The liveliest letters from the Diver mailbag...

---

Do BSAC divers get on with PADI divers or not? This month has seen a flood of mail on the subject...

LET'S DIVE TOGETHER
With reference to Kevin Cavanagh's letter (No Welcome At The Pool, December 1999): last summer I went on a diving trip to Tenerife with a BSAC club from Kent, through some friends who had recently taken up diving and were members.
The group was mixed in experience, but I was the only PADI diver. As I was joining them, I was prepared to go along with however they managed the trip.
When asked about my qualification, I told them I was completing my PADI Divemaster. They asked what that was and I explained that it was similar to their Dive Leader.
On the first dive I was buddied up with a Dive Leader who was, I later learned, one of their most critical divers. We compared qualifications, expe-rience, signs, safety stops, etc before a dive which turned out to be fantastic and very relaxing.
It was reported that I was a very competent diver and there were no problems with the way I dived. I was not out to prove anything, but to do what I was trained to do. I was a little surprised that there might have been doubt about my ability and the PADI way of doing things, but on reflection they only wanted to know what kind of diver I was.
One of the more senior BSAC divers later agreed that there might have been some ignorance of the PADI system on their part. I knew something of the BSAC because I had started my training with it.
There are plenty of pluses and minuses in both systems, but if divers follow through the structured training offered by either, they will come out equally well trained. The difference in a diver comes through how often he dives and his range of experience.
I really enjoyed the trip and found all the BSAC divers welcoming. I was asked if I would like to join them on future trips, and even invited to their Christmas party!
So, in response to Kevin's letter, there are bad eggs in every situation. In your case, it was the ignorance of others in not wanting to find out about you, in mine, others wanted to know what kind of diver I was. I am more than happy to dive with BSAC divers.
Mark Blacker

I was very disappointed to hear of Kevin Cavanagh's experience when trying to make contact with the three BSAC branches. I saw a copy of his letter several weeks before it was printed in Diver and tried to contact Kevin. When I found his telephone number unavailable, I wrote to him, but unfortunately he did not reply.
Kevin might not have received my letter, or might have chosen to ignore it.
However, as he has publicly been very critical of the attitude of three of our branches, I think he should at least talk to me or someone else in the BSAC, so that we can point him towards a branch that has the same attitude as the rest of the BSAC, and would welcome someone with his obvious enthusiasm and skills.
I would also like to know the details of the branches that did not welcome him, so that we can encourage them into the ways of the BSAC. So Kevin, please contact me. You obviously care about your sport, as do I.
John Pederson, BSAC South-east Regional Coach

As a fellow-diver, previously BSAC and now PADI, I was disappointed to read Kevin Cavanagh's letter, which will undoubted be read by many recruits
It leaves me ashamed to think that this mentality persists. It is unfortunate that a few blinkered individuals still hold positions of authority within BSAC branches.
There is no doubt that a great many PADI-trained divers would welcome the opportunity to join a BSAC club, but are put off by local club politics and the cliques it creates.
The PADI Diving Society with its local chapters is an obvious response to filling the need for a diving club environment. Be it BSAC, PADI or SAA, I urge Kevin to search out a more enlightened bunch. They do exist.
Tony Kitchen, Blackburn

I was very saddened to read of Kevin Cavanagh's experience with the BSAC branches he approached. Kevin, please come up to our branch. All are welcome, and some of our best divers started out with PADI training.
The only good thing to come out of Kevin's experience is the realisation that BSAC branches, such as the one he visited, won't be around for too long - they will run out of members when the current membership of diving dinosaurs dies out.
We have grown from about 20 members in the late '80s to nearly 100 and, although we have several divers of the old school, I can say that none of them would ever dream of turning down a potential member.
The worst an "alien" diver might experience is some very slight joshing, and some comments about how much better he or she will be after a few months in a BSAC branch.
If you put on the gear and get wet, then you're a diver - welcome aboard.
Paul Milner, West Norfolk SAC, Foulden

I found out recently that two people in my road are divers with the BSAC. When I told them that I qualified with PADI, what a different reception I received from that of Kevin Cavanagh!
They encouraged me to attend their club meetings, where I was introduced to everyone. I was asked if I wanted to sit in on some of the lectures, and was impressed with the instructor's presentation and her knowledge of the subject. Although not yet joined, I was invited to social functions, included on the mailing list, and offered the chance to borrow club equipment to complete my training when I told them mine was at home in Florida.
Time permitting, I will go for the crossover training. Do I feel upset about being asked to complete it? No, why should I? They want to see what I'm like before we decide to dive together, and vice versa.
Will it make me a better diver? You bet it will. Diving safely with like-minded people regardless of training organisations is what matters above all else. The name of this fantastic club is 7 Seas, based in Epsom.
Stuart Brown, Fetcham, Surrey

I trained with PADI after spending two years in Dubai, and became addicted to the sport. I worked my way up to Divemaster and had intended to progress to Instructor but, when my work contract ended, I had to return to the UK.
Having met numerous "expert" BSAC divers in the Emirates who frowned on the lowly PADI, I decided to enrol on an HSE commercial diving course in Scotland to see how tough UK diving really was.
My next work assignment took me to Qatar. I approached the local BSAC branch, intending to join and offer my services free of charge - as had been the way of Divemasters in Dubai.
I found the club welcoming enough, and everyone I spoke to seemed enthusiastic about diving - that is until they heard me mention that I was PADI-trained. Suddenly they closed ranks, and I was left feeling like a complete novice.
There was much talk of cross-over courses and classroom lectures, with no chance of me diving their "challenging" wrecks (20m RIB dives) until sufficient extra training had been completed.
The fact that I had been doing this sort of diving for more than two years, and held an HSE Part 1 licence, cut no ice. I wasn't even allowed to try a dive with them, as their insurance wouldn't cover non-BSAC members.
I gave up my attempt to join this elitist organisation - which seems harder to infiltrate than a Masonic lodge!
I am not surprised that the BSAC is in such financial difficulty, given the hurdles it places in the way of new recruits. More power to PADI for making diving what it should be - fun!
Tony Bateman, Chineham, Hants

Another for the pot
We are always delighted to know that divers have found their visit to the hyperbaric unit at the Diving Diseases Research Centre educational and fun, and are most appreciative when divers write enthusiastically about their tour of the centre. However, we would like to correct one or two inaccuracies in One for the Pot (January).
The charity DDRC was set up to research the effects of the undersea environment on man, not hyperbaric medicine, and remains true to its original remit, at the same time now expanding into hyperbaric research. The DDRC was not one of the pioneers of hyperbaric oxygen treatment. The Dutch, British and Americans led in this field many years before it was founded.
The reference to there being within the chamber "some old equipment with knobs and dials" is inaccurate. Some of it might have looked old, but the chambers hold sophisticated up-to-date ITU equipment; part of the DDRC's research involves the adaptation of all forms of equipment, both medical and diving, for use in a chamber.
There is no charge for up to two hours' treatment (not in the chamber) and assessment. For up to 18 hours' treatment in the chamber, charges may run from about £6000 to £18,000, depending on length of therapy.
Finally, although the DDRC has the facility to deliver heliox saturation treatment, this would be used only in the rare case of an extremely serious DCI, not, as implied, where "symptoms persist".
We look forward to welcoming further divers to DDRC, and would encourage anyone wishing to support our diving research programmes to apply for information to join DDRC the Club, which helps to fund our diving research projects.
Phil Bryson, Medical Director, DDRC


Spiralling in the right direction
I have just read Paul James' letter about spiralling costs (The Price We Pay for Gear, February). He couldn't be more wrong.
A couple of years ago I came into a bit of money that finally allowed me to indulge in some spending and join my twinned-up tekkie mates.
I was sure I was getting lots of bargains at the time, but everything I bought I have since seen cheaper. To cap it all, a French-based company has now opened a branch just south of us, in a certain windy, rainy northern city, with prices I couldn't believe. True, my tekkie friends would turn their noses up at the stuff, but it's perfectly adequate for the beginner.
I have been interested in diving for more than 10 years, so should be a bit more clued up than a beginner.
Now, if somebody could do something about the spiralling cost of car insurance, petrol, parking fees...
Paul Gaughan, Bolton

Who would refuse air?
As part of my Dive Leader training, I have been studying BSAC incident reports covering several years. In the reports for 1996 and 1997, I was somewhat confused to read several accounts in which divers, finding themselves without air, had been offered an alternative air source by their buddies, but refused it.
At a lecture, I found that others had noticed the same behaviour reported in fatality accounts from different years.
I would like to put up for discussion this point: why would trained and qualified divers go against their training by refusing an alternative air source that could have saved their lives?
Is it possible that the accounts of these incidents, particularly regarding the offering of an alternative air supply, are not entirely accurate?
Mark Gibson, Excalibur BSAC

Milk run
In the article about diving couples (More Than Just Good Buddies?, February), I was very interested to read about the problems encountered by Rhiannon and Norman (and baby Finn).
My husband and I were dive buddies, both before and after the birth of our son James, who is nearly two. My first dive after the birth was when he was only six weeks old.
I too breast-fed our son for more than a year, but expressed milk to leave with our baby-sitters when diving.
I did suffer minor inconvenience with engorged breasts after diving, though I don't think the milk slick affected the marine life of southern England. The only problem I found was mental - we are both much more careful when diving, but that's no bad thing.
We are still diving together, so there is hope for all those diving mums!
Alison Baxter

Taken to tusk
After reading Steve Weinman's article about diving in Tunisia (Burrowers on the Coral Coast, December) I am eager to know at just what depth he spotted the colony of walruses at La Galite.
I'll wager it was well beyond 50m, as these splendidly tusked behemoths are generally considered to be confined to chilly Arctic climes.
Cris Little, Los Angeles

Editor's reply: They do refer to the animals as "walruses" locally, but I believe they are in fact Mediterranean seals - rare, but admittedly not as rare as warmwater walruses!

Oildrum helmets and glued wetsuits
What wonderful memories Bernard Eaton resurrected in Increasingly Serious Sinkers (January).
My earliest memories of diving were in 1953 in the Leeds & Liverpool canal at Litherland. My grandfather helped me to cobble a diving helmet out of a small oil drum, the sides cut away for my shoulders, aeroplane glass (now known as perspex) riveted to the front for viewing and a non-return valve in the top as an air inlet.
He made a pump to supply air, and with heavy chains around my waist and braces up to the helmet, I entered the canal and stayed under for four minutes. From that moment I was hooked.
Around the same period, a magazine called F J Camms' Practical Mechanics ran a series on making your own demand valve out of a Calor gas valve. There were instructions on how to open the ports and drill holes to allow the water easier access to the diaphragm. I converted one and it worked OK.
The magazine also detailed how to make a wetsuit from a set of longjohns. You put the underwear on and had someone paint them all over with rubber solution, a type of glue.
When the suit was dry, chalk was thrown over it. The suit was not very thick, but it made a hell of a difference. I also remember a lady who made wetsuits, which went under the name Typhoon. She would sell you a sheet of 5mm neoprene and a set of paper plans to make your own!
Gordon Youd, Christchurch

Thank you for Bernard Eaton's evocative article on diving pioneers. I remember well John Bevan and Peter Sharphouse's 457m record simulated dive. It took place the same day as the BSAC AGM. I was Club Chairman at the time and, having made the announcement to a cheering assembly, read out John's telegram: "Sorry, unable to attend AGM due to unprecedented pressure of business".
Alex Flinder, London

Sticks and strobes?
Should light sticks and/or strobe lights be compulsory equipment on night dives, wherever in the world you dive?
I spent the Millennium period in the Maldives, and my last dive was a night dive. The site was only five minutes from the jetty, but when we were ready to dive at about 7.30, the whole area was in darkness. Some of us had hired torches from the diving school, although I had my own small back-up torch, and two divers had Kowalski torches.
It got even darker during our descent to 20m. Some of the other divers ahead of our three-man team were slightly obscured from view, as their bodies blocked the paths of their torch beams.
One of our group had to keep turning off his own torch, because it was too bright and lit up the whole sea! Had we all been issued with additional means of visibility, such as a light sticks or strobe lights, the dive would have been more enjoyable and we would all have been able to keep in good eye contact with each other.
Euro-Divers, which ran the operation, said torches were enough. In the UK, I always use a strobe when visibility is not good, purely for safety. What do others think?
Graham Bateman, Ripon

---

Appeared in DIVER - March 2000

---

We want to hear from you Write now to diving's brightest, most controversial letters section. There is £10 for the author of the lead letter each month. Address it to Diver, 55 High Street, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 8HA, fax 0181 943 4312 or e-mail editorial@divermag.co.uk. Please include your full name and home address.

Go to Beachcomber
Previous Letters

---

DIVERNET NAVIGATOR