Category: diving

Prepper

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That is to say preparing the garden to receive the seeds for this year’s food crop. Hopefully it will be better than last year’s which was pretty much a washout. Today has been about putting some goodness back into the soil. I’ve also planted the first spud crop (assuming the frost doesn’t get them) it’s a beautiful day. The sun is high and I’m pleasantly tired.

Yesterday was a scuba day with the club giving up it’s time to support a local men’s emotional support group. The guys are always so lovely and so grateful to try something scary with people who are not going to judge them. They can be openly afraid and that is a huge thing for many men. Masculinity can be so very toxic. No stiff upper lip when you’re facing your fear.

There is a saying that you should do something that scares you every day. I’d say do something that challenges you instead. No point in being scared all the time. It’s challenging to pick cat poop out of the raised beds when I’ve spent years trying to chase them off from using those as a litter tray. It’s challenging to talk to a stranger who is about to put their life in your hands. It doesn’t always have to be jumping from an airplane scary!

Next week sees the transfer of seedlings to larger pots and the plants that can go outside being planted. It’s time to look forward again after a tough year. The cycle goes on.

Lifesaver

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I am now an official Scuba Lifesaver. Let me tell you it is not an easy course or exam. There’s a theory section (100% scored) and a practical section which includes a chunk on mouth to mouth and heart massage. Basic Life Support or BLS to its friends.

Another section is practical rescue skills in water. There’s an unconscious diver lift, tow and recus, an unconscious snorkeller rescue and three different swim scenarios. The tows are around 25 metres and the true nasty is treading water for two minutes whilst keeping the victims head out of the water…. That comes right at the end after all the rest.

The whole practical takes around an hour. You’ll sleep well after taking that I can tell you. Of course the joy is knowing those skills might save a life (although you hope not to use them ever) and for me knowing I am now able to teach these skills to others.

Last night was our usual pool night a week in from the test. We had three people there to try diving. The pure joy on their faces when they get out after an hour of gentle encouragement and they know they now have the superpower of breathing underwater. I’m hopeful we will see them again for full training with Mid Lancs SAC

The club are more than diving buddies and after ten years with them they are like family. Mid Lancs celebrates 20 years this year. What an amazing feat. It’s all about the volunteers who give their time to teach and support others. So many community groups exist purely on the goodwill of people who give their time and energy. It’s a fantastic thing. Here’s to 20 more years and I hope to celebrate with the club.

Me being the victim for a practice run.

Easter Gift

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I’m incredibly lucky to have found scuba diving. I love it and it brings me so much joy to be able to share it with others. If you’d have told me this would become my main hobby I would’ve said you were mad. I’m terrified of drowning! What scuba allows is a level of calculated risk. The trick is to do the calculations and then stick by those calculations on your dive…. but I digress…

I’m a member of a BSAC club. Number 2405, Midlancs SAC. I’ve been an instructor for about 5 years now and it is always a pleasure to see a new diver’s face when they emerge from their first try dive. This weekend my club along with a partner club Just4FunDiving took our Easter Saturday to take a bunch of lovely blokes in for a try dive (and they got some resuscitation training too). The guys from Andy’s Man Club are all on their own journey and each came with their own story but those are not mine to share. Suffice to say that for some of them the idea of diving was both exciting and terrifying in equal measure. The pure joy on the faces of these guys when they realised what they had achieved was something I will remember for a long time. I spent an hour and a half underwater, 45 minutes each with two new divers. One of them was so excited he was even chatting under the water which is difficult with a regulator in your mouth, but he managed it! They all have a certificate for their day and a real sense of achievement. These were all guys who have realised that its not so macho to keep quiet and they’ve learned to work on their issues. We need more places like Andy’s Man Club, more “men’s sheds” just as much as we need more safe spaces for women. Tremendous day.

All the ‘staff’ on the day were volunteers from kit movers to instructors to bakers (there is always cake). Thank you to Northern Diver for the sponsorship and to Wigan Council for the use of the pool.