Congratulations to Alix and Mark who qualified as Open Water Divers last month. Well done both of you. Sorry for the delay but I've been away.
You are now qualified members of FFS dive club and are welcome to join us on dives and social occasions. We meet socially on the first Wednesday of each month at the Leasowe Castle from about 8ish. Come and join us, meet other club members and arrange dives with other people. Such dives are mainly on Sundays but occasionally at other times. We also do trips to Scotland and sometimes abroad. You can also get some practice in at the pool and we are there most Wednesday evenings, but see my comments above about the first Wednesday of the month. If you fancy some practice get in touch and we'll see if you need equipment. Come along and do your own thing without us watching you, although someone is usually available to give advice if you need it.
You might be interested in taking the Advanced Open Water course to help improve your skills and experience. The advanced course is all about dives, not the skills you have already mastered. There is a series of 5 dives including deep, navigation, and a choice of many others. Popular ones are night dives, photography, wreck and underwater scooters, but there are more for you to choose from. There is no formal exam but there are knowledge reviews which have to be completed. Give us a call and let us know if you would like more information. Triggerfish
Congratulations to Kirk (no.2) and Lionel (I suppose that makes you no.1) who today successfully completed the Open Water Course. Well done to both of you for the hard work and perseverence you showed throughout. We also had some fun today, I think. I hope you both got home safely in the storm.
Welcome to FFS. Please see my above posting about social events and also the Advanced course which John and I discussed with you today. As soon as you are ready, let us know and we'll sort dates out with you. See you soon, either at the pool or at the Leasowe Castle.
Credit were credit is due, a big thanks to Kirk (Diver 1) for surface support on Sunday, without his assistance John would have had to endure a cold head with no hood and Lionel would have floundered due to entering the water lacking of weight.
Also, masive thanks to Dutchy, whose instructions I now understand a lot better. It was a most enjoyable day with lots of laughs and brilliant weather. To think that the week prior I did not have an enjoyable dive experience, compared to the week later being able to perform my skills with perfection. (It must be something to do with the encouragment that Dive Masters provide) Dive masters often overshadowed by instuctors do perform a vital role in my opinion.
Yes all in all it was most enjoyable day and I have since dived every day since and am looking forward to meeting up with the instructors at the pool were I will continue to go through practicing my skills over and over again, my eventual aim being to become a saturation diver and breath helium!
Needless to say I was caught up in the storm twice, once in St Helens and once again when it passed over to the the wirral. I am looking forward to my next dive a the Delph.
The delph can be a daunting place due to the poor vis, I know it's convenient for a quickie dive but I think its worth the extra driving up to Capernwray where 9 times out of 10 you get a good dive!
Alternatively for crystal clear water there is always Vivian, small but still a good dive!
Yep, really enjoyed my first undepervised pool session last night as it allowed me to do my own thing. Mask removal used to be a problem, but not anymore. Last night I removed it, tossed it away into the deep and fin-ed the entire length of the pool an back, mask being transparent meant it took a bit of finding, put it back on, job done. (Thankfully they dont flood the pool with chlorene as my it would have hurt!)
I am hoping to go to Anglsey this weekend. Back in the day when I was a kid and used to traverse the cliffs around the shoreline I can recall that the water looked to have excelent viz and was on average about 3-5 m deep. I'm sure it is worth a look.
Incedentally, my 17 year old son Sean had to pull out of training due to open water dates being rescheduled and his having to have a minor operation on his finger. All being well he should qualify together with the next lot of students.
I feel real sorry for him as not only has he had to miss training he has also had to cancel his driving lessons and driving test, not to mention his inability to start his new job. Anyhow, hopefully he will do his Open Water Dives on the 1st & 8th
I think he be calling himself and using the screen name "FLIPPER" just to anoy those old salts who insist on them being called 'FINS'
Congratulations to Greg, Ged(yes another one), and Dean on successfully completing the Open Water Course today. Well done. You are now club members of FFS Diver Training Ltd. now that you are qualified divers you probably want to improve your skills and experience. Well, you can do this by diving at home and abroad. We may be going to Scotland for a weekend of diving sometime in September, so watch this site for details in the next few days or so.. A weekend usually means from Friday to Sunday inclusive but may also mean an extra night stay on Sunday and travel back Monday. It's up to individuals what they prefer. If you want to put a bit of practice in at the pool, contact Tommy or John about availability of equipment if you need it. In addition you can dive with other club members. Remember, never dive alone always have a qualified buddy with you just in case there are problems and you need help. Have a look at this site regularly to see if anybody is looking for a buddy or if there is a group going diving. Now that you are qualified you may wish to simply continue as an open water diver or you might want to consider the Advanced Open Water course. This is a series of 5 dives. There is no exam, although Knowledge reviews need to be completed. The dives would include a deep dive, no deeper than 30 metres ,and a navigation dive which would help improve the skills you have already mastered on the Open Water course. The other 3 dives would be from a multiple choice of about 20 or more dives, and we would help you in your choice which could include such things as using a DPV ( underwater scooter), a night dive, wreck dive, photography etc. These are all enjoyable dives and would make you better, more confident divers and qualify you to undertake even more interesting dives at home and abroad. If you are interested please contact Tommy or John.
Club members meet on the first Wednesday of each month in the Leasowe Castle from about 8ish for a bit of social chit chat. You can get to know other club members, find where and when people are diving and tag along. Come along if you can, if only for a quick visit.. It's not a boozey thing, unless you want it to be, and we are usually away about 10ish.
Congratulations to Michael, aged 12; Glen: Dennis and Ollie (father and son), who successfully completed the Open Water course today. Very well done everybody. Now that you are qualified Ollie you can look after your Dad in peace without me slapping your wrists. You are all now members of FFS Diver Training club. If you want to get some practice in at the pool, to hone your newly acquired skills give Tommy or John a call about equipment availability. You can of course join other members on club leisure dives or, if you choose, you can go off with a qualified buddy elsewhere. Keep in touch with the club. Should you wish to further your qualifications you may wish to do the Advanced Open Water course with us. Again, contact Tommy or John. The Advanced course is a series of five dives, two of which must be navigation and deep dives, and a choice of 3 more from about 20 options. We'll advise you of the choices. There is no exam but there are knowledge reviews, and although there are no difficult skills to master, as on the Open water course, your all round expertise will improve. You will find that the skills you have already mastered will become even better. Club members meet on the first Wednesday of each month at the Leasowe Castle, from about 8ish. It's just a get together where you can meet other club members, arrange leisure dives together and exchange experiences. Come along if you can.
Congratulations to Andy, Andy, Ian, Jon and Kate on successfully completing the Open Water Course last Sunday. Well done everybody, we hope you enjoyed the course and will continue diving with us. You are now members of FFS Diver Training. Club Members meet on the first Wednesday of each month at the Leasowe Castle from about 8ish. Please come along next Wednesday and meet other Club members. Should you wish to find out about other courses, finding diving buddies or want to know about honing your skills at the pool, please contact Tommy or John, or ask at the club night. See you on Wednesday.
Congratulations to Andy, Andy, Ian, Jon and Kate on successfully completing the Open Water Course last Sunday. Well done everybody, we hope you enjoyed the course and will continue diving with us. You are now members of FFS Diver Training. Club Members meet on the first Wednesday of each month at the Leasowe Castle from about 8ish. Please come along next Wednesday and meet other Club members. Should you wish to find out about other courses, finding diving buddies or want to know about honing your skills at the pool, please contact Tommy or John, or ask at the club night. See you on Wednesday.
A Big thanks to Tommy and John for their support and patience during my dive at the Delph. Thanks also to Jim and Errol (sp) for their advice too.
Looking to get a few dives in before I head out to malta for a 6 dive trip so hopefully I'll get some at the Delph before the 23rd.
Congratulations to Karen who recently qualified as an Open Water Diver , and to Peter who qualified today. Well done both of you. Enjoy the Great Barrier Reef Peter. Come back and tell us all about it. You can also post your review on the site. Hope to see you both soon, out diving with us.
Many thanks to Tommy and John, to Jim, Ged and Errol for all your help in getting me through the course. Looking forward to clearer waters ahead! Pete.
Congratulations to Wayne and John on successfully completing the Open water Course today at The Delph. Well done both of you. It's not easy but you both did very well and it needed a bit of determination from you today. Great. We discussed the Advanced course with you and I know you are both keen to progress down that route. No pun intended.
Give John a call when you are ready and we'll be happy to oblige.
Big thanks to John,Tom,Ged,Errol,Kurt and Ian for your time and encouragement.I enjoyed the course very much and cant wait to start the Advanced open water probably in the New Year, cheers John.
We sailed out to Hardy Reef on an absolutely perfect day, clear blue sky, calm sea and not too hot. My son, Richard and I signed up for the second dive of the day, so we were able to explore the reef from above, snorkelling, first.
It was so nice not to have to climb into a dry suit! Just a half wet suit and the BCD! We entered the water from a moon deck, semi-submerged platform, nice and easy, and followed a rope-way down. We were warned that the colours were washed away the deeper you go, but I was surprised by just how much: we dived to 14.5 metres and by then the wall of coral we were traversing could have been clay!! We did not seem to go very far before discovering that my air pressure was down to 100 bar, which meant that the whole party had to turn round and head back. Once we reached the rope-way again we checked the pressures and I was down to 50 bar! The dive master told the rest of the party (including my son) to wait then took me quickly to the surface. Tom, you remember when I had my 'panics' in the quarry, you had to slow me down as i headed for the surface? Well, this time, the dive master was pulling me up by the scruff of my neck!
I know I hyper-ventilate a bit but to go from 200 bar to 50 bar in 21 minutes seems a bit much!
Notwithstanding the 'emergency', it was a great experience and another achievement ticked off!
Thanks to you all at FFS for training and preparing me for the experience.
