Buddies Needed

We are often asked if anyone needs a buddy, especially during the week. So maybe a solution can be found here. Use this thread to offer your availability. Make a date to meet at the dive centre and 'hey presto' you're diving.
Simply add a comment to this giving the time and day, and revisit to see if anyone has taken up the offer.
Use email addresses or mobile numbers, but please do not give away too much in the way of personal information as this is an open site.
Happy Diving!

UK Local Coastal Diving Available

In assocaition with Brighton Diver, here is a list of possible dives.

April to august diving for Individuals and groups. Other dates available for group bookings.
Some of the dives can be changed to other sites for group bookings please call or email if you would like to book on.

April
Sunday 18th Pentrych 22m 0715 away 6 spaces
Sunday 25th Clodmore 28m 0730 away 10 spaces
Wednesday 28th Ashford 40m 1000 away 10 spaces
May
Saturday 1st City of Brisbane 28m 1200 away----6 spaces
Sunday 2nd Quail 40m 0700 gone 4 spaces
Monday 3rd bank holiday Arial 28m 0730 away—7 spaces
Wednesday 5th Stanwould 34m 0900 away 10 spaces
Saturday 8th Fortuna 30m 0630 away 10 spaces
Sunday 9th Boat available
Wednesday 12th Glencoe 56m 0900 away 10 spaces
Sunday 16th Ashford 40m 1000 away 4 spaces
Wednesday19th Ramsgarth 28m 0800 away 10 spaces
Wednesday 26th TR Thompson 35m 0830 away
Saturday 29th City of waterford 34m 1115 away 4 spaces
June
Wednesday 9th Fortuna 30m 0730 away 10 spaces
Sunday 13th TR Thompson 35m 1045 away 10 spaces
Wednesday 16th Quail 40m 0700 away 9 spaces
Wednesday 23rd UBOAT U130 34m 0730 away 9 spaces
Friday 25th Boat available
Wednesday 30th Blainfield 33m 1230 away 10 spaces
July
Wednesday 7th Broadhurst 63m 1200 away 10 spaces
Friday 9th Boat available
Sunday 10th Clodmore 28m 0830 away 6 spaces
Wednesday 14th Braughton 36m 1200 away 10 spaces
Sunday 18th City of Brisbane 28m 1500 away one dive----8 spaces
Wednesday 21st Duke of Buccleugh 58m 1145 away 10 spaces
Saturday 24th City of waterford 34m 0930 away 12 spaces
Monday 26th Ashford 40m 1030 away 10 spaces
Friday 30th Boat available
Saturday 31st City of waterford 34m 1330 away 6 spaces
August
Sunday 1st Fortuna 30m 1400 away one dive----12 spaces
Wednesday 4th Moldavia 50m 0900 away one dive 10 spaces
Saturday 7th Aracatica 58m 0730 away 6 spaces
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Eastbourne 3 days P&O liners and Air Show
Wednesday 11th Oceana 25m 1045 away 12 spaces
Thursday 12th Alaunia 35m 0715 away then Air Show 12 spaces
Friday 13th Oceana 24m 0715 away then Air show 12 spaces
Monday 16th Pentrych 22m 0900 away 10 spaces
Saturday 21st Ikeda 24m 1430 away 12 spaces one dive
Wednesday 25th UBOAT U130 34m 1030 away 10 spaces
Friday 27th Boat available
Saturday 28th Pentrych 22m 0700 away 6 spaces
Saturday 28th Clodmore 28m 1200 away 12 spaces
Sunday 29th Tyco 34m 0700 away 12 spaces
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All above dives inc 2nd drift dive or pier if possible on the return journey. Dives deeper than 45m one dive only.
Dives need min 6 divers to go ahead
All Dives are subject to change due to weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances.
Cost pp £40 to £60 depending on distance
Book early and avoid disappointment
Call Paul, skipper 07901822375 or 01273 301367 and good diving

April Special Offers

Special Offers For April

Cressi BCD/Regs Complete £515.00 Moby Light Bag £75.00
Cressi Travel Light BCD and Regulator Package …….
….includes, the Cressi Travelight BCD with integrated weight pockets, the Cressi Ellipse MC5 Black Regulator and Cressi Ellipse Octopus and the super light Cressi Mini 2- Gauge console. All weighing in at less than 4.5kg (approx, with Medium BCD) The BCD is so lightweight and comes packaged in its own mesh storage bag - check out the images below. Possibly the lightest BCD we've ever come across. Cressi Ellipse Black MC5 regulator, balanced diaphragm, lightweight and low volume. Utilising the latest innovations to create a technopolymer shell which produces a durable yet and lightweight reg. The latest Cressi Ellipse Octopus makes the perfect partner for this set. Cressi Mini 2-Gauge console gives you your depth and air pressure in an easy to read compact and lightweight for­mat. To complete your Cressi Travel Light Diving package why not add the superb Cressi Moby Light travel bag weigh­ing at less than 3kg, an excellent, versatile wheeled hold­all. Retractable handle, sturdy wheels, 85 litre capacity with just one external zip making it easy to secure for travelling. Moby Light Dive Bag Dimensions - approx: 750mm x 400mm x 300mm

Tip of The Month
Always leave regulators stored with hoses hanging free and not curled up. Leaving hoses curled, especially in reg travel bags, causes1 the hoses to kink and deform. The re­sulting damage will mean that when serviced the hoses will need replacement.


Suunto Computer Specials
Suunto are giving us some special deals over the next few months and we are passing them straight on to you.

HELO2 RRP £695 Special £499
Vyper Air RRP £399 Special £299
Vyper RRP £239 Special £199
D4 RRP £367 Special £275
D6 RRP £575 Special £449
D9 RRP £925 Special £725
Cobra2 RRP £630 Special £499
We have only one of each at the special Suunto price, so numbers are very limited. A first past the post policy will apply.

Courses
Book One course before 1st April and get a Free Scuba Review.
Book Two courses before 1st April get 20% dis­count on course number 2.
Book Three and get a massive third off course number 3!!!! Yes 33%off.

Courses must be booked and paid for by 1st April, must be for the same person and cannot include pro level course. Offers cannot be combined.
Well Done Chris!

Holidays 2010
This year we are offering free holidays! Well free from any charges from us! We will tell you the dates, locations and hotels, you book it and we will see you there. This way you benefit from any savings you can make from early or late booking or by using air-miles or other discounts you might find. We will still be around to help with the diving and socialising!

El Gouna Egypt
A new hotel and location for 2010. For those of you who remember Sharm in the good old days why not try El Gouna. With all the character of Sharm, but less of the Russians! Added bonus the Thistlegorm is 2 1/2 hours away with the wrecks of Abbu Nuhas even closer.
The hotel we recommend is the Arena Inn.
The Arena Inn is a 4-star resort hotel located by a lagoon and connected by a bridge to the lively down­town area with colourful arcades, restaurants, bars and shops. The Arena Inn offers all the amenities and comforts of a full-service hotel with a private swim­ming pool and bar, and a beautifully designed restau­rant overlooking the lagoon. B+B, Half Board or Fully Inclusive options available. Prices start from £526.
Dates for El Gouna are 13th April, 23rd July or 11th October. To book contact the centre or lowcostholi­days.com directly

Aliwal Shoal South Africa
50 minutes south of Durban lies a sleepy hollow called Umkomaas home to Aliwal Dive Centre. ADC has it all, accommodation, restaurant, heated pool, the lot. With two big powerful ribs the shoal is only 20 minutes away. Our trips are for 14 days include transfers, B+B, 2 dives per day and 2 chummed shark dives. The famous dive sites of Cathedral and Raggies Cave and the wrecks of Produce and Nebo are all included in the itinerary. Shark’s are enivitable diving
The cost is £995 excluding flights. Flights can be booked from as little at £590 with Emirates Airlines. Fly via Du­bai then into Durban.
Dates for Umkomaas are May 16th and October 31st.
To book contact the centre.

I cannot stand it here anymore!

I'm sorry but frankly I've had enough. I woke up this morning to the news that the recession is officially over, if this is what it's like to be over then god help us! The next gem from the tele - the temperature is returning to below freezing and the snows coming back. That was it, enough, I'm off.
So where am I off to, well firstly in April I'm going to Sharm, nice week of warm weather with plenty of fish to look at. In May, South Africa where there is an IDC to be taught, July; Sharm again for the annual school holiday trip. In October Sharm once more, this time with a Master Scuba Diver programme on offer and lastly November back to South Africa for shark spotting.
All of these trips are open to all - the more the merrier. So if you too fancy escaping the UK and heading off diving why not take a place on on of our 2010 holidays.

Pool Practise and Refresher Training

Now the snow has finally left us, and the ice is off the lake maybe it's time to think about diving again. If the lake is too cold for you, how about a pool session to check your gear and practise those all important skills. Our pool is available on the Sunday 31st January from 8.30am to 11.30am The cost of a 3 hour practise session is £7.50
If you want to refresh skills we will also be running the following refresher courses:
Scuba Review
A complete review of all 18 of your scuba skills. Conducted with a PADI Pro, lots of time to go over the key skills, with lots of tips on how to make them slicker and easier.
On completion your log book will be endorsed entitling you to open water dive well into the new season.
Peak Performance Buoyancy Clinic
Concentrating on the art of buoyancy, skills are practised, new skills learnt, with loads of fun and games along the way. Designed to make hovering simple, breath control a doddle this clinic is a must for photographers and any diver who has been away from the water for a while.
Rescue Review & Workshop
Attention all Rescue Divers, when was the last time you reviewed your rescue skills? How would you cope lifting an unconscious diver from the bottom then initiating rescue breathing at the surface whilst removing equipment? Here's your chance to practise those critical skills in the warmth and clarity of our pool. Under the expert supervision of our senior instructor your rescue skills will be at pro level before you can say 'Diver diver are you OK!'

The cost of these sessions is £65, including pool entry and air.

To book any of the above, please call the centre. Spaces are limited. 01622 790055

All Change for Pro Training

PADI have just released their new style IDC which has some interesting new features and some options which need careful consideration.
The big change is the removal of the instructor candidate workbook and its replacement with the new PADI's Guide To Teaching. The guide goes hand in hand with the new style Instructor Manual. If you are thinking of starting any pro level training make sure you are obtaining the new materials from now on.
The IDC now has an eLearning option, 9 lectures completed on line, reducing the IDC time by 2 days. The same 9 lectures can be completed in the conventional instructor led way as part of the IDC returning it to the full 7 days. Here at Leybourne we are offering IDC's based on either version. Lastly changes have been made to the marking system used during the IDC and the IE. For more information please give us a call at the centre.

Dirt Hidden Under The Carpet

Air cylinders testers are rare, so for many years, and from different venues, I have sent my scuba tanks to the same company for test. And for many years the service has been problematic. Delays in collection, missed return dates. Cylinders leaking on filling, manifolds not sealed etc.
Finally enough was enough, bullet bit I commissioned our own in house testing service, paid out the money for the gear and the training, inspection, authorisation and bingo we now do our own. We are IDEST Test Centre 6W. Now we are opening cylinders for the first time and peering in, looking for rust, checking the valve threads. What do we find, rust and bad valves. How come in the last 6 years I do not recall ever having one being brought back needing new valves or requiring rust blasted out? We learned in our training that it is a requirement, when servicing a valve to replace all the innards. How come I have not seen that done before? Well all I can say is this. When we service your cylinder, we will do it quickly, efficiently and thoroughly. If there is rust inside, we will find it and rectify it. The valve will be stripped, cleaned and have the service parts changed. The valve and cylinders threads will be tested and the cylinder will be 02 clean. It might not be quite so cheap, but it wont be hiding something nasty!

British Divers Are Best

Having just dived with Dressel Divers in Mexico I am once again filled with admiration for us Brits. There the water was warm, the currents mild, the weather hot and sunny. The stress levels were about zero on the sphincter scale. So why on a 10 to 12 meter deep night dive I was briefed to come up after 45 min's or I would be out of air! Why physically turn on my torch and tell me NOT to touch it until after the dive when the dive leader would turn it off! Why operate the kit of a diver to do a buoyancy check when with over 100 dives to her credit she can very comfortably do it herself? Why, why why treat a group of 4 divers, consisting 2 Master Scuba Divers, an Instructor and a Course Director in the same way as a Discover Scuba! Well to be honest its probably resort instructor burn-out syndrome (RIBOS). That's where you are so glad to get your American guest to survive 45 minutes without a disaster that everything blurs into one and all customers are a threat! It made me think of the divers I see here, and it made me appreciate their skills, particularly buoyancy, navigation, the simple ability to actually fin! To breath deeply and slowly, and not to use the low pressure inflator as a lift button. Well done British divers, pat yourself on the back, that effort paid off! You are a cut above.

Hammerhead Heaven

For those of you lucky enough to be off to Sharm soon, good news. Get to the back of Jackson Reef and the Hammerhead Sharks are there a plenty. 16 sightings on one dive alone. Wonderful creatures, such grace. The best advice if you want to see them. Keep the group tight - like a bait ball - stay around 14 metres and when the first few appear do not, in any circumstances swim towards them. Once the sentinels have come for a look if you don't spook them they will disappear to return with the rest of the group for a look. Then if you keep the tight grouping they will stay for a really good look at you!

A Product I Can Recommend

As many of you know I am an opinionated, individual. Not one for sitting on the fence, if I like something I'm only too happy to share my delight and if I come across a real bummer I squeal like a good'n.
Well have I got a dose of delight for you. Last week in Sharm, and I apologise for the missing week of blogging, I tried the new Cressi Travel Light BCD. At 5.5lbs it certainly lacks weight, but with integrated weights, big pockets, metal D rings, trim pouches and three dump points it definitely packs punch. All from a BC that will fold up to the size of your old school plimsoll bag!
So clearly it must have faults - the weight pouches fall out - No. Lacking in lift - No. Feeble construction - No. Sorry I dived it the whole week, 16 times in all, and couldn't fault it. I wholly and unreservedly say - Well done Cressi, 10 out of 10, one of the best diving products I've ever bought!

Oh No Not Sharm Again!

Tomorrow morning I'm off to Sharm and frankly I'm over the moon, so I'm amazed to hear people questioning why I'm going there for the 30th plus time. 'You have seen everything there' seems to be the favorite remark. I don't agree and I'll tell you why. If I walk in a wood and stand under an Oak tree for 20 minutes in December I would never claim to have seen everything that tree has to offer. To start with it has no leaves, in the spring it will grow some, in the summer it will flower and in the autumn it has acorns, then the leaves change colour and fall. And that's just the tree, I've not mentioned the effects of weather or light or even the visiting wildlife. So you see I will always see new things every time I dive in Sharm or on any other site and that's why I'm over the moon.

Swan Rescue

I had a strange encounter with a swan today outside the dive centre. It just didn't look right, it was just standing there, swaying and stumbling. So being an interfering kind of bloke I went up to it and stood next to it - him i should say to be precise. and he just looked at me. 'Fluffy', er yes I named him, then waddled towards me and sat down right next to me. Now I'm no expert but I knew 'Fluffy' was not acting according to the usual swan protocols here. So I picked him up and set him on the back of the pick up where, until the Swan Rescue Service man appeared, we had a big cuddle. 'Fluffy' is now recovering from what appears to be a bit of food poisoning. It made me think though, why did I react? Simple I'm a First Aider and Rescue Diver, I'm trained to take notice of the unusual, and have the confidence to react to it. So if any of you want to have the confidence to react to an unusual or problematic situation why not complete your Rescue Course this summer.

Please note no swans were harmed in the writing of this blog.

My Top 10 Diving Dislikes

We all have them - our pet hates. You know the event, issue or subject that just hits the spot on the grumble gland every time. Here's some of mine............
Lateness. The van leaves for the dive site at..... and it doesn't.
I didn't read the manual - nobody told me I had to.
Can I move my course from tomorrow as I can work overtime, have a wedding, hangover etc
No I cannot swim - is it important.
Twinned bottles without a manifold.
My regs don't need servicing I had them done three years ago.
As I've bought a mask and a snorkel can I have 70% off
This is a low fill it only has 231bar in it
Why do you charge for an air fill - air's free
I bought this from x,y,or z diving at the dive show and its broken will you sort it out under guarantee.

Whats your top pet hate?

Cannot See The Wood for the Trees

How is it that we so often fail to see what's right in front of us? How many of us know some exotic location like Shark Yollander Reef or the Thistlegorm in the Red sea better than our own back yard or back lake. Today I have seen a great underwater video of Leybourne Lake taken only this week and it's made me realise I spend a lot of time looking at students and not enough looking at the fish! So I'm going in today for a pleasure dive and I'm going to look at the fish, and the boats and look for the Eel that everyone keeps seeing, oh and the massive Pike and the Mitton Crabs. As for the video when it's edited we will share it.

The Pleasure Of Success

Recently two people very dear to me experienced success. Within days of each other my Son finished his NVQ in Building and my Daughter passed her ICT GCSE. Both showed the same signs of delight and described their symptoms of pleasure. It was lovely to witness the buzz they felt from the of achievement. So I'll ask you a question, when was the last time you felt the buzz? Well how about completing something enjoyable - like a scuba course. No matter the level from beginner to instructor on completion you too can feel joy of achievement and bask in your well deserved glory. Pleasure, Glory and Buzz available to order just ask in the shop for details.

We Provide A Dyson Service !

The other day I was really very impressed with something - so I'm going to recommend it. I have a 9 year old Dyson cleaner. Yes I know I'm a bloke and what do I know about cleaners!!! Well I'm single so I have too. Anyway back to the issue. The cleaner handle was broken, plus the pipe was split and the stair brush snapped.... you get the picture. So I went on line and the new parts were £52. Or, so the Dyson website claimed, for £63 a man would come out, service it and replace all the broken parts. Now come on you cannot get someone to come out for less than £90 and then the parts and labour bill will be a gazillion, but, ever the optimist I phoned and the very next day (yes I'm serious) the man was there, and on time. What happened next was amazing, he tore it apart, cleaned it, replaced my handle, pipe, and brush and then, because, 'they looked a bit worn, and were old style' put on a new cable, filter and brush head. By now I'm expecting the extras bill to require a mortgage! Nope! Exactly as it said on the tin £63 - amazing, even fantastic. Then I realised something, that's exactly what we do with our courses, advertise a price, include everything, give great service, and no hidden charges. Result, very happy customers. Maybe on the Dyson blog their recommending a 'Leybourne Service' !

Where did the website go?

It's an amazing phenominum the inter-web, such power. Power to make paupers millionaires and millionaires paupers! Well I'm frankly neither but today the inter-web cost me a whole day of my life. How? - well everything just vanished. Yesterday we had a website, a shop and an email system and this morning, no we didn't. After frantic unanswered calls to the web people, texts, voice mails, emails, no reply. This afternoon and still we had nothing interwebbingly. So we started the only thing we could, we temporarily re-hosted the site and re-routed the emails to keep the thing working whilst looking for answers. So if you found us missing that's why and if you sent a mail that was not answered today, please resend it, because it's stuck out there - somewhere. Never to return. Unlike our website which has - I hope !

Days Off Are Precious

I had yesterday off! Those who know me understand the rare nature of this phenomenon! And wow!!!! It reminded me just how precious a day off is, and how not one second of it should be wasted. And that made me think of how we help you use your precious time off. Having the pool in the morning, lake in the afternoon, we really do give you the opportunity to make the most of your day or weekend. Without reducing your contact instructor time by a second we can complete your training much more efficiently than other centres or schools. It's all down to using our local pool and, as importantly our local lake. Why do other local schools keep their students away from our lake and make them drive for hours around the M25? Does Wraysbury offer better viz, lower entry fee's? NO. It's simple: they do not want their students to come into our shop and see our lower prices on equipment, servicing, holidays and training. So at least you know you are being smart, saving time and money choosing Leybourne as your dive centre where we know service and value matters.

In August Let's Get Wrecked!

On August 24th we are in Stoney Cove for a Wreck Specialty training course. Transport leaves the dive centre at 4pm Sunday traveling to Leicestershire. We will be staying in our favorite Badgers Mount Hotel. Monday's three wreck dives on the Stairngarth will include a mapping exercise followed by line laying drills culminating in full penetration. I know that all who know me will expect some remark here but I'm going to pass; just this once! If you want to know more about this exciting specialty give the centre a call. Due to the nature of this course spaces are limited.

More Congratulations - What More!

More converts to 'Devils Gas'! As from today we have two more Enriched Air divers. We congratulate Stacey Smith and Stephanie Kimmenauer on completing their courses. On their final exams between them they missed only 1 mark - very well done to you both. If you would like to join the Nitrox users club we run courses on demand - simply ask in store.