Weekly Catch Up!

We had our 1000 'like' on Facebook this week, from Arron Steward, who won an Advanced Open Water course! So keep your eye out in the future for some more possibilities to win something special! 

On Tuesday we had another deep pool night as per usual, with Open Water, DSDs, Scuba Review and Dry Suit courses all running all through the evening. Throughout Wednesday and Thursday, Gary, Rhonda and Carol went to Nemes to work with students from Basildon Academy, who all completed their PADI Open Water courses over the two days! Whilst there, one of the students completed three dives towards his Advanced Open Water Course as well!

It was a quiet Thursday evening at SWF pool, as we are waiting for new courses to begin in upcoming weeks, so we used this opportunity for the trainee Dive Masters to master their skills in the water. And finally on Friday night, Rhonda taught an Enriched Air Course in the dive centre as Kelly is going away overseas, and wanted to take advantage of the free nitrox on board the liveaboard she will be staying on!

We had a very busy weekend! Ian S. took an EFR course on Saturday morning for six students, who then on the Sunday, went to open water for their Rescue Course, while Gary was working with three open water students on their theory on Saturday morning.

At the same time, Rhonda was working with Dani on her Open Water qualifying dives. While Dani was doing her dives, her partner Andy took advantage to have a couple of dives on Saturday with Richard, one of our trainee Dive Masters, and again on Sunday with Gary.

The students from our last rescue course, had rescheduled a dry dive at Whipps Cross, which was on Saturday. Firstly they were all given a talk on Decompression Illness (DCI - what happens to your body when you're surfacing from a dive), Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO - a hole in the heart) and Barotrauma (injury caused by change in air pressure). Everyone was then asked to change into 100% cotton clothing before they sat in the chamber and the air was compressed. This is to make you feel as though you are 40m deep. When the compression was decreased to seem 9metres deep, you are then given pure oxygen to breathe from. Throughout the time spent in the chamber, they were given lots of tests to show their reactions and the differences chemicals can make to the body at different pressures. Everyone thought it was very interesting and educational, but a lot of fun too!

And we're back!

Sorry for the lack in blog posts over the past few weeks, it's been an extremely busy summer for Orca Scuba Diving Academy and the staff!

First of all, we know it's only September, but we would like to mention our upcoming Christmas Party, which is open to everyone! This year we will be going to Three Rivers Golf & Country Club, for a Las Vegas themed night, with drinks and meal included! It is on Friday 27th November, and will be £45pp. If you want to join us, you will need to pay us a £10 deposit by Saturday 3rd October and the remaining needs to be paid in full by Friday 23rd October. The following is included in the price:

• Evening commences at 7:30pm
• Pre-dinner reception drinks
• Four Course Christmas dinner
• Free House bar open 10pm - 12.00am
• Christmas Road show Disco

For any information, call the centre on 01268 520111 / 07960 148520.

The summer started off with a fantastic trip to the Red Sea, where we stayed on the liveaboard Asmaa, which is part of the Emperor fleet, sailing out of Hamata and heading to St. John's via Fury Shoals. With a complete cross section of divers on board, with newly qualified advanced divers to instructors, this trip was suitable for all levels. Orca took up half the boat, but we were lucky that the other half was full of great people, as this can sometimes be a concern for people who go on holiday by themselves and are apprehensive of who they may be sharing their time with! There was lots of wall diving, shallow reef diving, with all kinds of marine life to be seen. One of the highlights of the trip, was Gary's ultraviolet torch for night diving. After seeing it on TV, Gary, who loves scuba gadgets, managed to get hold of one for the trip, and it lived up to his expectations!

On returning from the Red Sea, there was no time to rest for the Orca Team, as we carried on our busy training schedule. With numerous courses over the summer, Orca has had a very busy year so far with over 50 Open Water, over 35 continuing education, over 70 Speciality Courses and over 400 DSDs! And we still have ongoing courses and plenty of time for anyone to complete by the end of the season (around November), just give the centre a call and we will fit you in!

Now the summer holidays are over, Gary is back working in local secondary schools, where he mentors some of the children. He will also be starting an after school club at Basildon Academy in after October half term, where he will be running PADI Open Water Courses for those that attend. We have also started planning next year's Writtle College trip back to Egypt.

Over the past weekend, we had our busiest weekend of the year so far with Rhonda at Nemes completing Open Water dives with Travis and Robin. At the same time, we welcomed back Ian Syvyer, who has been away working with other commitments, and over the weekend he taught the PADI Rescue Diver course. Whilst this was happening, Nick was completing a confined open water course, and Gary was working with a mum and daughter on Sunday, who were having a Dry Suit Orientation before their upcoming open water dive. Gary was also working with Travis, practising his Search and Recovery skills for his Advanced Open Water Course, and finally working with Tiffany and Michael, who work at a US Airforce Base, and were completing a DSD. Gary is hoping to visit the base soon, so the pair can complete a PADI Open Water Course.

Next year we have two very exciting trips, which are sure to book up fast! So to book or to find out any information, don't hesitate to contact Gary on either number mentioned above.

Belated Sunday catch up

Sorry for our slightly delayed catch up this week, but here is what we have been up to in the last week. 

It was the last week in school before the summer holidays and this meant Gary was in and out of schools a lot.  He did his final DSD session with Cold Norton Primary school at South Woodham pool. 

At Basildon Academy, it was the last visit to see the guys Gary has been mentoring, he set them up for the summer and wished them well. Gary said goodbye to Laura Chapman who was his liaison at the Academy as she is leaving for pastures new, we wish her all the best for the future.  

We did not have access to the deep pool on Tuesday night, as though the filming had finished, visibility was poor so we are now waiting for the pool to be emptied, cleaned, refilled and heated.

Thursday night we were back in South Woodham pool with plenty going on.  A family with DCY finished their confined sessions and prepared to head out to finish their course at Nemes, Gary was running the last Seal Team and Jamie was with Bernie and Vince, also getting ready to go to open water. 

On the 18th and 19th July we were at Nemes; DCY was with his group of students (all related!), Ian Herbert was with 3 students from local colleges (South Essex and Palmers) and Jamie had 2 new open water divers and 1 new dry suit diver. 

After just over a months filming, we were finally back in the deep pool on the 21st July and what a busy welcome back it was! Callie, Harry and Harrison from the Seal Team had their first experience of the deep pool whilst Jamie and Rhonda held more open water courses.  DCY was training with his new trainee Divemasters teaching DSDs.  We also had some old friends pop down for a bit of fun and to get wet. 

Thursday night was quiet, but for Jamie working on his duck diving, Rhonda taking open water students and Gary working on a DSD. 

Friday was all about getting set for the weekend. We had staff and students at Stoney Cove, Nemes and Guildenburg and therefore had to ensure all of the kit was fully checked and prepared for them, the students did well and the photos below confirm this. 
  

 

 

 

My final thought for this catch up is around one of our most popular trips of the year - diving with the grey seals in the Farne Islands. With such a huge interest we have added another trip to the calendar, the weekend of 31st October to 1st November. If you are keen to go or would like some further information, please contact the centre.  If the last trip is anything to go by, the places will go fast!

Sunday Catch Up

Basildon Academy’s Monday After School Club is always difficult when students don’t turn up or haven’t done knowledge reviews! So this week’s session was all about catch for some of the students, before their final exam after half term break!

Tuesday was very busy day for Orca! Gary started off at Basildon Academy mentoring and then got back to the dive centre for the Academy’s Sport BTEC group, who was in the deep pool for the first time. After this session, Gary then went back to Basildon Academy for a mentor meeting about working with some new students. In the afternoon, two students and two staff from the Jupiter Centre (a children’s support service), came to the deep pool for their first pool dive! They were working alongside Carol Vickers and Gary was leading the session. This was the start of a busy week for Carole, who also working Tuesday night and at the weekend! All the students completed Dive 1 on the platform, and then it was time to go down to the bottom of the pool! Following up from previous comments about our staff, we received a text from the staff at the Jupiter Centre to say that everyone had a great time and was very pleased with how patient Carole was with one of the students who was a bit nervous. It is always lovely to hear that our staff has exceeded expectations! The day was finished off with pool night in Basildon, where students were carrying on with open water, rescue, drysuit and DSD courses.

When Gary arrived at the dive centre on Thursday, the roof of the deep pool was just about to come off! Being a film studio, there are times when you need a birds eye view, and for this the roof needs to be removed. In the evening however, we were in South Woodham Ferrers pool and had three open water courses running with six students, as well as the SEAL Team completing Safety Aqua Mission.

Over the weekend, Ian S. went to Stoney Cove with Stew and Sam. Being over thirty metres deep, Stoney is an ideal location for Advanced Open Water and Deep Diver Speciality courses. Stew and Sam finished their advanced open water on Saturday by completing deep, wreck and navigation dives. They then completed three more dives on Sunday for their Deep Speciality course. Well done to you both and thank you to Ian S. for your hard work this weekend!

Whilst this was going on, Gary and the team were back at the centre for two days in the deep pool. Nick was running a rescue course (which is not easy when you only have one student!), but this gives members of staff time to get an Oscar by playing panicked divers! Rhonda was running a confined open water course over the two days, followed by an EFR course in the late afternoon on Sunday, whilst Carole was back with another open water student for confined water dives 1 and 2. As well as all of this, Gary was running dry suit courses in the pool, so it has been a great weekend for us!

Upcoming this week, we have the last Tuesday night deep pool at Basildon until July, as Fred has a film unit in for a month! So this will now be moved to a Monday night at Basildon Lower Academy’s pool at Timberlodge Lane. Later in the week, Gary and Dave will be going to have a look at a dive site in Essex for a possible clear up and underwater survey – more details in the upcoming weeks! Next weekend, we will be back to Nemes running open water courses – any staff that can help out or anyone wanting to join in, don’t hesitate to give the centre a call! 

Sunday Catch Up

All to often people complain about things throughout life, but forget to mention the good things. So it is always great to have a student come back after a day diving and say that not only did they qualify, but their instructor was brilliant and so was the rest of the team! Ian Herbert went to Stoney Cove last weekend with Andy Harris and David Herbert (no relation!) to finish Kevin Nichol’s Advanced Open Water Course. When Kevin brought the equipment back on Tuesday, the first thing he said to Gary was that Ian and the team were superb. Kevin had never worked with Ian before and was not sure being a bit nervous, but he said that after two minutes he felt safe in Ian’s hands and that nothing was too much trouble! Kevin completed deep, navigation and wreck dives to finish off his Advanced Open Water Course. Going down to 20 metres for the first time is always daunting, but with when you trust your instructor, you can feel safe at all times. Whenever Kevin looked at Ian, he was watching him make sure all was okay. This not only makes the student feel safe, but makes for a better diver. If the student can concentrate on diving feeling that they are being watched at all times, it can help to relax.

Gary says:

“As the owner of Orca, it is always a lovely moment when someone comes back saying the staff are great and have made them feel good.”

As for the rest of the week, on Monday Gary was at the After School club at Basildon Academies, on Tuesday everyone was back in Basildon deep pool and on Thursday evening in SWF pool, with all the usual courses running!

On Friday, Gary went to Heybridge Primary School. This was a bit of a last minute trip for Gary, as he got a call at 6:30pm the night before asking if he was available to teach a year 5/6 class in the morning, as a special treat after the children’s hard work in their SATs exams this week! Always one for a challenge, Gary said yes, and so at 9:00am Friday, Gary walked into the class. Firstly he explained what he does and how the equipment works, as well as telling the children what he sees underwater, answering many questions as he goes! He then went on to explain the problems divers see underwater, from oil to plastic bags and other rubbish, to the death of coral and fish in the sea. The class then went on to work in smaller groups to produce posters about the conservation of our oceans and how we can help. This must have been a success, as most of the class wanted to miss break time and carry on with the posters!

The teacher later said:

“The children were inspired and engaged from the moment Gary entered the classroom. They enjoyed an educational and productive morning, and we are very grateful to Gary for sharing his enthusiasm and passion with us.”

It is always good working with young people, getting to teach them what is under the surface and how this affects us, but most importantly how we can help protect it.

This upcoming week we are in the Basildon deep pool Tuesday night and South Woodham Ferrers pool on Thursday night. Gary will be working with Basildon Academy all week mentoring young pupils, as well as running the After School Diving club on Monday. And he will also be going to the Jupiter House to teach the students to dive on Tuesday afternoon!

Next weekend we are busy in the deep pool with rescue, dry suit and confined open water courses, whilst Ian will be at Stoney Cove teaching advanced open water courses. If there is any other course you would like to do at Stoney or in the pool, or would just like to join in, please don’t hesitate to give the centre a call!

Update on upcoming events:

We are away almost every weekend until November training or diving!

July 11th	Working with the Scouts at Gilwell 24 (24 hours of non-stop activity including DSDs, which we are running from 7pm until the early morning!)
August 22nd-23rd	Swanage for 2 days diving off the Pier, with Divers Down

Sunday Catch Up

This year’s dive calendar is beginning to fill up! We have the following booked for the rest of this year:

May 23rd-24th:	Express Weekend, where we will be running rescue, open water, dry suit, DSDs and anyone who wants to jump in at Basildon deep pool
June:	Training at Nemes or Gildenburgh every weekend
July 3rd-10th:	Marsa Alam (Red Sea) trip with Writtle College, to carry on the conservation work we started last year with previous students
July 11th:	Gillwell 24 – 5pm till 5am!
July 25th-26th:	Deep Diver and Search and Recovery Specialities in Chepstow
July/August:	Weekend trip to Swanage TBC
August 5th-12th:	Red Sea trip at Fury & Friends on a liveaboard
October 24th-25th:	Farnes Island weekend trip

We have a few places left for the Farnes Island and August Red Sea trips, so if you’re interested, please get in touch with the centre! As well as all these events, we will be training every weekend until November, but there will be other events added to the list throughout the year!

We will shortly be posting an events calendar as part of the blog, as well as through Facebook events!

Over the last week we have again been very busy, Gary working with Basildon Academies After School Club on Monday, Tuesday night in Basildon deep pool with various courses running and Thursday night at South Woodham Ferrers pool.

This week we have had numerous deliveries from different suppliers, and Gary has spent most of the week trying to find space for the new stock, whilst also sorting out the current equipment!

We have had a diverse weekend with Dave at Nemes on Saturday completing Open Water Dives 1 and 2 on his course, whilst Ian H. and Andy Harris travelled to Stoney Cove on Sunday to complete Advanced Open Water course. Back at he centre however, it was an early start on Saturday to meet the compressor engineer to change the filters and conducting an air purification test. This is one of the many hidden costs of running a dive centre and as the old adage “How do you end up with a million pound in diving? Start with two!” The rest of the day was spent with Nick pumping sixty cylinders, whilst Rhonda Richer and Mark Prior sorted both storage containers! A colossal effort from Rhonda and Mark - thank you both so much, we can now actually walk in and out of the containers!

Next week we will have a photo gallery from Ben's trip to the Red Sea - sorry for the delay, it's Gary's fault!

Sunday Catch Up

Sorry again for the late blog last week, and we’re one day late again this week because of Scuba Fest!

Although Monday was supposed to be spent pumping lots of tanks after the previous weekend, Gary was late getting out of Basildon Academies that morning after mentoring some of the students! As well as this, Janie had the day off and Gary had to return to the school in the afternoon for the After School Diving Club, so by the time Gary arrived back at the dive centre, he had a very busy evening sorting paperwork!

On Tuesday, Gary was able to put all the kit away from the weekend before a great night in the deep pool in Basildon. That evening we had DSDs, Open Water courses and Dry Suit courses all taking place at the same time, as well as four new students from Anglia Ruskin University, who were all having their first taster of scuba diving! All four enjoyed their time with us in the pool and we are looking forward to starting their Open Water Courses soon! We also had Fernando join the dry suit courses, as he was testing out his new dry suit ready for the weekend!

By Wednesday, there was time to start pumping the tanks from the weekend, but now also with the tanks from Tuesday’s pool night! However in the afternoon, James from Scubapro came into the dive centre to discuss new scuba gear and we bought fifteen new regulator sets for the dive school, as well as a few other pieces of equipment for the shop! Up until now we have used Cressi regulators and have had a very good experience with them, but we felt it was time to change, as we are no longer a Cressi dealer and we therefore cannot service the regulators in-house.

South Woodham Ferrers pool night on Thursday saw Gary back in the pool with the SEAL team, who are improving brilliantly! Rhonda, Dave and Gill were all with their open water students, whilst Jamie was with a DSD student, who he also worked with on Tuesday night. Although the student got to the bottom of the deep pool on Tuesday, they were not comfortable in such depth and so we suggested trying out SWF pool to see if they still liked scuba diving. This seemed to work much better and they will be retuning next week for another try dive!

Friday was spent getting everything sorted for Scuba Fest in Cornwall, which included kit checks and tank filling. After a nine-hour journey that night and arriving at 1am, everyone enjoyed some sleep before waking at 6:30am for the first weekend dive! We were diving at Porthkerris, but as easterly winds were coming in, we ended up meeting the boat at Falmouth. Gary watched everyone board the boat in mist and rain, as he stayed behind due to suffering a migraine. Everyone retuned an hour and half later after a great dive seeing three types of rays, Gurnards and some very big barrel jellyfish! There was then a two hour wait for the second dive to a small wreck, which was in the bay as the weather beyond there was still rough. Everyone then went to The Shark Fin Restaurant on Mevagissey harbour front on Saturday night, where we all enjoyed great food and service!

On Sunday we went down to Porthkerris for a couple of dives: a drift just off shore and a pinnacle called Penwen! Both were great dives and we saw lots of life under the sea including Barrel Jellyfish, Ling, Cod, Dead Men’s Fingers, Jewelled Anemones and one thing that was great to see was lots of Pink Sea Fans! Back at Scuba Fest, Gary popped in to see PADI, Fourth Element, Suunto Atomics and the other companies who were attending, and it was great to catch up with old friends! In the evening everyone spent the night at Gary’s van for an indoor BBQ, as it was raining, but all had a great night with friends and a few drinks.

Gary would also like to say a big thank you to everyone who made the long journey down this weekend, especially Richard, Tony, Fernando, Joe, Gill, Rhonda, Sharon, Holly, Russell, Paul, Graham and their families!

Next week we are in the deep pool on Tuesday night, South Woodham Ferrers on Thursday evening. If there are also any staff who are able to come to the centre on Saturday, we would very much appreciate your help sorting the rest of the open water kit in the containers!