her Open Water course, to get ready for the weekend. We also had the Seal Team carrying on from the previous week, plus a few DSD's and our usual Dive Master Trainees practicing their swims.

Friday was quite a busy day down at the centre, as we had friends popping in for a chat, a theory lesson, and we had to get prepared for the weekend! This meant setting up weight belts and getting other kit ready for students leaving on Friday night and Saturday morning.

On Saturday Gill took a group down to Gildenburgh to start their Advanced Open Water with the assistance of Joe. They all did very well and are planning on completing the course next weekend! We also had Rhonda and Sharon doing an Open Water course and a Wreck speciality. They were then joined by Marc & Janie on the Sunday who helped out too. Lucy did very well in completing her Open Water as well as Lewis and Connor, who are now fully trained wreck divers. Janie also completed her Deep diver speciality. Everybody had a great weekend, and congratulations to everyone!

Weekly Catch Up!

Just a quick reminder that there are still places left if you want to come to the Christmas Party at Three Rivers on November 27th!

In the deep pool this week, Dave was working with the trainee Dive Masters, who had their Knowledge Review and practised Kit Exchange, which proved to be a lot harder than everyone originally thought! We also had four students in for their Dry Suit orientation, including father and son, Andy and Luke. Dad (Andy) quickly found out that if you vent through the wrist seal in an emergency situation, you get extremely wet! We also had a new SEAL Team start on Thursday night with Gill in the South Woodham Ferrers pool!

Over the weekend, we were once again very, very busy! On Saturday we Gill and Rhonda went to Nemes with students who were completing dives 1, 2 and 3, and were also joined by Andy and Luke, who were completing Dry Suit Dives 1 and 2. Congratulations for completing the course!

On Sunday, Gill and Rhonda went back to Nemes with Races and Henry to complete Dive 4, as well as Nimrod and Jasmine who were completing Dives 1 and 2! Gary also went to Nemes on Sunday to have a ‘bimble’ around the lake with father and son, Dave and Travis.

This weekend we are at Stoney Cove Saturday and Sunday, Gildenburgh on Saturday and Nemes on Sunday, so if any staff can help, please get in touch with Gary or the dive centre! Also, if any Trainee Dive Masters want to do their Deep Diver Scenario for their Dive Master Course, this can be done at Stoney Cove this weekend!