Submission Dive

Sub-Mission Blog has moved

2011-01-24T19:16:00.000Z

Sub-Mission blog has moved to a new home where it looks nicer, is easier to navigate, easier to find and has loads of great new features.

It is now contained within our website, which is far more logical and can be found here at www.divecourses.co.uk/diveblog

If you signed up for this blog, unfortunately you'll need to sign up again but the new system also features a forum so that you can have your say too.

Check this out at www.divecourses.co.uk/diveblog/forum

Thanks for keeping an eye on this blog and hopefully we'll be able to offer you an ever better blog than before.

Katy

Congratulations to Phill and Lauren for getting engaged…underwater!

2011-01-10T18:17:00.000Z

Sub-Mission would like to offer massive Congratulations to Lauren and Phill who got engaged underwater last night.

As they are going travelling for a year on Wednesday, it was easy to persuade Lauren that she needed to come along to a pool session to practise her skills with Katy. Little did she know that Phill had been in the pool recently, checking out the dimensions of the deep end of the pool for the banner that was designing and having especially made with ‘Lauren will you Marry Me?’ printed across it.

Half way through the pool session Phill made his excuses and got out of the pool to go and put on his tuxedo. Meanwhile, all of the club members vacated the deep end leaving Katy and Lauren practicing mask removal skills whilst the banner was lowered into the pool.

When Phill was in place on the bottom, ring box in hand in front of the banner, Katy let Lauren put her mask back on and turn around to view the proposal. Of course she said yes and everyone in the pool gave a wild round of applause as the couple sealed it with an underwater kiss!

So gents, Phill has put you all to shame with an amazing and romantic underwater proposal. If anyone has a girlfriend called Lauren and would like to propose, I know where there is a banner going cheap…

We would like to wish the happy couple a magnificent year travelling and all the best for the future together. Watch this space for an underwater wedding!

Congratulations PADI Enriched Air Specialty Divers

2011-01-10T18:05:00.000Z

2011 has certainly kicked off with a great start, including 5 PADI Enriched Air Certifications completed yesterday. Lauren, Phill, Paul, Sonia and Kieran successfully completed their Specialty to give them the opportunity to dive with Enriched air in the future.

Each of them will now benefit from extended no decompression limits to give them longer on the reef, at depth or even just with the fish at Capernwray.

Each of the students learnt the theory behind enriched air, the benefits and the disadvantages as well as the procedures to obtain and analyse fills. They also learnt how to plan enriched air dives and calculate maximum depth limits.

The use of enriched air will benefit each of them by increasing the time that they will be able to spend underwater enjoying the coral reefs, wrecks and amazing marine life.

Congratulations for all your hard work and getting your heads in the books to pass your PADI Enriched Air Specialty Course so easily.

Last Day of the Sub-Mission Sale - Saturday 8th - Loads of extra special offers.

2011-01-07T22:59:00.001Z

Tomorrow is the last day of our Sale in the Dive Centre and so we've saved the best for last to give you the opportunity to save £££'s on our new and exciting Aqualung products.

Our Aqualung representative will be in the Dive Centre tomorrow with some amazing products so please take the time to come along and ask his advice as well as get chance to try on and see some pretty sexy, innovative new kit. The Whites Drysuits will really blow your mind.

So tomorrow's super savers include the Aqualung Travel Bundle. RRP on this package is £949. We are offering the package (which weighs just slightly over 8kg) for £806 with a FREE ipod Nano. And for tomorrow only, you will also get a FREE set of Fourth Element Pelagic Boots worth £39.95.

15% off all Aqualung products.

As an extra special incentive, the first customer of the day to purchase an Aqualung BCD or Regulator set will get an extra special deal. It's too good to miss but too hot to mention on here.

Also too good to miss is our courses special offer. For tomorrow only, we will be knocking 20% off every PADI course booked in the Dive Centre.

So we are really finishing the sale with a bang. We still need to make more space for some new stock so some of the items will be further reduced. Make sure you don't miss out and get a head start on the 2011 Dive Season!

The end of the sale also means that I won't be blogging everyday about the special offers but instead go back to trying to save the oceans and congratulate our new achievers! However, some of you have grabbed some really good bargains by keeping up to date with the blog so we'll continue to announce the occasion super deal for all of you who like to follow my ramblings.

Exciting New Products for 2011 – Sub-Mission will be stocking Aqualung

2011-01-06T16:50:00.000Z

Come along and see the new Aqualung and Whites products on Saturday in the Dive Centre.

We can’t keep it a secret any longer; Sub-Mission is proud to announce that we are now a stockist of the prestigious Aqualung brand. Not only that but we will also be stocking Whites exceptional Drysuits.

Aqualung products are highly rated amongst divers with the Pro QD Jacket and ladies Pearl BCD being two of the most popular on the market. As well as the Titan LX regulators and slingshot fins. We are excited to be able to offer these products to our customers.

To kick start it all we will be running a special promotion. In order to introduce the products properly we have a representative from Aqualung coming in to the Dive Centre on Saturday to bring some of the exciting new shiny bits of equipment for you to touch and feel and ask questions about. Not only that but we will also be incorporating this into our sale and offering amazing bargains on any orders taken.

So if you fancy a new BCD and want something a little different from everyone else, why not check out the ProQD i3, a new innovation in buoyancy control. Or take a look at the ultra cool light weight travel package with the very sexy new Aqualung Zuma BCD. This is a great opportunity to look at a full product range before you make your mind up. Make sure you get to the Dive Centre early though, don’t miss out on those early deals!

Fourth Element is Thursday's Sale Day

2011-01-05T21:52:00.000Z

You can’t get much better in thermal protection than Fourth Element and to celebrate their magnificent products we’re offering some fantastic savings in store tomorrow, Thursday 6th January. That means that there is only 3 more days of the sale left, so if you’ve not been down to the Dive Centre this week, why not pop in tomorrow to see what all the fuss is about!

So here are our amazing offers for tomorrow only:

5mm Gloves 20% OFF

3mm Gloves 20% OFF

5mm Hoods       20% OFF
3mm Hoods       20% OFF

Pelagic Boots    10% OFF
Amphibian Boots     10% OFF

SubX Jacket RRP £132 Now £100

SubX Salloppettes RRP £107 Now £90

Arctic Top RRP £86.95 Now £65

Arctic Leggings RRP £86.95 Now £65

Proteus 3mm Suits RRP £170 Now £120

Course offer of the Day

£50 off Advanced Open Water Diver Course if you book your course tomorrow!

And the Sale rolls on.... Wednesday is Cressi Day

2011-01-04T20:32:00.000Z

Sub-Mission Sale - Wednesday is Cressi Day

Cressi is our newest product range to be welcomed into the Dive Centre. Cressi produce some pretty sleek and sexy looking dive gear and we’re keen to get you to love Cressi as much as we do.

So for tomorrow only, Wednesday 5th January, here are our amazing special Cressi offers;

Aquapro 5 BCD Reduced from £189 to £169

Evolution Crystal Mask Reduced from £49.95 to £40

Reaction Fins Reduced from £65 to £50

Travel Lite BCD Reduced to £220

Cobra Swimming Goggles Reduced from £15 to £10

PADI Open Water Diver Course Special Offer.

If a friend or relative signs up for the PADI Open Water Diver Course tomorrow and pays in full, either they receive a 10% discount or you get the credit to put towards a course or equipment purchase.

Sub-Mission Sale Continues... Tuesday is Poseidon Day

2011-01-03T20:26:00.000Z

And the Deals carry on… Tuesday is Poseidon Day

Poseidon is probably one of our most prestigious brands in the Dive Centre and is renowned for the quality of its products, suitable for every sort of diving but especially good for technical dives.

We are offering the following fantastic deals on Poseidon products tomorrow, Tuesday 4th January. But hurry into the Dive Centre as some of the offers only have a few items left.

Poseidon Baseball Cap 15% Off

Poseidon Water Bottle 15% Off

Poseidon Classic Sunglasses 15% Off

Poseidon T-Shirts 15% Off

Poseidon Phantom Masks    30% Off
Poseidon Gloves     25% Off
Poseidon Base Layer Sweater & Leggings      Was £50     Now £35

Poseidon Regulators

Cyklon 1st & 2nd Stage RRP £386 Offer £275

Jetstreams 1st & 2nd Stage RRP £425 Offer £305

XStream 1st & 2nd Stage RRP £435 Offer £325

There are only 2 of each of these Regulator sets in stock so please make sure you come in early to avoid disappointment.

Poseidon W100 Wing & Harness RRP £500 Offer £375

Poseidon W50 Wing & Harness RRP £450 Offer £335

These offers are only available in store on Tuesday 4th January

Book onto the PADI Advanced Open Water Course and get the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Course FREE

If you come into the Dive Centre tomorrow and book onto the PADI Advanced Open Water Course you will get a FREE PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty Course. That's a massive saving of £100!!

Bank Holiday Monday - Daily Deal Northern Diver Discounts!

2011-01-02T21:06:00.001Z

In line with our Massive January Sale, tomorrow we begin our Deal of the Day. These Daily Deals will run all week but will be different each day and last for only one day. Each day we will offer additional unbeatable deals on selected product ranges as well as savings on courses. In order for you to be able to take full advantage of our deals we will also be extending our opening hours to 7pm all week to accommodate working hours and hectic schedules.

Monday is Northern Diver Discount Day!

Are you thinking about taking the plunge into a Drysuit? Are you looking for a BCD which will be perfect for taking abroad but rugged enough for UK diving? Well, make sure you come down to the Dive Centre tomorrow and check out our Discounted Northern Diver Stock.

Here are a few of the amazing offers available:

Divemaster Drysuit V10       RRP £675      Now £545 with a free Northern Diver Arctic Undersuit or Flectalon worth upto £130

HID Drysuit       RRP £995       Now £750 with a free Northern Diver Arctic Undersuit or Flectalon worth upto £130

RBX2 Drysuit      RRP £875      Now £720 with a free Northern Diver Arctic Undersuit or Flectalon worth upto £130

Vortex Blue Drysuit      RRP £525      Now £410

Voyager Drysuit      RRP £499       Now £400

Aquarius Drysuit       RRP £425       Now £400

Northern Diver GTEK BCD        RRP £225       Now £175

Northern Diver Guardian BCD        RRP £199       Now £160

Jupiter Regulators        RRP £299         Now £199

Semitech Semi Dry          RRP £225        Now £199

NDB10 Bag        RRP £35       Now £25

Pony Clamp        RRP £65       Now £40

Sign up for PADI Deep and Wreck Specialty and get PADI Enriched Air completely FREE.
Yes, that's right. If you sign up for the PADI Deep and Wreck Specialty tomorrow, you'll get the PADI Enriched Air Specialty absolutely FREE.

This offer is for Monday only. This offer is only available for new Course bookings and excludes any courses already booked.

These discounts cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. The offers are limited to Monday 3rd January and are only available in store.

Free PADI Advanced Open Water Course

2010-12-31T00:29:00.003Z

Are you a PADI Open Water Diver looking for your next Scuba adventure. Have you considered the PADI Advanced Open Water course, or are you eager to dip your toes into the realms of PADI Specialty training programs instead.

By completing 5 PADI Specialty courses with Sub-Mission, you will receive the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification completely FREE. This represents a massive saving of £225.

All you need to do to take advantage of this offer is to select one of the PADI Specialty packages listed below and pay a deposit to secure your package booking. Finally select convenient course dates from the 2011 on-line schedule; it's as easy as that.

Once confirmed, call into the dive centre to pick up your training materials for your 1st chosen PADI Specialty & to arrange any equipment requirements.

Once you've completed 5 PADI Specialties, including Deep & Underwater Naviagtion, you'll also receive your PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certification as well.

Not only is this a fantastic opportunity to save £££'s, you'll also benefit by being able to spread the cost of the package over a period of 6 months.

So if your ready to 'Escape In 2011', this package is the perfect opportunity to combine excitement, adventure & furthering your diving career.

UK Package: - Deep, Underwater Navigation, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Dry Suit, Wreck

Tech Package: - Deep, Underwater Navigation, Enriched Air Nitrox, DPV, Wreck

Liveaboard/Holiday Package: - Deep, Underwater Navigation, Enriched Air Nitrox, Digital Underwater Photography, Wreck

Conservation/Green Package: - Deep, Underwater Navigation, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Underwater Naturalist, Digital Underwater Photography

Underwater Explorer Package: - Deep, Underwater Navigation, Enriched Air Nitrox, Multi-Level, Search & Recovery
Ocean Diver Package: - Deep, Underwater Navigation, Boat, Drift, Peak Performance Buoyancy
If you have any questions or wish to discuss course options, then please don't hesitate to contact Katy at katy@divecourses.co.uk, or call us on 01782 207474.

Massive January Sale!!

2010-12-30T10:20:00.000Z

Yes, that’s right; we are having a Massive January sale! In preparation for some new and exciting stock that is expected in January, we are clearing the decks and slashing prices.

Starting at 10.00 am on Saturday 1st January, the sale ends at 5pm on Saturday 8th January.

Here are just a few of the exciting offers available:

Beuchat Focea II comfort 5mm Wetsuit – RRP £259, Sale Price £179

Seac Sub Propulsion fins - Half Price

Northern Diver Flectalon Undersuits – RRP £130, Sale Price £65

Seac Sub Syren BCD’s – RRP £345, Sale Price £225

Sale items are only available for current stock and so the offers are limited to certain sizes and colours. When they are gone, we won’t be restocking! Whilst the biggest savings will be on these clearance items, there will be discounts off other brands such as Apeks, Poseidon and many more….

Get 10% off Fourth Element Amphibian boots, Masks discounted to £15 (Great for a spare) and Titanium Knives that were £49.95 will be £30.

We will also be having an extra special daily sale item. These will be advertised on Facebook, our blog and the newsfeed on the front page of our website and will only be available for that given day and may only be purchased in store. Keep an eye out for these deals but hurry into the Dive Centre if you want to take advantage of the superb savings.

Come along to the Dive Centre and see just what we’ve got to shout about!

Paul celebrates PADI Master Scuba Diver rating

2010-12-19T15:24:00.000Z

Paul is one of the quieter members of Sub-Mission Dive Club but nothing can curb his enthusiasm for the sport, he really has caught the ‘Scuba Bug’. His latest achievement is certainly one to be proud of; he has reached the dizzy heights of PADI Master Scuba Diver.

The PADI Master Scuba Diver rating is the highest non-professional certification that a diver can achieve, often stated as the ‘Black Belt’ of diving. This accreditation demonstrates Pauls experience and expertise in several different areas of specialisation. Paul learnt to dive abroad and took the brave step to don a drysuit and jump into Capernwray in February and since then there has been no looking back. He has specialised in Drysuit diving, Peak Performance Buoyancy (which Paul considers to be one of the most beneficial courses that he’s completed), Wreck diving, Underwater Navigation and Deep Diving. He has also recently completed his Rescue Diver Course where he showed that he can be a great asset in an emergency situation both in his decision making ability and his rescue skills.

Pauls name will soon be added to the Master Scuba Diver Roll of Honour board in the Dive Centre with the other members of this very elite group of divers. Congratulations Paul on your hard work and lets hope that 2011 proves to be an equally active year for you.

Four New Emergency First Response Instructors

2010-12-19T15:00:00.000Z

Phew! It’s been a busy time for PADI Professional level courses and there are just no signs of it stopping with another four students to congratulate. In order to complete the PADI Instructor Development Course; Barry, Simon, Jo and Paul had to complete the PADI Emergency First Response Instructor Course.

They gave up a couple of days to come and complete the course, which will give them the skills and knowledge to teach the PADI Emergency First Response course to divers or non divers. The ability to teach such a valuable course will hopefully lead to some positive outcomes for any students who have to give CPR or First aid in the future.

With that in mind, each of them learned how to structure the Emergency First Response Course as well as their role in teaching First Aid and CPR skills. They were also tasked and evaluated on motivating students and developing their hands-on skills practice, effective skills presentations and scenario-based learning. They each perfected their infant and child first aid and CPR skills as a portion of this program.

They found it nerve wracking standing up and giving a presentation for the first time but accomplished each assessment with ease and eventually confidence. They will go on to provide valuable training for a subject that is very close to mine and Darren’s hearts. Congratulations Emergency First Response Instructors

Darren and Lyndon complete the PADI Tec Deep Instructor Course

2010-12-19T12:26:00.000Z

After much practice and study, Darren and Lyndon finally crossed over to the Dark Side and came out as PADI Tec Deep Instructors.

As many of you will know, Lyndon and Darren have a keen interest in technical diving and deeper diving and are chomping at the bit to be able to pass on that knowledge and passion to some of you as future TecRec students. But in order to be able to teach the new structure of PADI TecRec they had to first be examined and scrutinised themselves on their dive skills.

The PADI Tec Deep Instructor course that they completed comprised of classroom presentations, Open Water dives including teaching skills and problem solving, demonstration quality skills including shut downs, stage drills and SMB use as well as decompression theory and dive planning exams. They were certainly put through their paces. They both deserve huge congratulations for the hard work that they had to put in to complete the course as well as their bravery in the cold.

So what now? Well now we are going to trial the TecRec programs, put course schedules together and then get you interested in pushing your limits further. The PADI TecRec Programs that Sub-Mission can currently teach are the PADI Tec 40, Tec 45 and Tec 50. These courses each take you one stage deeper and more involved in decompression considerations, diving with technical equipment and planning deeper dives so that you can explore more, spend longer deeper and essentially escape into a different type of diving.

For more information on PADI TecRec Courses come into the Dive Centre, call on 01782 207474 or email katy@divecourses.co.uk

PADI Assistant Instructor Success

2010-12-19T11:53:00.001Z

As you may have guessed from several starry eyed and grinning faces, we have 4 new PADI Instructors; Barry, Simon, Jo and Paul. But although I wasn’t quick enough writing the blog about Barry and Simon completing their PADI Assistant Instructor Course I must congratulate them as well as Ian and Tim who worked really hard in order to complete the course.

The PADI Assistant Instructor course is one of the most rewarding PADI programs you can do but with that goes an awful lot of time, effort and preparation during the course. Ian, Tim, Barry and Simon certainly deserve recognition for their success.

The course is made up of several components but essentially each one is based around the ability to now teach students. Classroom presentations must be completed as well as pool presentations, skill practice with ‘problem students’, open water presentations, rescue assessments and further theory exams. Each one of the candidates was scored during the process and certainly there was a significant improvement by the end of the course. Ian must get a special mention as he did a fantastic job of overcoming his anxiety of speaking in public and scored highly for his classroom presentations, we're not sure about his giant stride entry from the top of the cliff though!

Barry and Simon went straight on to complete the PADI Instructor Development Course and although Ian and Tim haven’t yet they too will fly through the Instructor process and make fantastic PADI Instructors but for now, we are looking forward to their involvement with Sub-Mission in their new role as PADI Assistant Instructor. Well Done.

January 16th 2011 - Murrayfield Hyperbaric Chamber Dry Dive

2010-12-19T11:26:00.000Z

Sunday morning; the perfect day for deep diving! You get up early and it’s really cold outside but you’re not worried as you’ll be warm and dry on your dive. 50 metres is your planned depth and you’re looking forward to enjoying the effects of nitrogen narcosis without the worry of acting foolishly whilst diving. Too good to be true? No, we’re on our way to Murrayfield Hyperbaric Chamber (and not in the back of an ambulance!)

Sub-Mission definitely rates the day trip to the Hyperbaric facility as one of the best days out and on Sunday 16th January 2011 the Sub-Mission Dive Club will be visiting the chamber. The itinerary is a presentation followed by a 50 metre dry dive. The presentation itself is extremely beneficial to all divers as topics covered include the facility itself, the mechanics of decompression sickness, signs and symptoms, treatment and how to stay conservative and avoid decompression sickness.

The actual dive itself is one of the most hilarious experiences available without alcohol. Due to the increased density of the gas the vocal chords begin to vibrate causing everyone to speak like they’ve spent the last hour inhaling helium! Combine this with the narcotic and euphoric effects of nitrogen narcosis and you have mayhem. Its laughter all round as you reach 50m and the odd chorus of “Night Fever” strikes up and one of the group begins to dance in the middle. Cameras and microphones allow everyone outside to cringe as you laugh, cackle and giggle all the way back to the surface and everyone wants to back down again.

Dive computers can be put in the bucket and log books are stamped as proof of the dive. The trip is a must for all divers and we’re planning the next day out on January 16th. Make sure you book early to confirm your place!

The minimum age for this event is 16 with the minimum level of PADI Open Water Diver or equivalent. The experience is great value at only £25 per person and as spaces are limited to 15, be quick to reserve your place. Get in touch with Katy on 01782 207474, katy@divecourses.co.uk or come into the Dive Centre.

2011 Course Dates Now Available On-Line

2010-12-15T23:50:00.001Z

We know that many of you are already planning your diving calendar for 2011, so we hope that publishing our course dates for the entire year of 2011 would give you a helping hand.

Why not treat yourself for christmas & book that PADI specialty that you have your eye on. Or better still, drop the hints to friends and family and they can sign you up on-line today. A convenient way of getting what your want for christmas.

If you're interested in the PADI Rescue Diver course, simply choose your preferred course date and pick up the training pack to give you something to do over the festive break.

2011 is set to be a fantastic year with Sub-Mission, as we introduce exciting new courses including PADI Tec diving programs & the newly revised PADI Divemaster course.

As one of the UK's leading Project AWARE dive centres, we are really excited about next years planned environmental activities, including 3 beach clean-ups, skate tagging & 'Go Free' weeks. So if you want to make a difference in 2011, get involved.

Following up on the huge success of this years dive club 'Gone Diving' activities, plans are already in place to continue this into 2011 with some exciting & new ideas.

Of course this doesn't detract from our busy dive trip & holiday calendar, with trips to Malta & Egypt in the pipeline.

2011 is set to be the most exciting & action packed year to date. Forget about the winter weather & the doom and gloom of the economy and escap it all with Sub-Mission.

Escape In 2011... Dive Sub-Mission

Huge Congratulations To Sub-Mission's Newest PADI Instructors

2010-12-15T23:23:00.001Z

2010 has been a fantastic year for Sub-Mission dive centre, with more people choosing to do Scuba courses with us than ever before.So it was always going to be difficult to finish the year on a high, but what better way than the fantastic success of 4 new PADI Instructors.

Jo, Paul, Barry & Simon continued Sub-Mission's 100% PADI Instructor exam pass rate. We would like to congratulate them all, not only for passing the 2 day PADI Examination, but for their fantastic performances that make us proud to say that they are part of the Sub-Mission team.

Over the past few months each of them have been working hard to perfect their instructional skills including dive theory, classroom presentations, swimming pool & open water teaching presentations.

The last 2 days has seen all four of them work as a team during the PADI Instructor exam in Rugby & Stoney Cove. To say that they were anxious is an understatement, but nevertheless, they all performed outstandingly and received high marks in all area's.

We wish them all the best for the future & look forward to working with them.

I would like to thank Clive Albon for once again producing some outstanding candidates, I would also like to thank the entire Sub-Mission dive team in supporting us in our efforts to fully prepare Jo, Paul, Barry & Simon.

2011 is quickly approaching & with it an action packed year of new courses & activities to keep them all busy.

Congratulations

Well, how do you top a fantastic year

Cressi Scuba Diving Equipment Now Available At Sub-Mission

2010-12-15T22:47:00.001Z

Sub-Mission are pleased to announce the arrival of the popular Scuba diving brand Cressi-Sub to our extensive range of quality diving equipment. Cressi is an established manufacturer within 60 years of experience within the diving industry. They offer a wide range of products including Scuba Diving, Spearfishing, Snorkeling & Swimming equipment.

So if you are you looking for some super duper new fins? A new light weight BCD for travelling with? Or a mask with a silicone skirt that will never discolour? Then why not come along to the Dive Centre and we will show you our exciting new range of Cressi products.

We have had a range of new BCD’s to include the S111R and the Travel Light which is great for taking on holiday with you. We have even had some gorgeous pink fins as well as mask and snorkel sets for those ladies (and gents) who want to be colour co-ordinated.

We’ve also taken stock of the Cressi Eclipse regulators which are not only compact and light weight but also cold water rated for all of your UK diving. If you’re looking for a shorty wet suit for holiday then come in and check out the new designs so that you look super cool whilst you’re away.

We’ve also stocked some of the products from the swimming range including training fins for children and swimming goggles.

If you would like any information on any of the new products please feel free to call in or email me at katy@divecourses.co.uk

Jenny's 'Gone Festive' - December 19th 5.30pm

2010-12-03T15:16:00.000Z

Jenny's 'Gone Festive'

Christmas is fast approaching and Sub-Mission Dive Club is getting into the festive spirit! For December’s ‘gone diving’ event Jenny has organised a night of scuba fun and games on a Christmas theme, 5.30-7.30pm on Sunday 19th December at Newcastle Community pool.

You can enter the competition in teams of two people. It is free to enter and involves a series of timed fun activities for you to complete. Do you and your buddy think you are up for the challenge? Do you fancy having a laugh and using your scuba skills to see how quickly you can get the scuba presents in the Christmas stockings?

The fastest team to successfully complete the circuit will win, with a small prize for the winning team. An even smaller consolation prize will be available for the slowest team and there will even be a little something for the team with the best name! Supporters are welcome to come and cheer you on from the pool side!

Afterwards everyone is invited back to the Cherry Tree pub (just down the road) to toast the winning team and bask in their reflected glory (or plot your rise to victory for the next challenge, depending on how competitive you are!)

If you want to enter the competition you need to register your team. If you are interested please contact Katy at the Dive Centre by Friday 17th December to confirm team members and register the name of your team. Call us on 01782 207474 or pop in to the dive centre to register.

November’s Gone Diving Day - Syd's Gone Treasure Hunting

2010-11-03T11:01:00.000Z

Syd’s Gone Treasure Hunting

Syd has the task of organising November’s Gone Diving Day and before the winter sets in he is keen on getting everyone into the water for some treasure hunting fun.

Syd is organising an underwater treasure hunt at Eccleston Delph on Sunday 21st November. It’s not quite Davy Jones’s locker but it’s a brilliant venue for a treasure hunt. Anyone is welcome to enter and take a chance at winning. The idea will be that buddy teams will enter the water and try to collect as much ‘treasure’ as possible over 2 dives. Each buddy team will write their name on the treasure so that it can go into a prize draw. Then for each of the prizes on offer, we will randomly pull out some treasure to reveal the winners.

Entry fee for the competition is £10 each person and will need to be paid in the shop prior to the 21st November. The more people to enter the bigger the prizes!!

Prizes will be Vouchers to spend in the shop on Dive Equipment as well as PADI Dive Courses.

There will also be a mystery prize for a piece of treasure collected.

So, if you’re looking for one last dive before the winter, a day out diving and a really good laugh then come along and get treasure hunting…

Contact Katy at the Dive Centre or email to Katy@divecourses.co.uk

Congratulations to new PADI Divemasters

2010-11-03T10:32:00.000Z

Sub-Mission would like to congratulate Simon and Barry on their success in obtaining the PADI Divemaster Certification. They have certainly worked hard over the last few months to achieve this prestigious status.

Barry and Simon have completed each element of the PADI Divemaster Course to earn them the first of their professional PADI certifications.

Both of them found different aspects of the course challenging and rewarding but overall they excelled in the Divemaster Program. We are incredibly proud of their hard work and commitment and wish them the very best in their professional career. Next Step Assistant Instructor!

Shark Awareness Evening Success

2010-11-03T10:02:00.000Z

I would like to thank everyone who came along to the Shark Awareness evening last Monday. I was amazed that we had such a good turnout for something that I had advertised as quite grim watching and slightly depressing. It certainly showed me that our divers are concerned about the environment and passionate about making a difference.

The documentary that we watched showed the grim reality of the shark finning trade and the impact that it will have if it continues in the future.

The discussion afterwards regarding what we can do to get involved was encouraging as some really achievable ideas were presented. Watch this space for future projects…

The evening was concluded with a brilliant presentation by Lucy from the Sea Life Centre at Alton Towers. She was tasked with lightening the mood and did so by showing some of the successful projects that Sea Life Centres are involved in, such as Turtle rescue, sea horse breeding and legislative changes.

It was a really encouraging night and I personally would like to thank everyone for giving up their time as well as the donations that were raised for Project AWARE.

Many Thanks, Katy

Kelly Completes Master Scuba Diver!

2010-11-01T11:25:00.000Z

Now that her name has finally arrived and has been mounted on the MASTER SCUBA DIVER ROLL of HONOUR Board in the Dive Centre, we would like to congratulate Kelly on her achievement of the prestigious PADI Master Scuba Diver award. This demonstrates her knowledge of Specialist areas of diving such as Enriched Air, Deep diving and Wreck diving as well as dive experience by proving that she has completed more than 50 dives.

The PADI Master Scuba Diver rating also shows that Kelly has completed her PADI Rescue Diver Course and is competent in diver safety and rescue procedures.

This certification is the highest PADI rating for those who have not embarked on the PADI Divemaster and Instructor route and so shows Kelly’s diving ability and experience. We would like to congratulate her on her hard work and success! Well Done Kelly!

Congratulations Sub-Mission Students

2010-11-01T11:19:00.000Z

PADI Open Water Divers

Congratulations to Ben and Emily who certified as PADI Open Water Divers last weekend. The two teenagers had flown through the pool skills and were really keen to get into the open water and experience diving in a more realistic environment.

They completed their dives at Eccleston Delph, where the visibility was much better than expected. Ben and Emily got to explore underwater, finding many of the interesting features such as the tank, the containers and the playground where they were both keen to get on the see saw!

The two of them were brilliant at the skills and certainly made it very easy students to teach. The buoyancy skills demonstrated by both of them was certainly amongst the best that we have seen this year.

Well done for your hard work and we’re glad to say that you are both now PADI Open Water Divers!

PADI Enriched Air Specialty Divers

Sub-Mission would like to congratulate the PADI Enriched Air Specialty students for their success last week. In preparation for holidays and longer UK dives; Simon, Paul and Paul completed the course to make the most out of their dive time.

The use of enriched air will benefit each of them by increasing the time that they will be able to spend underwater enjoying the coral reefs, wrecks and amazing marine life.

At the request of Simon, they also completed the course using Enriched Air Computers instead of the PADI Enriched Air Tables, giving them less time planning dives and more time in the water.

PADI Wreck Specialty Divers

The new plane at Capernwray is a great feature to learn wreck techniques on and Sub-Mission students had a blast on Saturday getting to grips with mapping, line laying and exploring every nook and cranny of it.

Paul, James, Ant, Giles, Barry, Paul and Tim were great PADI Wreck Specialty students who enthusiastically threw themselves in to each task presented to them. They showed efficient and cohesive team work, especially during the actual penetration of the wreck. There were some moments of entanglement as they began to learn the techniques of reeling along the outside but soon mastered it.

The staff had a great day with the PADI Wreck Specialty students so thanks very much and congratulations.

PADI Advanced Open Water Students

Well done to those students who were busy over the weekend completing the PADI Advanced Open Water Course and Adventure Diver.

Sharon, Kate, Sophie, Lee, Nick and Geoff all completed the core Deep and Navigation Dives and then chose to also try their hand at photography, peak performance buoyancy, drysuit, search & recovery and wreck diving.

There were some cracking photo’s taken over the photography dives with some hopefully making their way onto the flickr account some time soon.

Syd also managed to tie the students up in knots with underwater searching as well as rigging a lift bag and bringing it to the surface.

Again, a great set of students who kept the staff laughing throughout the weekend!

Steve's Gone Night Diving - October 27th

2010-10-18T17:12:00.000+01:00

The nights are drawing in but the water temp is still in double figures (just) and Sub-Mission's going Mid Week Diving. For those of you carefully planning how you can get in as many dives as possible before the winter sets in this may be the perfect opportunity for you. With a night dive planned as well it is also an excellent time to try something completely new, adventurous and exciting. All under the watchful eye of Steve who will be organising the day and making sure everything runs smoothly.

We are going to Capernwray on Wednesday 27th October to take advantage of their late night opening with only one more after this date. The plan is to get a couple of orientation dives done in the afternoon, a dive as its going dusk and then a proper UK night dive.

If you just want to join us for afternoon instead of the evening, that’s cool as well; it’s just another opportunity for you to get your fins wet.

Steve has worked out some approx dive times for those who want to join him on the day:

13:15, 15:30, 17:45 and 19:45.

You’ll need to bring along your cameras for the sturgeon spotting as well as torches for the night dive. Any kit hire needs to be booked and picked up from the Dive Centre so please call Katy on 01782 207474.

So to make sure Steve has a buddy on the day, please confirm your attendance with Katy (katy@divecourses.co.uk)

BBC iPlayer - Horizon: 2010-2011: The Death of the Oceans?

2010-10-05T10:50:00.000+01:00

BBC iPlayer - Horizon: 2010-2011: The Death of the Oceans?

Last night, whilst sitting at home I was flicking through the channels and heard the infamous voice of David Attenborough. Now anytime I hear his voice I know it's going to be a nature program and so I payed a little more attention. Brilliant, there were images of coral reefs and gorgeous blue seas so I settled in to watch. I soon realised that this wasn't a program that was going to leave me wanting to cuddle the lovely fish; this was going to call me to action to do something about the plight of the oceans.

As David Attenborough said "the oceans are the lungs of the world and we are killing them making it impossible for the world to breathe and exist". He wasn't just talking about fish stocks being depleted but other issues such as increased carbon emissions resulting in acidification of the seas, noise pollution affecting whales and dolphins as well as human pressures causing lasting damage to the marine environment.

However, with all of these 'hard to watch' programs there is always a positive message that we can contribute and have an impact. I urge you to take an hour out to follow this link and watch the Horizon episode. Let me know your thoughts. Darren and I are trying to develop some new ideas for next year to get the dive club more involved in environmental issues. If you have any idea's please don't hesitate to send them to me at katy@divecourses.co.uk

Many Thanks, Katy

Full Range Of Northern Diver Drysuits Now Available

2010-10-04T00:01:00.000+01:00

Sub-Mission Dive Centre is pleased to announce the arrival of a much wider range of Drysuits from Northern Diver, the UK's leading supplier of Scuba diving drysuits. Northern Diver suits are supplied to the UK Ministry Of Defence, Elite Special Forces, Fire & Rescue Services, Search & Rescue Services & Commercial Divers. With this prestigious list of clients, you can be assured of a quality product at an affordable price.

We have increased our range of drysuits to encompass the whole range of Northern Divers Recreational Diving suits. The range includes the lightweight breathable Aquarius drysuit through to the newly launched HID Trilaminate drysuit.

Our aim is to offer our customers a choice of drysuit in the size they require at competitive prices. We are confident that we have the largest selection of in stock drysuits in the area, making us your number one choice for drysuits.

The new range of drysuits include:

RBX II Drysuit
Divemaster Drysuit
Vortex Drysuit
Aquarius Drysuit
Voyager Drysuit
HID Drysuit

Each drysuit is supplied with a matching neoprene hood, zipped drysuit storage bag, Valves & Hose & a drysuit maintenance kit. (*excluding suits on special offer)

Whilst most customers will generally fit into a stock sized suit, we may on occassion need to order alterations or made to measure dry suits direct from Northern Diver.

We hope that this step, will enable us to better service our customers needs and enable you to walk away on the day with your choice of drysuit.

Project AWARE International Clean Up day - Sub-Mission's Grand day out.

2010-09-29T14:10:00.000+01:00

Thank you to everyone who attended the Project AWARE Beach Clean Up on Saturday. We had a fantastic day with the most amazing weather and gorgeous sunny skies.

Katy had planned to clean Bull Bay but upon inspection the beach was incredibly clean, which is testament to the local community’s effort to keep litter off the beach. So, we decided to drive down to Trearddur Bay and clean up the main public beach at the top of Ravenspoint Road. Just as Trefor Beach fooled us into believing it was a clean beach, we actually collected a massive 74kg of rubbish on what looked like a well looked after area. The tide must play some part in washing fresh rubbish ashore everyday as this is a beach that is regularly cleaned.

With our team of 48 volunteers, including the group of Cub Scouts who came along to give us a hand, we set to work collecting rubbish from the shoreline and underwater after a briefing from Darren and Katy. The underwater teams found very little litter and again this may be attributed to divers collecting on their dives, although what was found was collated and carefully disposed of.

Some of the items found on Saturday include:

243 Lengths of fishing line
232 Food wrappers / containers
94 Glass Bottles
105 Lengths of rope
134 Cigarette stubs
1 Firework
1 Nappy
1 Plastic Bucket

Thanks to Tim, Barry and Jen who were on hand to keep us refreshed and fed all day with drinks and a Barbeque.

Thanks to everyone who volunteered their weekend to come along and participate in Project AWARE International Clean Up day. Hopefully you will realise that actually we can make a difference each and every time we visit the coast. Keep up the good work!

This will be Sub-Mission's last Beach and Underwater Clean Up this year, but if you would like to get involved, we have plenty of exciting idea's for next year already!

Help for Heroes Discover Scuba Session

2010-09-29T11:45:00.000+01:00

Steve, a member of Sub-Mission Dive Club was tasked with organising an event to raise money for ‘Help for Heroes’ as part of a company wide charity initiative. He decided to drag his colleagues along for a PADI Discover Scuba evening with any donations being contributed to a charity that is doing some incredible work for our brave service men and women.

The evening went swimmingly with all of Steve’s colleagues eager and enthusiastic to give Scuba a go. Andy even brought his son along to experience the thrill of breathing underwater. There was plenty of laughter during the session especially when it came to doing acrobatics down at the deep end of the pool! There were some pretty impressive head spins on the bottom as well as somersaults.

Steve got involved by taking plenty of pictures on the night and actually participated in the underwater race and although he came first, we all know he cheated. The real winner of the evening is the ‘Help for Heroes’ Charity as Steve managed to raise over £100. Thanks for organising a great evening Steve and we hope that other organised events are just as successful.

Congratulations to Dawn who has achieved the prestigious status of Master Scuba Diver Trainer!

2010-09-29T10:49:00.000+01:00

As I’m sure many of you who have had the pleasure of diving with Dawn will know that she didn’t find UK diving easy to begin with. She decided that she never wanted to get back into the water after her PADI Open Water Diver Course in the depths of a very cold February! But look at her now… there was just no stopping Dawn after the PADI Advanced Open Water Course. She is certainly a great ambassador for hard work and determination overcoming all obstacles.

Dawn became an Instructor last year and has been busy passing on her knowledge to our customers ever since. Otherwise known by the staff as Dawn Von Harsh, our divers know that Dawn is actually the epitome of patience, caring and encouragement that gets many students through the tougher aspects of some of the courses.

Not one for standing still too long, Dawn has been working towards her next step up and has now achieved the qualification of Master Scuba Diver Trainer. This shows her ability to teach a range of PADI scuba courses and also recognises that Dawn can teach at least 5 PADI Specialty Courses, including Deep and Wreck.

We can’t wait for Dawn to get stuck into teaching PADI Specialties and I’m sure that you will all join us in congratulating Dawn on her positive attitude and sometimes sheer determination to keep achieving. Well done Dawn!

Well done to the new PADI Open Water Divers and PADI Drysuit Specialty Divers!

2010-09-21T15:54:00.000+01:00

And last, but certainly not least was the huge success of the PADI Open Water Divers and Drysuit Specialty Divers. Steve, Bev, Jennie, Vicky and Darren were all successful in completing the PADI Open Water Diver certification and PADI Drysuit Specialty Diver Course.

We would like to congratulate and acknowledge them all for their hard work and determination to get through the courses. The group certainly didn’t find all of the course structure easy, especially when nerves got the better of some of them. Giant stride entry took an amazing amount of courage for Jennie and Vicky.

Thankfully the visibility at Stoney Cove was good at the weekend and although nervous about what the dives would entail, the group got stuck in and enjoyed their time underwater. The skills that they completed on each dive were done with ease and made the Instructor’s job pretty easy.

After completing the PADI Open Water Diver Course they then went onto complete the PADI Drysuit Specialty along with Charles, to enable them to get the best out of their diving all year round. Considering that Charles has only ever been a warm water diver, he did a very good job at acclimatising to the UK waters. Even though he was feeling a bit green at times, he was determined to complete all of the necessary skills. They all had a great dive and a nice underwater exploration in search of the pike, which was a lovely way to finish off a fantastic weekend.

Well done everyone!

Tim, Patrick and Paul complete their PADI Advanced Open Water Course!

2010-09-21T15:48:00.001+01:00

Tim, Paul and Patrick were getting stuck into the PADI Advanced Open Water Course over the weekend at Stoney Cove. They chose to complete a variety of dives including Drysuit, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Photography, Wreck, Navigation and Deep.

The three students completed their skills with ease over the 5 dives and certainly improved their buoyancy, amongst other things during the weekend.

The visibility was pretty fantastic giving Tim plenty of opportunity, light and clarity to get some great photo’s underwater, especially with the huge shoals of roach and perch that were ever present on the training shelf. Considering that Paul had not dived in the UK before we were really impressed with how easy he took to Drysuit diving as well as the less favourable conditions that were on offer.

Sub-Mission staff had a blast teaching the PADI Advanced Open Water Course and Ant said that the Wreck Dive was more like a pleasure dive than a training dive. Well done to the three of you!

Sub-Mission Deep Specialty - Well Done Paul!

2010-09-21T15:42:00.000+01:00

Sub-Mission ran a PADI Deep Diver Specialty as well this weekend with Paul, who was keen to be able to learn more about the techniques of deeper diving. He learnt the processes necessary with regard to planning, preparation and conducting deep dives as well as experiencing changing factors such as temperature, light and pressure as you go deeper.

Paul was also given a redundant air source to carry on one of the dives in order to get used to differing equipment considerations and configurations. He was also tasked with breathing from this during an extended safety stop to simulate an emergency scenario.

One of the skills that Paul had to complete was a timed task on the surface and then again underwater to see if he was feeling any effects of nitrogen narcosis. The time it took Paul was exactly the same for both tests however; he did say that he had to concentrate harder at depth.

Well done to Paul for a great weekend’s diving and congratulations PADI Deep Diver!

PADI Rescue Diver Course Success

2010-09-21T14:51:00.000+01:00

Another weekend finished, another bunch of happy divers with nice new certifications!

We’d like to congratulate Jenny, Jon, Paul and Mark who completed their PADI Rescue Diver over the weekend. They certainly didn’t have an easy ride and by the end of Saturday were suitably exhausted from all of their hard work.

Syd and Darren put them through their paces ensuring that they completed all of the skills required such as dealing with a panicked diver in the water, reacting to a missing diver situation, bringing an unconscious diver to the surface and rendering assistance to an unconscious diver on the surface, as well as many more.

Working in teams, the PADI Rescue students were not only expected to help with emergency situations but actually to manage the situation and control the scene. It wasn’t all hard work though; they all enjoyed the course immensely and had a good laugh throughout. They all came away with a great sense of achievement and we are sure they’ll go away feeling confident to assist another diver should the need ever arise. Well done!

PADI Coral Reef Conservation Course completed!

2010-09-21T11:26:00.000+01:00

Yet again, last night Sub-Mission hosted another successful PADI Coral Reef Conservation Specialty Course. With 13 in attendance it was a great night, full of discussion and some brilliant idea’s presented for ways to help the environment.

Everyone was enthusiastic to learn more about the aquatic realm and enjoyed the presentation, which featured various aspects of coral reefs. From fish to coral and from Mangroves to barrier reefs.

The message was loud and clear though with plenty of emphasis on what we can do to help slow down the degradation of many coral reefs around the world. Everyone went away with plenty to think about and some great idea’s on how they can make a difference. We would like to thank Paul, Denise, Jen, Mark, Tim, Andreea, Bev, Charles, Lee, Nick, Paul, Kate and Sharon for attending the course and hope that you go on to do some good for the environment.

This PADI Specialty will also class as one of the five required for the prestigious MASTER SCUBA DIVER!

If you are interested in the PADI Coral Reef Conservation Specialty Course, the next date is October 25th. Call Katy to book your place!

Sub-Mission’s next PADI Rescue Courses – October 13th or November 17th

2010-09-21T11:05:00.000+01:00

If you’ve completed your PADI Advanced Open Water Course and are wondering what to do next, why not consider the PADI Rescue Diver Course?

Ask any seasoned diver which course they enjoyed the most and the majority will quote that the PADI Rescue Diver Course is the most challenging & rewarding PADI course they took. The PADI Rescue Diver program introduces the necessary skills required in the unlikely event of a diving incident.

The PADI Rescue Diver program will build your confidence as a diver, give you valuable experience in emergency management and prevention and heighten your awareness of the surrounding environment.

You will learn the techniques needed to deal with tired, panicked, unresponsive and unconscious divers. This is developed through to worst case scenarios and in water resuscitation techniques.

Let’s face it, with those skills who wouldn’t want to buddy up with you on a dive trip or holiday!

The Next PADI Rescue Course schedules are as follows:

Wednesday 13th October 6.30pm          Dive Centre followed by pool session

Sunday 24th October 3.30pm                 Dive Centre followed by pool session

Saturday 30th October                           Capernwray

OR

Wednesday 17th November 6.30pm          Dive Centre followed by pool session

Sunday 21st November 3.30pm                 Dive Centre followed by pool session

Saturday 27th November                           TBC

The course fee is £249 for the Rescue Diver Course and £324 if you need to do the Emergency First Response Course.

Please contact Katy in the Dive Centre to book your space on this course. Spaces are limited so don’t leave it too late!

PROJECT AWARE Underwater and Beach clean up – Saturday September 25th

2010-09-09T15:57:00.000+01:00

Due to the success of the last clean up we have decided to organise another for Project AWARE International Clean up day on Saturday 25th September.

Katy is organising an Underwater and Beach Clean Up at Bull Bay, Anglesey. This will be an effort to clean up the beach and the underwater environment just off the beach. All of the rubbish will be disposed of but more importantly the data collected will be given to Project AWARE.

If last weeks clean up is anything to go by we will have a fantastic day out on the beach, some brilliant diving and a fun club activity.

We know it's not the ideal way to spend your saturday but look at it this way, you get to help the environment, get in the water for a pretty decent dive, have a laugh on the beach and finish up with a BBQ to congratulate all of your hard work!

There is also the option and possibility to camp or stay over on the Friday or Saturday night as we will be organising some diving on the Sunday at either Trearddur Bay or Vivian Quarry. There are several campsites nearby so we’ll confirm where we’re staying shortly before we go.

We'll meet and start at 10.00am on the beach.

Address for Bull Bay:

Bull Bay, Amlwch, Isle of Anglesey, LL68 9SH

So, bring your rubber gloves (or heavy duty gardening gloves), any friends and family that want to get involved and your enthusiasm to do some good for the environment and I'm sure that the Sub-Mission staff will provide plenty of entertainment as usual!

Please contact Katy at the Dive Centre to confirm numbers and also to book any equipment that you may need. Once again we are offering any equipment hire on the saturday at half price with the money going directly to the Project AWARE foundation.

Call Us On 01782 207474 or pay us a visit at the dive centre to register your participation.

Project AWARE Beach Clean up Report

2010-09-08T12:45:00.000+01:00

Sub-Mission would like to say a huge thank you to all of those people who volunteered their time on Saturday to participate in Darren’s Project AWARE Beach Cleanup. Upon first inspection of Trefor Beach and Pier we thought that the area looked pretty clean and tidy however several hours and bin bags of rubbish later we had collected 102 kg of waste!

We were overwhelmed with the turnout and once everyone was briefed set to work straight away cleaning up the vast expanse of beach whilst the divers geared themselves up for underwater cleaning. We chose to clean the underneath of the Pier and sectioned it off to ensure that each group were concentrating on a specific area. Although there was very little to clean from underneath the pier (which is a great attribute to the divers and users of the beach) the fishing hooks, lines and weights that were extracted could potentially have been disastrous for the wildlife living there.

Some facts and figures of what we found and collected:

122 Cigarettes / Filters
64 lengths of Fishing Line
69 Plastic Bags
78 Drink Cans
1 Mattress
1 Christmas Tree
1 Dead Seal
14 Fishing Hooks

Not only was it a clean up but we had a fantastic day out at the beach! Thanks to Richard and Karla Howes who organised the Barbeque for the masses, even during the rain in the afternoon.

Those that dived realised just how special the diving is at Trefor with an immense diversity of life under such a small pier. We saw seals, crabs, shrimps, blennies, gobies, plaice, pipefish, dogfish, scorpionfish and loads more. It was a fantastic day for all of those who took part.

Once again, many thanks to everyone who took part. Saturday’s Project AWARE cleanup was not just about cleaning a beach in Wales but to hopefully make people realise that small things can make a difference, collecting small bits of litter on each dive or trip to the beach will have a positive impact.

Liveaboard 2011 Confirmed – June 5th!

2010-09-07T15:12:00.000+01:00

After the most impressive liveaboard trip to date, we have decided to return to the Red Sea in June 2011 in the hope of following up on this years successful trip. We will be staying aboard Tornado Marine Fleets brand new boat which hasn’t even been named yet! She is a 36 metre purpose built dive vessel, with all the mod cons today's divers expect. All 10 twin rooms are en-suite with self controlled air conditioning & fitted with safety deposit boxes. She is staffed by a fantastic team of hard working crew, who ensure that your stay aboard is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.

Due to the popularity of this year's itinerary, we have decided to again book the wrecks and reefs tour. This is an ideal mix of some of the Red Sea's finest wrecks, including the infamous HMS Thistlegorm, Rosalie Muller & Carnatic, along with some of the worlds best coral reef dives. It is also a good time of the year to spot whale sharks, dolphins, sharks & turtles as last years photos will testify to.

We will be departing from Gatwick on 5th June 2011. Manchester flights may be available for an additional supplement, but this is yet to be confirmed.

The price of the trip is £1025 and is fully inclusive of flights, transfers (Egypt), accommodation, food, all soft drinks & most importantly up to 22 dives. The price does not include UK transfers, Manchester flight supplement, Visa (approx £15), Alcoholic beverages or tips.

We are certain that this will once again prove to be extremely popular trip & as we only have a limited number of places we advise early booking to avoid disappointment (last year’s liveaboard was fully booked within 3 weeks). We will require a £250 non-refundable deposit to secure each space. Please contact us to book your place and be part of what promises to be another cracker of a trip.

Due to the nature/depth of some of the sites visited during the week, you will need to be a minimum of PADI Advanced Open Water (or equivalent) with at least 20 logged dives and be over the age of 16. We also recommend the use of a DSMB due to the amount of boat traffic within the Northern Red Sea. We are able to offer the PADI SMB Specialty program to ensure the safe and correct use of SMB's.

To further enhance your enjoyment we also recommend both PADI Deep Diver Specialty & the PADI Wreck Diver Specialty.

So what are you waiting for? Email Katy at katy@divecourses.co.uk or call 01782 207474 to book next years dive trip NOW!

Photographic success for Sub-Mission students

2010-08-09T13:10:00.000+01:00

PADI Underwater Digital Photography Specialty

It must be said that the sturgeon in Capernwray are probably the most photographed fish in the whole of the UK. They showed no signs of being shy and did the best they could to get in on every photo that the PADI Underwater Digital Photography Specialty students could take. Megan, Paul and Dave took on the challenge of learning the techniques of underwater digital photography and getting the best out of their time underwater to get some brilliant shots. After the pool photography clinic, they were used to the functions on the cameras and so got to grips with the Capernwray dives nicely. It wasn’t as easy as they thought to dive with the cameras. Other factors such as buoyancy, air consumption, depth and time are so easily neglected when engrossed in getting that perfect shot so Sub-Mission staff were on hand to keep a watchful eye on each of them and give them gentle reminders.

There some brilliant photos taken and we hope to be able to present them to you in the near future. So watch this space and keep an eye on the Sub-Mission flickr account. Congratulations

PADI Drysuit Specialty Students

2010-08-09T13:06:00.001+01:00

PADI Drysuit Specialty

Andreea and Jonathan were also busy on Sunday completing the PADI Drysuit Specialty with Sub-Mission. For Andreea this was her first UK dive after completing her PADI Open Water Course in Lanzarote. So although she was apprehensive about the UK conditions, she and Jonathan were great students and completed each skill with great ease. It was also noted that both of their buoyancy was almost perfect. So now that they are both trained in Drysuit use, they’ll be able to join us on our many winter diving days and trips! Well done!

PADI SMB Specialty Success

2010-08-09T13:04:00.000+01:00

PADI SMB Specialty
Tony, Pete, Debbie and Tim joined Sub-Mission for the PADI SMB Specialty as a way of safely learning the techniques for deploying a delayed Surface Marker Buoy from underwater. This is a great skill to acquire and perfect as SMB’s are a critical piece of equipment for most UK coastal diving and sea diving abroad.

After a theory session and pool practice with a variety of different reels, different deployment methods and simple tips to make the whole process easier, the four of them were thrown in at the deep end to complete 2 dives at Capernwray.

Each of them was tasked with completing a static deployment on the first dive and a hovering deployment on the second. Darren being the task master that he is though insisted that they have additional practice time first though to get to grips with the unfamiliar pieces of equipment and their use. It must be said that Debbie’s SMB launch was pretty perfect. Each of them had differing views on which was the preferred method to deploy an SMB but with a little more practice we know they’ll be able to let boat traffic know that they are underwater in the future and surface safely after each dive! Well done.

PADI Underwater Navigation Specialty

2010-08-09T13:03:00.000+01:00

PADI Underwater Navigation Specialty

Under the direction of Sub-Mission Instructor Martin, Megan and Jon completed the PADI Navigation Specialty this weekend as part of the Master Scuba Diver program.

They were shown various navigational techniques and tips along with detailed and precise compass use to enable them to increase the efficiency of their dive plans and future dives.

Both of them were tasked with being able to navigate an underwater course that would not be disclosed to them until they were able to navigate to each particular feature. Once they had made their way to a certain point, they were given the next bearing until they finally reached the finishing point. Both of the students did a fantastic job and Megan’s compass work was so precise that it took her exactly to the spot where she needed to finish. Well done to both of you.

Congratulations to all of Sub-Mission Students at Open Water this Weekend

2010-08-09T13:00:00.000+01:00

Phhewww. What a weekend. For those of you who joined us for various different courses this weekend, now that the Monday morning blues have probably set in, we’d like to cheer you up with a massive congratulation for all of your hard work.

PADI Open Water Students

Well done to all of those extremely nervous PADI Open Water Students who were fantastic this weekend. It must be said that it was probably one of the more nervous groups that we have taken in for a while but the group also looked after each other, encouraged and supported one another and had a really good time. They most certainly all were best of buddies by the end of the course.

After weeks of pool work and theory sessions, Nick, Lydia, Geoff, Terry, Ruth, Kate and Sharon had their skills put to the test by Sub-Mission Instructor’s in Open Water. The sturgeon must have taken a real shine to them as they spent most of Saturday with the group.

Even though at times we thought nerves might have got the better of some of them, they were determined to pass and so put every effort into completing each skill. Dive 4 was celebrations all round once the last student had completed the final skill and handshakes, hugs and smiles on the surface as PADI Open Water Divers

Geoff, Terry, Ruth, Kate and Sharon even went back in to complete the PADI Drysuit Specialty after the final dive. This will mean that they have earned their first PADI Specialty and can be credited towards the Master Scuba Diver. So, now we’ve got them started with Scuba let’s see where the adventure takes them….

Sub-Mission’s bright, flowery and wet Beach Party.

2010-08-03T14:29:00.000+01:00

Yes, we properly let our hair down and got our dancing shoes on (well actually it was flip flops) for some summer fun on Saturday night. The dress code was beach wear and it was a good turn out for the Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts. The disco music was holiday themed until the DJ ran out of songs to play and reverted back to the normal party tunes. There were water pistols, inflatable boats, rubber rings and a multitude of summer hats to keep everyone amused.

Andy certainly showed off his moves and got people dancing but unfortunately that was followed by the YMCA and a certain member of staff stripping off to his pants! Not a problem for most of the guests though, who have seen it all before anyway. We’d like to thank everyone for coming and then not leaving even though the bar had closed and the staff wanted to go home. Great night, can’t wait for the next one.

PADI Open Water Success for Jenny, Katie and Megan.

2010-08-03T14:23:00.000+01:00

It isn’t very often that we get 10 year olds who want to complete the whole of the PADI Junior Open Water Course here in the UK. Most often, these children will enrol onto the PADI Open Water Referral and then fulfil their open water dives abroad. However, Katie and Megan have insisted that they certify as PADI Junior Open Water Divers here with Sub-Mission along with Jen who achieved the PADI Open Water Diver certification.

The two girls exceeded our expectations of their grasp of the dive theory and achieved high marks in their final exams. The three of them also learnt the underwater skills with no difficulty at all and this really showed at Eccleston Delph at the weekend when they flew through the skills on each dive.

Syd, their Instructor was asked a million and one questions, with each interrogation ending in the same question; “when can we go for a swim?” The girls had a great positive attitude and impressed us all with their aptitude for scuba. They even managed to get a mention in the ‘Sentinel’ for their fantastic achievement.

Sub-Mission Students Win PADI Prizes

2010-08-03T14:20:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to John Harker and Dawn Prince who are winners of two of PADI’s promotional campaigns for 2010.

John Harker achieved the high accolade of PADI Master Scuba Diver, after completing 5 PADI Specialties, PADI Rescue Diver and having logged more than 50 dives. John’s application was entered into the PADI Master Scuba Diver Challenge promotion which resulted in him being selected as June’s Winner. John will receive a PADI Backpack as well as an Encyclopaedia of Recreational Diving.

Dawn Prince took part in the PADI Specialty of the Month Program. She enrolled onto the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty and competed this in June. She was also selected as June’s winner and won £50 worth of vouchers to spend on PADI materials.

Well done both of you!

Sub-Mission’s PADI Enriched Air Students pass with flying colours

2010-08-03T14:13:00.001+01:00

We would like to congratulate those students who have had their heads buried in the PADI Enriched Air manuals recently in preparation for the PADI Enriched Air Specialty Course. Sub-Mission was able to offer the course mid week, which suited our students perfectly.

Donna, Nick, Nathan, Gary and Chris were taught the new PADI Enriched Air Course structure, which involves dive planning considerations on an Enriched Air computer as apposed to the Enriched Air RDP’s. This included using the interactive Enriched Air Dive Computer simulator and their own dive computers to plan dives with a variety of gas blends. They were tasked on being able to work out depth limits, time limits and track their oxygen exposure.

Each also learnt the procedures for filling and analysing Enriched Air and the hazards that accompany these protocols. Each of them did a fantastic job and their hard work certainly paid off. The PADI Enriched Air Specialty ceritifcation will also count as one of the 5 towards the Master Scuba Diver rating. Well done!

PADI Coral Reef Conservation Success!

2010-08-03T14:02:00.000+01:00

Last week Sub-Mission held another of its popular PADI Coral Reef Conservation Specialties with a fantastic turn out for the evening. 14 students showed up to learn more about the reef ecosystem and to show their enthusiasm for helping to protect the marine environment.

Rich was yet again a great teacher of the subject and his own passion and interest was apparent with plenty of relevant anecdotes and examples thrown in. Students learnt the various species that live together symbiotically to make the reef the thriving, successful marine habitat that it is.

Rich then turned his attention to the impact of human activity on Coral Reefs and what we can do to help alleviate the environmental pressures on the coral and fish populations. Everyone went away with a lot to think about but with a positive attitude that we can actually do our part and get involved. Now that the students have certified as PADI Coral Reef Conservation Specialty Divers this ties in nicely with the Beach and Underwater cleanup of Trefor Pier on Saturday 4th September, to which everyone is invited to come and help us make a difference!

Katy's Gone Mid Week Diving - Thursday 5th August

2010-07-27T23:15:00.001+01:00

It's Summer, the water is warm and we're going Mid Week Diving! If anyone would like to join Katy for some mid week pleasure diving at Capernwray on Thursday 5th August you're more than welcome. It'll be lovely and quiet and very relaxed! The idea is that we're having a diving day for parents and their children to go diving during the summer holidays with a little extra guidance and supervision from Katy. This will enable parents to get in a really good dive without too much anxiety about diving alone with their children and both will have a day of fun and adventure in Capernwray.

As there are a number of Sub-Mission Dive Club members available for mid week diving, Sub-Mission are opening this up to any one who would like to dive mid week and we'll arrange a buddy for you. If you need equipment hire this can be arranged prior to the Dive Day.

Hopefully the fish will be as friendly as ever and if you haven't seen the new feature at Capernwray, the plane, this is the perfect opportunity for you to dive in without the weekend crowds!

We'll be getting to Capernwray for 10.00am so let Katy know if you're interested in getting your feet wet whilst it's still warm!

Beach and Underwater Clean Up for Project AWARE at Trefor Pier, Saturday 4th September

2010-07-27T23:04:00.000+01:00

Darren is organising an Underwater and Beach Clean Up at Trefor Pier in Wales on Saturday 4th September. This will be an effort to clean up the beach and under the pier itself. All of the rubbish will be disposed of but more importantly the data collected will be given to Project AWARE. We'll meet and start at 10.00am on the beach.

We know it's not the ideal way to spend your saturday but look at it this way, you get to help the environment, get in the water for a pretty d...ecent dive, have a laugh on the beach and finish up with a BBQ to congratulate all of your hard work!

There is also the option and possibility to camp or stay over on the Saturday night at the nearby Aberafon campsite.

There will also be some more diving organised for the Sunday at another local diving spot to be confirmed.

Directions to Trefor pier:

How to get there

•Get onto the A487 southwards from Caernarfon.

•A few miles further on at Llanwnda take the A449 towards Aberdesach.

•Follow the road through Aberdesach and through Gyrn Goch.

•Then look out for the signs for Trefor and head for Beach Road and the sea front.

So, bring your rubber gloves, any friends and family that want to get involved and your enthusiasm to do some good for the environment and I'm sure that the Sub-Mission staff will provide plenty of entertainment as usual!

Another great weekend of diving with fantastic students

2010-07-26T14:59:00.000+01:00

PADI Advanced Open Water Divers Congratulations

Sub-Mission had a really good group of students this weekend taking part in the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver Course at Stoney Cove. Nathan, Nigel, Mark, Paul E, Paul H, Sam, Carl, Laura and Andy kept the staff busy over the 2 days with lots of different dives going on including Drysuit, Peak Performance Buoyancy, Underwater Navigation, Wreck, Deep, Enriched Air, Search and Recovery and Underwater Photography.

The students were spoiled by the good weather but worked hard in the water to compensate for the poor visibility. There were some significant improvements over the weekend such as Mark’s air consumption, Andy’s buoyancy and each divers general confidence increased as the dives went on. By the last dive (the Wreck Dive) each student had improved enough to enjoy the dive without worrying too much about buoyancy, air consumption, orientation and they were keen to explore the Stanegarth and its features. It was a brilliant dive and a fantastic end to a great PADI Advanced Open Water Course.

Nigel and Andy also completed the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty during the weekend. They worked with Richard on their weighting, trim, positioning in the water and breath control to give them extra confidence in their own buoyancy. As a result their dive was one of the most comfortable and relaxed either had experienced and improved their following dives over the weekend.

Congratulations everyone, make sure you put those skills to good use soon!

Deep, Dark and Delightful – PADI Deep Diver Specialty

Did we mention that we are going on holiday soon on a super duper liveaboard? It is certainly exciting for those preparing for the liveaboard and to make the most of the dives on holiday; Jenny, Ian, Debbie and Pete enrolled onto the PADI Deep Diver Specialty. This ensures that should they want to make the most of their dives on the Thistlegorm, Rosalie Muller and the Reefs of Ras Mohammed, that they can!

They completed the PADI Deep Diver Specialty at Stoney Cove over the weekend, which encompassed a wide range of requirements such as completing skills at depth, taking increased air consumption into consideration, diving with additional equipment such as torches as well as accounting for the physiological effects of increased depth. The students didn’t really show signs of nitrogen narcosis except for Ian, but this had already been demonstrable on the 7m shelf during the dives!

Each student got the chance to carry an additional cylinder as a backup redundant air source and also to breathe from this during a simulated extended safety stop. They were all confident in the water which made it a really easy and enjoyable course to teach. So thank you and congratulations!

PADI Search and Recovery students tie Darren up in knots

2010-07-22T09:47:00.000+01:00

David and Jonathan were busy this weekend trying to recover items that Sub-Mission Instructor Darren had lost on the bottom of Capernwray. The PADI Search and Recovery Specialty is an action packed course that really challenges students in a very practical way underwater. David and Jonathan learnt to apply previously practiced compass navigation into search patterns to find objects underwater. As well as compass patterns they also learnt rope searches, including the circular search and jackstay search.

David and Jonathan were also tasked on being able to tie knots underwater whilst wearing gloves, which was more than a little tricky. The knot skills were utilised to tie an object to a lift bag in order to bring it to the surface. The lifting of heavier objects was completed several times during the Search and Recovery dives ensuring that David and Jonathan truly got to grips with the technique.

They both did a fantastic job of recovering Darren’s missing objects on each and every dive so well done! The PADI Rescue Diver Course will certainly be a breeze to them both now.

PADI Open Water Success this weekend

2010-07-22T08:52:00.000+01:00

Sub-Mission would like to congratulate the PADI Open Water Diver students that completed their course over the weekend at Capernwray. After 5 weeks of classroom based lessons and swimming pool confined sessions which went swimmingly, the students were excited to finally be completing their Open Water Dives.

Although the visibility wasn’t brilliant at Capernwray since the recent hike in water temperature the students coped fantastically. They were enthusiastic before each dive although sometimes slightly nervous about the skills, although they didn’t need to be as they sailed through each and every skill.

Karl was ‘Mr Popular’ with his gorgeous Rocky Road that he had bought along with him. We’d definitely like to mention how well Janet did to overcome her nerves and complete all of the dives. We knew you could do it! Congratulations to Karl, Phill, Lauren, Sam, Amy, Janet, Mark and Becky. And congratulations to all of you for getting back in to complete the Drysuit dive to become PADI Drysuit Specialty Divers.

Congratulations on the Arrival of Baby Ellie!

2010-07-13T15:29:00.000+01:00

Another congratulations needs to be extended to Liz and Ian on the arrival of their new baby girl, Elodie. Baby Ellie was born on the 5th July at 2.00am. Ian was relieved that his Divemaster Course had been completed just in time but has already booked Ellie in for her Bubblemaker Course in 8 years time. I’m sure that she will be a natural scuba diver as soon as she is old enough.

Liz and Ellie are doing well and we managed to persuade Ian to let us have a picture of their gorgeous baby girl.

We wish the three of them best wishes and hope that Liz will be back in the water before long to make up for the diving that she has been missing out on for a while.

We can't wait to meet the new arrival and the latest member of Sub-Mission Dive Club!

Congratulations to the future Mr & Mrs Statham!

2010-07-13T14:15:00.001+01:00

We would like to congratulate our Instructor Martin and his girlfriend Michelle on their recent engagement. Martin finally took the plunge and proposed to Michelle after 2 and a half years together. He even picked the perfect ring that Michelle had hinted at and then waited until their holiday to Egypt for the perfect romantic moment. Martin took the opportunity to pop the question whilst under the stars in the Sinai Desert.

The two of them are getting married next March and have arranged the wedding in Jamaica. We would like to wish them the best success for the future and many happy years as Mr and Mrs Statham!

St Abbs – Brilliant trip, great diving, fantastic group of divers

2010-07-13T13:18:00.000+01:00

What a fantastic weekend! Friday afternoon 15 of Sub-Mission Dive Club headed up to St Abbs for a weekend of diving, laughter and meeting new buddies. Staying in 2 big farm houses, the group had fantastic accommodation for the weekend with sea views and in a peaceful, secluded location.

Saturday morning the group made their way to the harbour at St Abbs and were met by our expert skipper, Peter Gibson. The combination of Peter and his boat Selkie, was the perfect combination for our group of novice coastal divers on their first dive of the weekend. After the first dive, expressions of apprehension and anticipation were replaced with relief and excitement. Everyone chattering about how good the dive was and the life that they spotted underwater.

Marine life was in abundance once again with plenty to see from anemones, dead men’s fingers, brittle stars and sun stars. Pollock, wrasse, lobster, crabs, flat fish, scorpion fish, blennies and of course Katy was on the look out for those ‘not so illusive’ nudibranchs. Even a seal was spotted on the surface and couldn’t be dissuaded from following the group even by Stefan’s squeals about cramp!

The water temperature varied between 11 and 13 degrees with good visibility. Peter managed to avoid currents for the majority of the weekend and we got to see some great sites with plenty of variety from kelp gardens, rock gullies to an astounding wreck.

We had some great food and were impressed by the culinary skills of the group, especially Ant who made a cracking Jamaican curry.

So Sunday afternoon arrived all too soon and people began to start their journeys home, rich in memories of fantastic diving, a great weekend and with a new group of friends and diving buddies.

PADI Enriched Air Success

2010-07-13T13:05:00.000+01:00

Sub-Mission would like to congratulate the PADI Enriched Air Specialty students for their success on Saturday. In preparation for their holiday in August; Jenny, Ian, Debbie and Pete completed the course to make the most out of their dive time. Jonathan is also looking forward to taking advantage of the longer no-decompression limits on his next trip.

The use of enriched air will benefit each of them by increasing the time that they will be able to spend underwater enjoying the coral reefs, wrecks and amazing marine life! Well done all of you, PADI Enriched Air Divers.

Congratulations Sub-Mission’s latest Divemasters

2010-07-13T11:52:00.000+01:00

The past few months have been a busy time for Sub-Mission Divemaster candidates, especially for Ian, who was constrained time wise by the imminent arrival of baby Ellie. Ian, Shaun, Paul and Tim have all completed each element of the PADI Divemaster Course to earn them the first of their professional PADI certifications.

The PADI Divemaster course is one of the most challenging courses that PADI have created and so it is certainly no small achievement. Completing the PADI Divemaster course involves theory exams, practical assessments including rescue skills and demonstration quality skills and assisting with students during their training.

Each of the candidates found different aspects of the course challenging and rewarding but overall they excelled in the Divemaster Program. We are incredibly proud of their hard work and commitment and wish them the very best in their professional career.

Sub-Mission’s multilingual Open Water weekend!

2010-07-13T11:49:00.000+01:00

Last weekend for a success for our three international PADI Open Water students. Rui, Nuno and Radek were apprehensive about their 4 open water dives after weeks of pool skills and theory. Upon seeing Capernwray from the surface, each of them got very excited, especially upon the realisation that there were big fish for them to look at underwater.

Each of them completed the skills easily and confidently and so we had plenty of time to swim around and explore Capernwray. They were even luck enough to see the sturgeon on every dive! After they had certified as PADI Open Water Divers they also completed the PADI Drysuit Specialty course. Great weekend and in Radek’s words; “Beautiful!” Well done.

Well Done PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Students

2010-07-13T11:46:00.000+01:00

With an impending holiday to Oz and an opportunity to get some great photographs whilst travelling, Jamie and Paul were keen to work on their buoyancy last weekend. Their aim at the start of the weekend was to be able to make the most of their time underwater but by the end of the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Course they were also able to position themselves for some great underwater photography shots.

Jamie and Paul were assisted with weights, positioning and trim to enable them to gain greater control underwater and to help with their air consumption, which improved dramatically. Joanne also helped them with their general diving technique by ensuring that they were using breathe control rather than constantly adjusting the air in the BCD.

Both students learnt a lot from the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Course and were great students for Joanne to teach! Well done and have a great trip down under…

It's not all bad news this weekend... Congratulations Sub-Mission students.

2010-06-29T12:51:00.000+01:00

It may have been a disappointing weekend due to the football results but Sub-Mission students were certainly celebrating their successes for the dives that they completed over the weekend. PADI Open Water, Advanced, Wreck and SMB courses were all completed over what turned out to be a glorious weekend.

PADI Open Water Diver Course

Matt, Wes, Ant, John, Jack and Tom were excited on Saturday morning as well as feeling some nervous anticipation. They were blessed with the sunshine after each dive. After the first dive all the nerves had vanished to be replaced by excited chat about the fish and the dive underwater.

They were all brilliant students over the weekend and completed their skills with ease. With all four dives completed they achieved the PADI Open Water Diver Accreditation. A special mention must be made to Tom who did a superb job of keeping up with the adults, even though the scuba kit was bigger than him.

Well done everyone. We look forward to you signing up for the Advanced soon….

PADI Wreck Specialty

The new plane at Capernwray is a great feature to learn wreck techniques on and Sub-Mission students had a blast on Saturday getting to grips with mapping, line laying and exploring every nook and cranny of it.

Jenny, Terry, Julie, Colin, Matt, Dave, Gary and Gavin were great students who enthusiastically threw themselves in to each task presented to them. They showed efficient and cohesive team work, especially during the actual penetration of the wreck. There were some moments of entanglement as they began to learn the techniques of reeling along the outside but soon mastered it.

The staff had a great day with the PADI Wreck Specialty students so thanks very much and congratulations.

PADI Advanced Open Water

Some of the students who completed the Advanced Open Water Course had booked the course several months ago and this weekend certainly showed us that the sunshine was worth waiting for. Matt, Craig, Sonia, Kieran, James, Ian, Mike and Dawn completed the required Adventure Dives over the weekend in order to achieve the Advanced Open Water qualification. They all completed the core Deep and Navigation Dives and then chose to also try their hand at photography, peak performance buoyancy, drysuit and wreck diving.

There were some cracking photo’s taken over the photography dives with some hopefully making their way onto the flickr account some time soon. Some even abandoned the drysuit in favour of a Semi Drysuit and loved the freedom and manoeuvrability whilst the water was warm enough.

Again, a great set of students who kept the staff laughing throughout the weekend! Well done.

PADI SMB Specialty

After a theory session and pool session learning the features of Surface Marker Buoys and reels as well as the techniques used to deploy them from underwater, Jenny, Stefan and Jon completed their Open Water dives on Sunday.

They had to complete two dives where they deployed their SMB’s numerous times as practice from a static position on the bottom and then whilst hovering mid water. They managed to avoid getting tangled and easily demonstrated the use of a variety of different methods to deploy their SMB’s. They each got to take turns with a variety of different reels from spools to ratchet reels. Jenny even braved the water without a hood. A brilliant performance by each of them and hopefully they will put their new skills to good use on their next holiday or UK coastal trip.

Congratulations Lyndon and Ant - NEW PADI INSTRUCTORS

2010-06-29T12:25:00.000+01:00

We would like to congratulate Lyndon and Ant for passing their PADI Instructor Exam with flying colours this weekend. They have been working very hard lately to complete their Instructor Development Course (IDC) at Sub-Mission in preparation for the exam

The IDC taught them the techniques to teach PADI courses from Open Water to Divemaster.

At the exam, Lyndon and Ant were assessed on a variety of teaching area’s including theory exams, teaching in a classroom, teaching skills in a pool as well as in open water and finally rescue assessment.

Both candidates were very nervous over the weekend but still managed to perform well under the stress. They reached top marks in several areas and scored highly overall, with high praise from the examiners.

We would like to congratulate the two of them and welcome them to Sub-Mission as PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors.

If you are interested in becoming a PADI Professional, please contact Katy on Katy@divecourses.co.uk for more information.

Ant's Gone Ape Day

2010-06-29T12:20:00.000+01:00

On a Sunday morning can you think of anything better to do than climb trees, swing between the branches and slide down zip wires? Sub-Mission Dive club took the challenge of Go Ape last Sunday and had a blast in Cannock forest.

With 13 gorillas and 2 baboons in our group we were dressed in harnesses, given an introduction to the ‘tree top’ course and then were given all responsibility for getting ourselves down from the branches. The course increased in difficulty as we moved from one tree crossing to another, which included simple plank walking to suspended rings that looked like they would have been better placed in the Gladiators arena.

The final section of the course was certainly the most exhilarating and frightening with a jump from the top of the tree into a net 6 metres below you with only the trust of the harness to get across.

It was certainly an excellent group activity, full of excitement. There was much screaming to be heard all the way around as well as the constant sound of laughter as we worked hard as a group to get ourselves and each other through the branches. So next time Sub-Mission Dive Club Goes Ape, make sure you come along too.

Well done all you gorillas and baboons.

Coral Reef Conservation Specialty - Another great course.

2010-06-17T12:43:00.000+01:00

Sub-Mission Instructor Rich taught the PADI Coral Reef Conservation Specialty on Monday night to an eager group of students. Sam, Paul, Mark, Edward, Chris, Mark, Jackie, Mark, Gary, Steve and Antonia all learnt about the delicate equilibrium of the Coral Reef and its inhabitants, fish identification as well as the plight of the reefs and what we can do to help.

The evening began with a viewing of some of the film ‘End of the Line’ which managed to focus everyone’s attention to the ultimate message of the Coral Reef Conservation Specialty; without our help, the seas and coral reefs will degrade beyond repair.

Rich uplifted everyone though with some great media clips, photo’s and a pub quiz, which was won by Steve and Antonia. The students were certainly given a lot to think about and some great ideas to get them started to make small changes in their lives that will impact positively on the environment.

Thanks everyone for attending, it was a great evening!

PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Success

2010-06-15T13:59:00.000+01:00

Sub-Mission conducted a PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty on Sunday as a follow on from our brilliant pool clinics. Astin, James, Chris, Paul, Dawn and Ian found the dives incredibly beneficial as they practiced a variety of techniques to improve their buoyancy. From hovering close to the bottom to using breath control to swim around obstacles.

Sub-Mission staff also spent time ensuring that each student was weighted correctly and that the weights were positioned to give good trim in the water. Following on from the pool clinics some of the students had also been practicing their breathing rhythms and improved their air consumption during the dives. By the end of the two dives, they were also able to easily hold a safety stop mid water. Even Rob from the PADI Advanced Open Water Course joined us for the second dive to complete his Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty too!

Keep an eye on the blog for our next buoyancy pool clinics if you want to get involved!

Too see more photo's of the weekend, please follow the link to flickr

Great weekend, great visibility, great students.

2010-06-15T13:51:00.001+01:00

Sub-Mission had another spectacular weekend at Capernwray with some great students and fairly fantastic weather.

A group of recent PADI Open Water Students had requested a tailor made course so that they could all get together and complete their PADI Advanced Open Water on the same weekend. They had had such a great time on their course that they wanted to meet up again for the next step on their diving adventures. Rob, Lauren, Paul and Rob had some excellent dives over the weekend in order to complete their course. The visibility on Saturday was probably the best that the instructors had seen it.

Completing the Wreck, Deep, Navigation, Peak Performance Buoyancy and Multilevel dives, each of the students enjoyed the thrill of really diving, seeing the new plane and experiencing deeper dives. They all passed easily and were a pleasure to teach over the weekend. Well done and thanks for some fantastic diving!

To view all of the photo's from the weekend, please follow the link to flickr

Peak Performance Buoyancy Clinic success

2010-06-11T11:12:00.000+01:00

Sub-Mission have been busy running Buoyancy clinic’s in the pool over the past few weeks and we would like to congratulate everyone who has attended one of the pool sessions. We consider these sessions to have been a massive success and are looking at scheduling some more clinics for the future.

What we have realised is that every divers buoyancy issues are different and so we’ve been working on an individual basis to improve our students skills and help them fine tune their positioning in the water. For some, heavy air consumption seems to be a problem and we’ve been working on breathing techniques, for others it’s control of positioning so we’ve been hovering in numerous positions to perfect that control amongst a lot of other skills.

We would like to thank everyone who has attending and we hope that they will be joining us for the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty that we are running at Capernwray on June 13th or June 27th.

Photographer Brian Skerry talks about the plight of the ocean

2010-06-11T10:58:00.000+01:00

Please check out this video clip of Photographer Brian Skerry talking about his work to help protect our Oceans. His photo's are astounding so worth a look and a listen.

World Ocean Day - give Sharks a fighting chance

2010-06-08T16:53:00.000+01:00

I thought this was important to share with you all today as it's World Ocean day. This is an email that I just had from PADI;

"This World Ocean Day, 8th June, you can spend two minutes and join AWARE Divers worldwide demanding that sharks be given a fighting chance.

Governments ignored scientific evidence and advice in favor of short-term economic interests at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), March 2010. They failed to give eight threatened shark species the trade protections they deserve.

Each year, tens of millions of sharks are killed by Earth’s most dangerous predators – humans. Too many of them fall victim to the cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning – the act of removing shark fins and discarding the often still alive shark overboard.

Despite set-backs, thanks to advocates like you, sharks have received recent, historical national protections in Europe, Maldives and Palau. Together, we will make a difference for these critical species.

Sign the petition, express your outrage at the recent CITES failures. Your signature, together with thousands of divers and advocates worldwide, will demand government parties to CITES heed science and protect fragile ocean ecosystems."

So please follow this link and add your name to the petition, pass it on to your friends and family too!

Katy

The Ocean Project

2010-06-08T11:39:00.000+01:00

The Ocean Project

Another Happy Group of PADI Open Water Divers!

2010-06-02T10:28:00.002+01:00

We’d like to say huge congratulations to the latest PADI Open Water divers to certify with Sub-Mission Dive Centre. This weekend at Capernwray Mark, Becky, Jeff, Mark, Paul and Nigel were all amazed by the wonders of the underwater world. The three dives on Saturday were completed successfully with only minor buoyancy issues. Due to the lack of other divers at Capernwray the visibility was good and the students loved riding Shergar and watching the fish.

Unfortunately Mark and Becky were unable to complete the dives on Sunday but we’ve rescheduled their dates and look forward to them completing the PADI Open Water Diver Course very soon.

So Mark, Paul, Nigel and Jeff carried on regardless on Sunday and had two brilliant dives. Although nerves began to creep in about the mask removal and replacement they didn’t let it phase them and all gained the PADI Open Water Diver certification. Each of them also completed a further dive to gain the PADI Drysuit Specialty. This was the perfect dive to end the weekend as they not only had a great time exploring the new plane but the group also saw the Sturgeon.

Well done everyone!

Fantastic weekend for the PADI Advanced Open Water Divers

2010-05-25T12:11:00.000+01:00

We couldn’t have asked for better weather this weekend at Capernwray. The sun was shining for the whole weekend in perfect reflection of our happiness to be diving. The cool water was welcome for the PADI Advanced Open Water students after the warmth of kitting up.

It was also a great weekend for the Photography Adventure dive as the sun gave the students plenty of natural light for their shots. As ever the fish were more than obliging to have their photo’s taken to help the students pass the course.

The Wreck dive was by far the favourite dive for all of the students and as the last dive of the weekend their buoyancy, trim and positioning in the water was pretty much spot on.

Sub-Mission Dive Centre would like to congratulate all of the students for their hard work this weekend; it was great to see their development over the five dives. Well done PADI Advanced Open Water Divers. We look forward to you progressing to PADI Rescue Diver

To see more of the photo's please visit flickr

St Abbs - The Perfect Dive Club Trip, May 2010

2010-05-20T11:34:00.001+01:00

Sub-Mission dive club has just returned from an amazing weekend away in St Abbs, full of action and adventure and some rather sunburnt faces! We were away from Friday to Monday, diving on Saturday and Sunday around the coast of St Abbs.

On Friday afternoon we made the 5 hour drive up to Berwickshire where we had arranged for group to stay in 2 enormous self catering houses, with sea views and only 15 minutes to the diving. We arrived to find some of the group already settled into the farmhouses and Phil and Ian had started a roaring open fire. We all mucked in with the cooking with Friday night being curry night for Phil in the one house and Spaghetti Bolognese for Steve in the other. Then the night was ours to set the diving kit up ready for the next day and then just relax.

Saturday morning, Darren and Katy were up early to cook breakfast for one of the houses and then we left for the boat, before anyone had time to feel ill from the badly cooked (cremated) sausages.

St Abbs is a tiny harbour populated by only a few cafes, several B&B’s, an air bar and a lifeboat station. When we arrived at 8.00am on Saturday, the two car parks were buzzing with excitement and anticipation from divers in various stages of kitting up. Due to the popularity of this trip we had booked Paul Crowe’s hard boat ‘Topline’ for the entire weekend, running two groups of divers on a shuttle service. This gave the 2nd group a chance of a lie-in to recuperate from the journey North, with a chilled out starting time of 11am.

The water temperature was 9 degrees which was a tad chilly but the sunshine warmed us up between dives. The boat skipper, Paul said that Ian W, Steve, Eddie and Chris were the first divers of the year in St Abbs to wear semi drysuits. So well done you four for making our dive club look like a group of hardcore divers! Our dives on Saturday were the first UK boat dives for many of the group but they coped brilliantly and enjoyed the scenic diving that St Abbs boasts with marine life including, large old lobsters, nudibranchs, edible crabs, velvet swimming crabs as well as walls encrusted with jewel anemones, dead mans fingers and plumrose anemones and kelp gardens to explore.

The very rock and roll dive club partied hard on Saturday evening with more great food, thanks to Jenny, Sarah and Eddie, followed by trivial pursuits and an early night!

Sundays diving was even better, with the infamous Cathedral Rock being the first dive. Shaun was excited to dive this site after watching this featured on an episode of Coast and it met his high expectations. Scorpion Fish, flat fish, Pollock were in abundance but for most divers the highlight of the dive was the incredibly friendly wrasse who were just as curious about us as we were about them. Phil and Shep were lucky enough to spend time with an inquisitive seal pup at the surface, which was happy enough to show off and play with their fins as they waited for the boat pick up.

During the surface interval it became apparent that someone (let’s not mention names Darren) had taken the van keys on an exciting adventure to Cathedral Rock where they remain as part of the underwater vista. The reward was set, a free PADI Search & Recovery Specialty Course for the safe return of the keys. Chris did manage to find a set of keys but unfortunately not for the van, so if anyone has lost a set of VW keys contact the Harbour Master at St Abbs.

After the days diving was over, Paul who it turned out wasn’t only a skipper but an expert at breaking into vans managed to open the door so that we could get the spare set out of the van, panic over,

Our final dive of the weekend was a short journey out of the harbour to a site with varied and interesting topography with swim throughs, caves and gullies. Darren & Katy spotted a formidably ugly wolf fish during the dive, making it a pretty spectacular dive to end the weekend on, and yes they do have photos to prove it.

Half of the group left on Sunday afternoon to be back for work on Monday, which meant that Martin was left to cook an amazing Sunday roast for the remaining group, which was very much appreciated. It was then back to the rock and roll lifestyle of a UK diver with murder mystery and giant jenga!

Thank you everyone for a brilliant weekend, with a fantastic group of people and awesome diving. We can’t wait for the next trip…9th July!

Syd's 'Gone Skiing' Report

2010-05-11T11:52:00.003+01:00

Sub-Mission continued the Dive Club activities for May with Syd’s 'Gone Skiing', last night at Kidsgrove Ski centre. A group of dive club members turned up to participate in the skiing lesson as well as several seasoned skiers and spectators. Those of us who were having the lessons began with basic movement in skis and soon took to the slopes for some fun falling over.

We progressed to snow ploughs and more falling over followed by increased height up the slope and more falling over. It was brilliant to watch some of the staff consistently landing on their backsides as they were now in the position of ‘learner’ rather than instructor.

We had an hour and a half’s lesson; in which time we all progressed onto the ski lift (some more gracefully than others). Darren managed a spectacular tumble, which Eddie the Eagle would have been proud of, leaving him sprawled across the cones.

It was a great night out, a fantastic activity and we were laughing all the way through. Thanks Syd for a brilliant ‘Gone Diving’ activity. Check out all of the photo's on flickr

Success for the latest group of PADI Open Water Divers!

2010-05-10T14:50:00.003+01:00

Another group of fantastic students have completed their PADI Open Water Diver and PADI Drysuit Specialty this weekend. Sam, Paul, Alan and Mel met all of the performance requirements to certify as PADI Open Water Students and then enjoyed a fantastic dive to complete the PADI Drysuit Specialty. Some of the students claim to have seen the Sturgeon, but until there is photographic evidence we’re not too sure it’s true.

Well done also to Janet, who despite her fear gave the dives a really good go. We know that you will be a certified diver in no time, we'll make sure of it!

They were great students and had a positive attitude at all times, so well done.

At the same time, Sub-Mission staff were busy teaching Dave, John and John the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty. The students were getting to grips with rigging a weight system, positioning and trim as well as hovering practice, breath control and descent techniques. The trio did fantastically and we hope that they will do plenty of practice on upcoming dives.

Check out all of the photo's on flickr

Great Bank Holiday Monday for PADI SMB, Multilevel and Enriched Air Specialties!

2010-05-10T14:41:00.000+01:00

The sun was shining and a later start meant more time in bed so everyone was that little bit more awake by the time we got to Capernwray on Bank Holiday Monday. John, Sarah, Duncan and Shaun were completing their SMB dives as part of the PADI SMB Specialty. After the pool practice sessions they were all confident in launching SMB’s by various methods so the Open Water dives came easy. Shaun especially was buzzing after the dives, stating that hanging at 5m over the cliff felt like flying.

Katy was busy teaching John and John, the two elder members of the ‘naughty club’, who were completing the PADI Enriched Air dives and also the PADI Multilevel Specialty. They enjoyed two brilliant dives around Capernwray and it must be said that their buoyancy improved in leaps and bounds, as did their ability to use their computers during the dive.

Sub-Mission Buoyancy Workshops - Sun 23rd May / Wednesday 9th June

2010-05-07T12:24:00.001+01:00

Due to the high demand for buoyancy workshops and practice sessions Sub-Mission have introduced the Buoyancy clinic as a way to lead into your PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty.

The Buoyancy clinic is a pool session aimed at those divers who dive infrequently, who struggle to perfect their buoyancy or who have recently qualified and want a little more help. A member of Sub-Mission’s staff will work with you to perfect those buoyancy imperfections and to help with basic weighting, streamlining and technique to make you more comfortable. Not only will this help you get the most out of your holiday diving but it will also decrease your effort in the water and therefore improve your air consumption.

This pool session will cost £10 each and include kit hire for the evening.

As most people will want to continue this tuition into open water, we will then use the techniques practised in the pool, at Capernwray for the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty. If you decide to sign up for this Specialty, the buoyancy clinic pool session will be free. We’ll test your ability to hover at 5metres for a safety stop as well as getting close to the bottom without touching it so that you can make the most of your diving on coral reefs!

So why not come along to Newcastle Community High School on Sunday 23rd May at 5.30pm or Blythe Bridge High School on Wednesday 9th June at 8.30pm

The dates for the Peak Performance Buoyancy in Open Water are Sunday 13th June or Sunday 27th June at Capernwray.

Please call Katy or email her at katy@divecourses.co.uk to reserve your place on one of these sessions!

More PADI Open Water Students success

2010-05-03T18:52:00.001+01:00

Yet another weekend at Capernwray and yet more superb PADI Open Water Diver students. We would like to congratulate them for all of their hard work over the past few weeks and over this weekend. Gareth, Jason, Dawn, Ian, Steve, Luke, Antonia and Matt have all completed their PADI Open Water Diver Course. They certainly didn’t find it to be an easy hobby to take up but with sheer determination they got through. Dawn did a magnificent job of overcoming her fear of filling her mask with water. Matt must also be mentioned for his concentration and positive attitude throughout the course. Jason and Gareth also enjoyed a further dive and completed the PADI Drysuit Specialty. The group has been a joy to teach and certainly the Open Water weekend was a real laugh for the Instructor’s.

Well done everyone! Check out all of the photos on flickr

Yet another PADI Coral Reef Specialty!

2010-05-02T12:39:00.000+01:00

As most of you are aware, here at Sub-Mission we are passionate about the environment. So much so that we are continuing the FREE PADI Coral Reef Conservation Specialty to all of Sub-Mission’s students in 2010.

On Monday, 13 students took us up on the offer and attended the PADI Coral Reef Conservation Specialty.

Sub-Mission’s Instructor, Richard presented to students the importance and biodiversity of the Coral Reef. As well as the danger of human impact and degradation of the environment, Richard also emphasized the efforts that we can make in everyday life to help save the seas, oceans and coral reefs.

Thank you to all of those that attended; Julie, Lance, Colin, Rob, Janet, Alan, Paul E, Andy, Sam, Dave, Paul O, Tony and James.

Now, go out and do your bit...

Sub-Mission becomes a Fourth Element Premier Dealer

2010-04-28T10:54:00.004+01:00

As most of you know, the Fourth Element range of products is one of our most popular brands. From the gloves, hoods, socks to the super warm undersuits and super sexy wetsuits we have tried to stock as many of this exciting range as possible.

We are proud to announce that Fourth Element have acknowledged our commitment to their range and have added us a Premier Dealer.

Fourth Element’s premier dealers are stores that carry an extended fourth element range and endeavour to keep good stock levels so that you have as much choice as possible when buying and trying on their products.

We are one of 18 Premier Dealers in the UK and are proud of our success with the products.

The latest addition to the range in the Dive Centre is the Proteus wetsuits in 3mm and 5mm. Rated as the warmest diving wetsuit in its class by Sport Diver Magazine, the Proteus suit eliminates almost all water ingress allowing excellent ease of movement. It looks good and feels good and is perfect for any holiday diving!

Football club head underwater.

2010-04-27T18:16:00.000+01:00

Sub-Mission Dive Centre staff had the pleasure of teaching a local junior football club and Dad’s on Sunday evening. The group of 14 came along for a Discover Scuba session as an end of season treat for the boys and several adults, who didn’t need any excuse to get wet.

Although incredibly excited the young footballers were attentive to the brief and perfectly behaved in the pool. Whilst the adults were guided down to the deep end for acrobatics and scuba fun, the boys were involved in ninja moves in the shallow end, handstands, acrobatics and torpedo games.

The staff really enjoyed teaching the group and would like to thank them all for their enthusiasm. Also the group organiser Martin (who wasn’t afraid to get wet either) deserves a mention for his efforts to organise the group. Well done and we hope to see you all again soon.

PADI Master Scuba Diver Success for Colin

2010-04-27T18:12:00.002+01:00

We would like to congratulate Colin for achieving the prestigious PADI Master Scuba Diver certification. This demonstrates his knowledge of Specialist areas of diving such as Enriched Air, Diver Propulsion Vehicle and Drysuit diving as well as dive experience by proving that he has completed more than 50 dives. Colin has not only completed the required 5 Specialty Courses but he has also gone on to complete more Specialties such as the PADI Coral Reef Conservation Specialty and PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty.

The PADI Master Scuba Diver rating also shows that Colin has completed his PADI Rescue Diver Course and is competent in diver safety and rescue procedures.

This certification is the highest PADI rating for those who have not embarked on the Divemaster and Instructor route. It also enables Colin to enter the PADI Master Scuba Diver challenge for 2010 enabling him the opportunity to win some fantastic prizes. Well done Colin!

Congratulations PADI Rescue Divers and PADI Open Water Divers

2010-04-26T11:34:00.001+01:00

What a great weekend it was to be out diving. The water temperature has reached a balmy 9 degrees and the sun was shining. We had two courses running this weekend and huge congratulations go to the PADI Rescue Divers, Kelly and Rob as well as the PADI Open Water Divers; Stefan, Louise, Joe, Rob and Paul.

Kelly and Rob were raring to go on Saturday morning and after being drilled on tired diver, panicked diver, surfacing an unresponsive diver, unconscious diver at the surface as well as getting an unconscious diver onto the side, they were both worn out but with a great sense of achievement. They simulated rescuing someone who was unconscious and worked brilliantly together to give this victim the best possible chance. We are confident in their rescue ability and would recommend them as a dive buddy to anyone. Well done PADI Rescue Divers.

The PADI Open Water Students were sensational; there were no problems or difficulties with any of the skills. Although they were a little apprehensive on Saturday morning, by the end of the weekend they were looking like confident divers. The Instructors were very impressed by their ability but it shows the hard work that they put in during the pool sessions was worth it. Four of the five also completed the PADI Drysuit Specialty on Sunday and enjoyed the delights of the new plane during their dive. We are hoping these five will enjoy many more dives with the club and get stuck in with the PADI Advanced Open Water Course.

Blue Planet Aquarium Shark Dives

2010-04-22T11:21:00.001+01:00

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to dive with the Shark’s at the Blue Planet Aquarium at Ellesmere Port? Are you considering taking the Shark Awareness Specialty Course?
Well hopefully Syd’s account of his day out at the Aquarium will answer many of your questions.
“On Sunday 7th Feb, I spent a day at the Blue Planet Aquarium doing my PADI Shark Awareness Specialty. I was really excited at the prospect of getting up close to the sharks, little did I realise that I was going to have mixed emotions when I left the Blue Planet later that afternoon.

The day started with meeting the staff at the entrance at 09.30. Once signed in we got a tour of the Aquarium by our Instructor, Julie. Tour complete we headed for the classroom for a coffee followed by informative presentations. The PADI Shark Awareness Specialty teaches a wide array of theory on Sharks from breeding, habitats, shark anatomy, feeding habits, movement and much more. We broke for lunch at 1.00pm and our meals were included in the price of the day.

After lunch it was back to the classroom for more presentations, followed by a short DVD on how the illegal shark fin trade is having a negative impact on the population of sharks. The DVD showed fishermen (more like butchers) catch the sharks, cut off their fins and then just kick them back into the water to die. It was sickening to watch and made me wonder if we took one of the fishermen, cut his arms or legs off then cast him into the water, would the public outcry be the same?

After the DVD we made our way to kit up for the dive, excited but saddened by what we had just seen. The dive itself was awesome; we spent 30 minutes in close proximity to sand tiger sharks, lemon, guitar and nurse sharks along with other fish and moray eels swimming freely around us. Storm, the 3m Sand Tiger Shark was certainly not shy and we watched in wonder as it swam past us, keeping a watchful eye on our progress. It’s an experience I would recommend to anyone and the whole day made me more aware of just how precious these amazing creatures are and how we should do our best to protect them. If you’re thinking about having a go, stop thinking about it and do it!”

Another Successful Weekend! PADI SMB Specialty & PADI Wreck Specialty

2010-04-21T16:26:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to Dave, Matt and Simon who successfully completed their PADI SMB Specialty Course this weekend. Thank goodness that Dave and Matt were warm enough as they braved the cold water in wetsuits. After an intense and action packed pool session, the students then took the plunge into Capernwray to complete the required 2 dives. Not only did they successfully launch their SMB’s twice to meet the PADI SMB Specialty Course requirements but they also managed plenty of practice of different reels and a variety of deployment methods. Excellent deployments gents!

Also a well done must go to Duncan and Kerry who took part in the PADI Wreck Specialty. Duncan was hugely excited by the new addition to Capernwray and extremely pleased with himself after successful line laying techniques inside the wreck. Although the visibility was poorer than normal, Kerry and Duncan were great students and Katy thoroughly enjoyed her dives with them.

May's 'Gone Diving' - Monday 10th May - 6.45pm

2010-04-21T15:49:00.001+01:00

Syd's 'Gone Skiing' - Monday 10th May

May’s Gone Diving activity is a visit to the slopes to enjoy a skiing lesson or if you’re a seasoned skier to come and show off in front of us all. Syd has organised for the Dive Club to get together at 6.45pm on Monday 10th May at the North Staffs Ski Club at Bathpool Park, Kidsgrove. He’s even managed to negotiate a discount for the group and the whole evening will cost just £10! The evening session will consist of a 90 minute skiing lesson for those who’ve never tried or 90 minutes on the slope if you’re a proficient skier. All equipment is provided regardless of experience level, with the exception of snowboards. These are not available to hire.

Participants must bring a pair of gloves and wear a long sleeved top. You are also recommended to wear waterproof trousers or tracksuit bottoms but jeans are acceptable.

So, if you want to see Syd strutting his skis or Darren and Katy falling over, come along and Go skiing! Please contact Katy on katy@divecourses.co.uk to book your space.

June 'Gone Diving' Day - Ant's 'Gone Ape'!

2010-04-15T16:26:00.002+01:00

Ant's gone Ape day! Sunday June 20th

Think you can handle 3 hours of tree top adventure?

Are you wild enough to climb 30ft up a rope ladder, tarzan swing onto a giant rope net then zip wire 260 metres through trees, crawl through tunnels and tackle high wire rope bridges?

If the answer is yes then Go Ape with Ant!

Time – 9AM (TBA) Car share possible, can arrange when know what numbers we have going. Activity time is approx 3-4 hours based on a group of 10 people

Location – Cannock Forest, Birches Valley Forest Centre, Lady Hill, Rugeley, Staffordshire, WS15 2UQ

Can I Go Ape?

• Age 10 or older (Bring family/friends but under 18s (Baboons) must be supervised by a participating adult. An adult can supervise either 2 children (Where one or both of them is under 16) or up to 5 16-17 year olds
• Over 1.4m/4ft 7 inches tall
• Under 130Kg/20.5 stones
• Reasonably fit (Ability to climb a ladder, it is not a race!)

It’s perfectly safe with fully trained instructors and proper equipment. This is one of the UKs top recommended days out so we need to book as soon as possible to ensure we get in as 1 group.

• Highest point: Rope Passage (site 3) 14m
• Longest Zip Wire: Site 3 Zip Wire 260m
• Longest crossing: Rail Track (site 5) 16m

• Total length of all crossings: 1,465m

• Number of crossings: 38

• Number of sections: 5

Price
Adults (Gorillas) £30
Children/young adults (Baboons) £20
Parking £3 for 1 car all day

The site is well equipped with toilets, food/drink service etc. The surroundings are fantastic with mountain bike trails (UK MTB team train here!) and nature walks so why not bring the family too??

What are you waiting for, get it booked, you will love it!! Please book your space with Katy as soon as possible as places will be limited.

Time for a PADI Scuba Review?

2010-04-09T16:38:00.000+01:00

Are you counting down the days until your holiday? Are you diving abroad this year? Are your dreams filled with fish, coral or wrecks in preparation for an exciting club trip away? If so, make sure you take into account how long you’ve been out of the water. If it’s been 6 months or longer, you really need to consider enrolling on a PADI Scuba Review. Completing the PADI Scuba Review here will also enable you to start diving as soon as you get to your holiday destination, rather than having to spend a day at a Dive Centre first.

The PADI Scuba Review will not only refresh your knowledge of dive theory but also your diving skills. A member of Sub-Mission staff will meet you at the Dive Centre to review your diving theory. Don’t worry, this is merely to help you remember any forgotten information or to clarify information you never fully understood. You will then go to the swimming pool where your staff member will help you to gear up and go through buddy checks as well as practicing those vital skills with you under water. Should there be anything in particular you would like time to practice your allocated staff member will be more than happy to spend time with you.

The PADI Scuba Review will cost £35 if you still have your Open Water manual and an extra £10 if you do not. The session can be arranged on either a Wednesday or Sunday evening, so contact Katy to arrange your PADI Scuba Review today.

Congratulations five new PADI Assistant Instructors!

2010-04-09T16:34:00.002+01:00

Well Done On Your Open Water Presentations At Capernwray
Originally uploaded by Sub-Mission Dive Centre

A massive congratulation must be attributed to the 5 candidates who have been working extremely hard over the past month to achieve PADI Assistant Instructor status. Lyndon, Joanne, Paul, Ant and Chris have proven their teaching ability in a classroom setting, swimming pool and Open Water environment. Each candidate learnt the techniques required to teach scuba as well as understanding the various PADI programs standards and content. They were tasked with presenting new skills to students during role playing exercises to test not only their demonstrations but also their ability to control a group. Their hard work has certainly not been in vain as we are looking forward to utilising their new skills as PADI Assistant Instructors in the Dive Centre. We are also excited that their progression through to PADI Instructor has begun so well and can’t wait for them to join us on the next PADI IDC! Well done.

Well Done PADI Drysuit Specialty Divers!

2010-04-09T16:28:00.001+01:00

We would like to congratulate John and Sarah for braving the elements at Eccleston Delph last weekend to complete the PADI Drysuit specialty. They both learnt to dive abroad and have been diving here in the UK in Semi-dry’s. However, to make the most of the Dive Season, they both decided to learn the techniques and skills needed for drysuit diving. After a pool and classroom session, they completed 2 dives at the Delph in order to achieve the PADI Drysuit Specialty rating. They made Katy’s job easy with almost perfect buoyancy, confidence and control in the water. We hope that they will be able to spend longer in the water now and enjoy their surface intervals more as dry divers! Congratulations.

Congratulations PADI Advanced Open Water and PADI Deep Diver Specialty Success!

2010-04-09T16:27:00.000+01:00

Well done to Steve, Mark and Jackie who successfully completed their PADI Advanced Open Water at Stoney Cove. Under the Instruction of Dawn, the students completed the Underwater Navigation, Deep, Wreck, Multilevel, Drysuit and Peak Performance Buoyancy Dives to gain the PADI Advanced Open Water Certification. They performed well although the visibility was on the poor side at Stoney Cove and each learnt invaluable skills to help them with their future dives.

Martin, Bill and Neil also deserve a pat on the back for completing the PADI Deep Diver Specialty. Each student was equipped with an extra cylinder as a redundant air supply and managed this additional to their kit well. They weren’t distracted by the cold or the poor visibility, although there was evidence of nitrogen narcosis affecting several of the students, especially when it came to counting underwater. The staff and students had a great weekend so congratulations.

Darren’s ‘Gone Diving’ Day success

2010-03-31T12:22:00.001+01:00

The start of the Dive Season went off with a bang yesterday with the success of Sub-Mission’s ‘Gone Diving’ day. Darren had organised for the club to dive at Stoney Cove, as a gentle introduction to the new season, in anticipation of some coastal diving to come. We had a phenomenal turnout with over 30 divers attending. Although we’d all lost an hour’s sleep due to the changing of the clocks, everyone was in high spirits and excited about the days diving ahead of them.

Darren was on hand to help several of the group plan dives and arrange buddy teams. He was even spotted making several club members tea and chocolate.

There was a variety of diver experience levels in attendance and whilst some members carefully planned dives to the deepest parts of Stoney Cove, others were happy to get used to their kit again along the shallower parts of the shelf. The Stanegarth was by far the most popular feature that club members were excited to explore.

Due to the poor visibility at Stoney Cove, the highlight of the day was probably the unlimited amount of cake, biscuits and yummy food available between dives.

We are really pleased with how many divers turned up and are excited that this year's ‘Gone Diving’ calendar will be a great success. So make sure you keep an eye on the blog to avoid missing the next event.

Sub-Mission Dive Club Spring Bash - Saturday 8th May

2010-03-26T14:17:00.001Z

It’s the start of the dive season so what better reason do we need to get together, let our hair down and party? Sub-Mission Dive Club will be holding a Spring Bash to kick the Dive season off and you’re all invited.

The party will be held at the Tollgate Hotel on Saturday 8th May, from 8.00pm until Midnight. We have hired a disco and a function room with a bar for the evening. Due to the success of the Christmas Party, we’ll make fancy dress optional for those that dare. You can be sure that there will be more unusual outfits to match last years Sheikh, rattle and roll as well as blobby and the hotdog.

The cost will be £5 per person and will need to be paid to Katy at the Dive Centre prior to the Party. Please confirm your attendance as soon as possible.

Competition to design new Fourth Element Dive Club T-shirt

2010-03-25T19:44:00.001Z

Sub-Mission Dive club has been expanding rapidly for a while and we think it’s about time that the club members had a sense of belonging and identity. So, we’ve decided to design our very own Sub-Mission Dive Club t-shirt, which will then be printed and branded by Fourth Element.

We’ve decided to open this up as a competition for Sub-Mission Dive Club Members. After all, it will be you wearing them.

What do you need to do?

Either sketch, create an image or even just think of a concept or slogan, to encompass what Sub-Mission Dive club is all about. Don’t worry if your drawing is terrible, the team at Fourth Element will actually create the graphics, we’re just looking for the idea. Whether the design is wreck orientated or fish themed, we’re interested in your thoughts.

Entries must be in by April 30th. The winner will have their design brought to life by the team at Fourth Element, who will create a T-shirt completely unique to Sub-Mission Dive Club. Not only will the winner receive a free T-shirt, they will also be able to boast that the Dive Club will be wearing their design during this year’s dive season.

Congratulations - PADI Rescue Divers

2010-03-23T13:45:00.000Z

What a busy weekend it was. As well as the PADI Open Water Course and PADI Assistant Instructor Course, we also managed to squeeze in a PADI Rescue Diver Course. Congratulations to Mike, Colin, Keeley, Garry, Phil, Gavin, and Tom who have worked extremely hard over the past 5 weeks to gain the PADI Rescue Diver certification. They were challenged on Sunday with several different scenarios from missing diver to unconscious diver on the surface. Working in groups, they managed to effectively put the skills that have been practiced in the pool into a realistic Open Water situation. We are confident that each of them has gone away with some vital skills that could save themselves or someone else if an incident ever occurred. Well Done.

Congratulations - new PADI Open Water Students!

2010-03-23T13:43:00.001Z

Massive congratulations have to be awarded to the PADI Open Water Students who completed their course over the weekend. Glynn, Lauren, Rob, Andy and Paul all achieved what is possibly one of the most difficult PADI certifications during the winter months. Although the water was still a cool 4 degrees, these five students persevered and completed all of the skills with ease and few nerves. Not only that, but they also completed the PADI Drysuit Specialty on Sunday, setting them well on their way to achieve the PADI Master Scuba Diver rating. They have been a brilliant group to teach with a great attitude and spirit, making our job to instruct even more pleasurable. From all at Sub-Mission, thank you and well done.

Fourth Element Launch Pelagic and Amphibian Wetsuit Boots

2010-03-18T21:52:00.002Z

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Fourth Element’s latest products; the Pelagic and Amphibian wetsuit boots. You might wonder why we’re so excited about a simple boot but in respect to comfort, performance and design these new products are second to none. As with the whole range, Fourth Element has considered all aspects of diver need to come up with two ergonomically constructed boots with some incredible features.

Both boots are 6.5mm neoprene and offer optimum warmth and comfort. Other features include a cut away on the back of the heel to minimise stress of the Achilles tendon during finning, a heavy duty zip and zip stopper to ensure your boot zip doesn’t come undone during a dive, as well as fin strap retainer. The best feature of both boots though is the Footbed insole which is fully removable and easily cleaned. This insole offers a stiff ‘chassis’ to provide stability and comfort when walking along a rocky beach, climbing fin ladders etc. The underside of the insole has a heel strike pad to offer impact protection and the whole thing is lined to support the heel and arch of the foot. This is a revolution in dive boot and is the first fully supportive and ergonomically designed footbed.

The Pelagic boot, priced at £39.95 is the lightweight version of a wetsuit boot with a fairly soft, flexible sole. The Amphibian boot, priced at £49.95 is a harder soled boot more suitable for rockier entry methods. It is also physically larger so will be easily worn with the same fins as a diver wears with their drysuit.

Sub-Mission Dive Centre is expecting delivery of these boots by the end of April but get 15% discount if you pre-order now!

Sub-Mission has a new PADI Master Instructor

2010-03-18T21:35:00.001Z

Sub-Mission would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Katy who has managed to achieve the prestigious status of PADI Master Instructor. This professional rating demonstrates commitment to PADI diver training of all certification levels as well as to Project AWARE. Katy has worked hard over the past few years to train hundreds of divers from Discover Scuba all the way through to PADI Assistant Instructor, which has given her masses of experience and a wealth of knowledge. She has been key in mentoring new PADI Divemasters and PADI Instructors and has assisted Sub-Mission’s Platinum Course Director, Clive during IDC’s. We’re really proud of her achievement but hope she doesn’t start bossing us around now.