More PADI Open Water Students success

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!

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

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.

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

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

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

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!”