At the beginning of August, 12 intrepid adventurers returned from expedition to the out reaches of Orkney and diving Scapa Flow. 8 of our cohort had never been to Scapa before and two guest made it all the way from KENT!!!!! We had a great time, including a bus tour of some of the land based attractions, paid our respects at the Royal Oak museum, saw some neolithic standing stones, visited the newly refurbished Scapa Flow Museum and ate an AWFUL lot of cake!!! Hugest thanks to Sarah, Rohan and Nick of the MV Honeydew - especially for the "wildlife in a cake tin" evening! 

Last Wednesday we concluded our Oxygen Administration Course with the written assessment and practical assessment. Well done to all our participants and thank you to all who attended as a refresher and were part of our company of actors!!!! There were some Oscar nominated performances!!! 

We were really excited to welcome Michael,  Simon and Ben to our try dive this Wednesday.  All three had a great time taking their first breaths underwater.  Our next try dive is in November,  if you are interested in joining us contact us.

Thanks to our instructor Andy (UK Diver), for taking the time to take a second team in for their Wreck Appreciation SDC practical! He has given up a lot of time for this course! Cheers Andy!! 

As #volunteersweek comes to a close we just want to recognise all our instructors,  assistant instructors,  committee members,  trip organisers,  compressor fillers, cake makers and all the others who go into making our branch awesome and vibrant. This week we competed SP2 Basic Life Support with 12 branch members. 

What a weekend!!!!!! 5 of our newly qualified ocean divers took their first giant strides into the UK sea in some glorious weather out of St Abbs at the weekend.  In addition two sports diver trainees had the opportunity to lead dives and do a bit of dive management (also known as cat herding!!). Dive leader trainees using the opportunity to develop their skills and grown to be role models for the future.  Our thanks to all the instructors who helped supervise,  to our friends from Salford Uni branch and Sheffield branch showing how BSAC - British Sub-Aqua Club really is the biggest scuba club in the world.  We were also really excited to see that this trip included 6 women and 5 men - something not often seen but great to see the female presence growing in our sport! 

...and while some of our club were up in sunny St. Abbs (previous post) … Team 1 of the Wreck Appreciation SDC group were at Capernwray, doing an underwater survey on the ‘Ted Tandy’.

Apparently, the TT refused to show itself initially, but was eventually found… the Team then set about completing various tasks which they had all planned ahead.

All in all a good day with objectives achieved.

The proof will be in the final site sketch….

Team 1: Sam, Steve Taylor, Steve Tiff and Lee.

Thanks to Andy (UK Diver) for instructing!

Team 2 next, in a couple of weeks!!

At the weekend, some of our club headed over to the Hyperbaric Treatment and Training Centre over on the Wirral for a 40m ‘pot’ dive (which is a dry dive where you get to experience serious nitrogen narcosis in a safe environment)

Starting with a very informative talk from the Centre Operator Dave Adcock on the science behind, and the difficulties in, treating DCI (Decompression Illness), this was followed by a facilities tour by Jen, the centre’s Operations Manager. It’s an amazing medical facility able to cope with any and all situations.

After the tour, it was into the pot!

Once in, we descended to 40m and then the merriment began as everyone sounded like they were breathing helium at these depths - due to the thicker gas. Funny enough at the best of times, but with the narcotic effect making everyone feel like they were drunk, it was hilarious!!

After a minute, at the bottom (40 metres) we started the test we were given to do. This is where things get serious as you realise just how impaired your cognitive abilities are when you get ‘nitrogen narcosis’ (aka ‘narked’ or ‘raptures of the deep’).

Simple things become difficult - if not impossible - to do…. a dangerous situation underwater should quick thinking be required.

It certainly highlights the need to be breathing the best gases possible to combat the effects of nitrogen in our air when diving at depth.

But we all returned to the ‘surface’ safely after a few decompression stops, and followed the fab experience with a bite to eat in a local pub before heading back over the Pennines.

A top day and a great experience!

If you’d like to join us on our next adventure, drop us a line today to start your scuba diving journey!!

A busy couple of weeks here at Leeds SCUBA club! Different locations = different training…..

At the weekend: Capernwray… Will completed his OD open water skills and is now a qualified Ocean Diver! Congratulations Will!!!

Sam and Lee worked on their Sports Diver skills. I wonder if the toastie and lucozade helped with the navigation?

Meanwhile, our midweek ‘dry’ session was the Wreck Appreciation session on Marine Life around wrecks. Someone asked what happens if you get bitten by a sea snake abroad. Jo reckoned all you need is an anecdote…..

Then this week in the pool, several members practised their rescue skills. It’s so important to keep practising and perfecting these skills, so that was time well spent.

Thanks as always to all of our instructors who support and train our members.

Apart from the ‘usual’ diver training that goes on in our 5.5m pool, some of our members like to use the pool as an opportunity to refine other diving-related skills, such as underwater photography.

Last week, Andy (UK Diver) was doing just that-practising with his strobe doing macro shots and then with his snoot (which are the pics with just a little section lit up and a black background).

He told me they are ‘very difficult to do as you have to be super close, and super still to get it right.’ Hence the practice!!

Another skill was him designing his artificial reef to use as a model. He let me know that the reef was an aquarium model, and from there he got a few fishing lures that he stuck in to practice eye shots. He’d also 3d printed himself nudi’s of various sizes, colors and shapes and glued them on as further subjects for him.

Impressive!!!! What a cracking idea!

Great results too.

PS he also made nudi fridge magnets for anyone who wanted one!

Yesterday - for the Wreck Appreciation SD course - it was time for the ‘dry practical’ session…..  where else but in the car park!

We learned how to do specific line laying and belaying skills for safe wreck penetration - as well as using a baseline and tape measure to record the main features of an object ( in this case, Andy’s car). All of these skills will be tested underwater next time, with a real wreck ‘surveyed’.

The belaying with the reel was pretty taxing; wrapping line around hawthorn (a particularly nasty species of shark) and navigating through the undergrowth without getting snagged…. Very similar to wreck diving actually, unsuspected pointy sharp bits and all!!  (Steve got attacked by a rogue hawthorn).

Overall, a cracking few hours learning new skills!!

Thanks to Andy for his sound and knowledgeable instruction.

A great ‘Try Dive’ night on Wednesday in the diving pool at the Aquatics Centre in the John Charles Centre in Leeds.

Ten ‘new’ divers had their first experience of SCUBA diving with us in the pool. Apart from getting used to breathing and finning underwater, they also had fun playing with the u/water frisbee, swimming through hoops and playing ‘catch’ as well as doing gymnastics -  all underwater!

After an hour of fun, there were lots of happy faces. We were also delighted that our two U18 try divers, Eirian and Frankie,  absolutely nailed it!!

Well done everyone!

Thanks to our instructors and everyone who helped poolside.

Our club, Leeds SCUBA club (BSAC 115), doing what it does best - sharing our love of diving as well as having fun!

Go to the menu, click on *Diving* then click on *Book a Try Dive*

Or, leave a message below!

PS if you were at the event and would like more photos, contact us and we will send them on.

The Easter Weekend is once again very busy for our instructors with 4 full days of training to complete.

Day 1 - Friday 3rd April

The water wasn’t tropical (despite the promises), and the weather was diabolical (to say the least).

However, despite this, our Ocean Diver trainees absolutely nailed it with their first open water dives.

Curtis, John, Scott, Dawid and Will - well done on two dives in a very chilly environment.  Mask clearing, rescue skills and drysuit familiarisation were all completed. Thanks to Kath, Will and Henry for their patience and care.

Then there was Sophie. Steve took her in and she was amazing. Dropped 4 kilos from her weights and did two dives at 20m + …. Well done our Sophie!

Sharing the chilly water was Steve and Benji who managed two dives despite initial annoyance with dry gloves… but they persevered and came out smiling (or was it grimacing?)

Also at the party was Lee and Sam who went in with Simon to practice in their drysuits as well as working on navigation skills. Well, they managed to get back, so it was successful. Then, in the afternoon they both marshalled the divers, logging everyone’s dives. Well done both. Sadly, Riley (our border collie) wasn’t too good at herding the divers. (Bless)

Meanwhile, Jo basically ran around a lot, got absolutely soaking wet and tried to keep folk in order. Thanks to Sam for the loan of dry clothes!!!!

A pretty challenging day all round - but everyone rose to it and smashed it.

Well done everyone!!!

Day 2 - Saturday 4th April 

Another successful day at Capernwray.  Still challenging conditions,  at one point sideways rain tested everyone's ability to get in to dry suits super quickly!!!! Congratulations to all our trainees who over came these conditions.

Tomorrow we have a new batch of trainees taking their first steps underwater.

Huge thanks to our instructors who are doing 4 days training and the assistant instructors keeping them going!!

Day 3 - Sunday 5th April 

The weather just keeps on surprising us.  This time with an unexpected hail storm followed by sunshine!!!! Think we've had all seasons and all weather's so far.

Trainee change over so Aaron, Charlotte,  Richard and Oscar took their first brave steps into the water.  Well done!!!!

Wonder what the weather will do tomorrow for our last day!!

Day 4 - Monday 6th April

Day four of the epic training trip and FINALLY some sunshine!!!! It didn't warm the water up significantly but it definitely lifts the spirits.  Amazing levels of consistency,  hard work and enthusiasm from all our trainees include two complete sports divers. And a special guest appearance from Yorkshire Regional Coach Carrie Pillow.

6 qualified ocean divers,  3 ocean divers well on their way to complete,  2 completed sports divers,  2 dive leaders getting closer to completing.  What a weekend!!!

Huge thanks to our volunteer instructing team and their assistants and to our trainees thank you for being attentive and disciplined.

A big ‘thank you’ to all of our members who attended the AGM last night. We had 24 members there and one guest - so a great turnout.

We hope that our new Ocean Divers got some insight into the Club and its committee - each officer gave an overview of their input over the year.

Kath (Chair) thanked the outgoing committee and welcomed the new 26/27 officers. Thanks to everyone who put their name forward.

Huge congratulations to Sophie and Dan who were finally given their Ocean Diver certificates. Well done to you!

Thanks everyone.

Very enjoyable pool training last night, watching our Ocean Diver trainees trying on drysuits for the first time….. those that found a good fit then had the joy of using them in the pool.. only after Henry had blown them all up (not literally).

Lots of joy to be had jumping in with a fully inflated suit and then trying to get out.

Then they all put the rest of their scuba gear on and went for a pootle in the pit.

It was great to see them really getting to grips with their drysuits.. Fun times ahead methinks!!

As well as all that, we also had Sport Diver training going on and visitors from Salford!! It was BUSY!!!

Well done all. Thanks to everyone (instructors and other club divers) who made it such a memorable evening.

The photos say it all!

16th January 2026: 

We would like to welcome to our new cohort of Ocean Divers who joined us last week. They’ve already completed 3 theory modules and their first two pool sessions and we’ve only been back from our Christmas break a few days!

Thank you so much to our amazing instructor team, many of which are also training up our new assistant diving instructors (all 4 of them!)

Needless to say, this is going to be a great year of development for our club

If you’re interested in joining, we would love to hear from you leeds.scuba.club@gmail.com

30th January 2026:

Our new Ocean Divers progressed down to 6 metres on Wednesday night, where they practised skills - as well as having fun doing some ‘fun stuff’ underwater…... Well done to them!

Then, on Thursday night, the trainee Sports Divers spent 90 minutes working on a load of gas requirements and decompression questions to prepare them for their test. They were all brilliant and have mastered the necessary maths!!! Yay!!

Thanks to all of our instructors this week: Simon, Henry, Andy and Jo - and their wonderful assistants, Vicky and Steve. Thanks too to Sophie for helping out so efficiently with the equipment allocation.

Teamwork!!!!

19th February 2026:
Last night's pool session was busy!!!!! Lots of our ocean diver trainees getting closer to open water,  Laura practising with her dry suit,  DSMB practise and some special visitors from a local branch including regional coach Carrie Pillow!!! If your BSAC - British Sub-Aqua Club branch would like to come and use our 6m deep pool for training or practise please contact us via the WhatsApp button on this page. We welcome all BSAC branches to share our resources. 

We had a wonderful group of people at our recent try dive event. They all had a great time and we’re looking forward to welcoming some of them back in January for our Ocean Diver course.

We’d like to say a massive thank you to all our members that helped out and thank you to the instructors that came from other clubs to help us out.

On 1st August, 6 of our divers went to Anglesey to put their Marine Life Appreciation skills to the test.  They identified many species of fish and mollusc in Rhoscolyn Bay and took some fantastic photos.  It was a fantastic weekend for camping and diving, not a cloud in the sky and a nice calm sea on the Friday and Saturday.  Unfortunately the trip was cut short due to weather on Sunday but it didn't dampen any spirits after such a lovely day on Saturday.

Thank you and well done to Stewart Who organised his first ever dive trip! Thank you to the local dive club Deifwyr Mon Divers for all their invaluable advice and for filling cylinders for us.

In August, 13 of our divers teamed up with 5 Sheffield scuba divers on a trip to the Farne Islands. We were hoping to see some lovely marine life and hopefully some playful seals. The seals did not disappoint! Every diver saw a seal or two, some of the seals got up close and personal with a couple of members… the members involved have now recovered from non consensual seal kisses and nuzzling . Divers reported seeing Monkfish, Nudibranchs, shoals of fish and much, much more.

Thank you to Tessa, Ash, Billy, Erin and Mikael from Sheffield Scuba, it was lovely meeting you all and we can’t wait for more cross club collaboration.

Thank you to all of our members that attended, we have heard nothing but praise about your actions and how well you all conduct yourself. We are very very proud to have such amazing members (and fabulous instructors that trained you!). Thank you to Victoria for organising the trip and Alex for being her rock throughout the trip. Thank you to Richard Greenwood and Tessa Fisher for offering support and advice to Victoria during the planning stage and on the trip, you were superstars!

Why not join us next September for the next Farnes adventure?!

9 years ago today Steven Horan  did his first pool session with instructor Kath Hutt.  Yesterday they returned from their latest expedition to Norway.  Learning to dive isn't just about the underwater environment - its also about making lifelong friends to go on adventures with. Here's to our next expeditions!!!!!!! 

Last weekend 8 of our members went to South Shields and what a great weekend it was for diving!!

There was something for everyone… lovely wrecks, loads of life, sun and great company!!

Thank you to Bob Scullion at Voyager Boat Charters for an amazing weekend, we will be back next year!! Thank you to Mark Clarke and Bryan from Humber BSAC and Foggy for joining us.

We dove the Pandora wreck and Oslo Fjord/Eugenia Chandris. Check out these amazing photos

Well, what a fantastic Try Dive event last night! So many smiling faces and lots of laughter!!

Eleven try divers experienced scuba diving for the first time, looked after by our lovely instructors - Yas, Joe, Andy, Steve, Vicky and Ian (from another branch, came to help) Thanks also to Jo for sorting out all the admin and to Stewart for overseeing  groupings.

Thanks also to Sophie and Laura for poolside support. Henry, our equipment officer, did a cracking job of seamlessly sorting equipment for everyone.

Leeds SCUBA Club at its best!!!

Next try dive in July! Get in touch if you’d like a go in our wonderful pool.

Well done everyone.

Last weekend saw three of our divers - Kieran, Stewart and Benji - exploring wrecks and scenic dives in Loch Goil, Holy Loch and the Clyde on Jason’s (Wreckspeditions) RHIB ‘Starfish Enterprise’. They all had a great time and are already planning a return visit. Joining in as well was Paul Cockeril from Leeds Uni Club.

At the same time, another diver of ours, Kamil, went off to Whitby to do the BSAC Boat Handling course and also had fun - with dolphins showing up as well!!

Great to see folk extending their skills as well as enjoying themselves!!

Another good pool night with Amelia doing her first forwards roll entry and our other divers starting buoyancy and trim work.  You've gotta love a good teaching prop to help with explaining  trim!!!!! 

What a wonderful bank holiday weekend being so productive. Special well done to Dan and Sophie for completing their ocean diver qualification and benji for completing his sports diver qualification.  As massive high 5 to all the other divers who signed off lessons to progress further with their training or just came for a pleasure dive to have fun! Special thanks to Alex's wife,  Igor s wife Marina and Vicki, all of whom made sure we were well fuelled with Easter treats!!!! Here's to a fun packed year of diving onwards and downwards! 

A fantastic night in the deep pool prepping Dan and Sophie for their first open water dives taking place this weekend. Our 6m pool is great for dry suit familiarisation. Alongside this - but hiding from the photographer! - we had sport divers practising CBL and Rescue Breaths in preparation for their training this weekend. Its going to be a busy bank holiday for our branch 

A ‘hands on’, practical and fun evening for our members on Wednesday night! A taster of the ‘First Aid for Divers’ Skills Development Course (SDC)….

The session (run by Kath) gave an insight into some of the first aid situations that can arise when diving - and how best to resolve them with the limited and assorted resources we have at our disposal out at sea.

This included some very innovative ways of using weight belts as well as discussing the merits of a buddy peeing on you to alleviate a jellyfish sting. (I am assured they didn’t practice that one).

Think some of the ‘casualties’ should be up for an Oscar!!

Well done everyone!

So - last week we had a try dive session and introduced ten people to SCUBA diving!!!

It was a great night with folks enjoying the underwater world for the first time.

Well done everyone!

Thanks to our instructors and the equipment helpers on the night.

We had some lovely feedback from Chris, (one of the try divers) as well:

‘Had a memorable time, to such an extent that I had trouble getting to sleep later as I was ‘buzzing’!! I can see there’s a great atmosphere within the club, everyone made us feel welcome and the session delivered in a professional manner with a lot of fun thrown in!!’

How lovely!

And an extra special ‘WOW’ to 11 year old Diana for being so brave!!!!

On Sunday 26th January, six of our Club members (Vicky, Darren, Alex, Bryan, Dan and Kamil) attended the Compressor Operator SDC (Skills Development Course), where they  learned about compressors and how to use them safely, followed with ‘hands on’ experience operating our new club compressor.

Great that they gave up their time to learn a skill that will actually benefit everyone in our club, not just themselves.

Thanks to Jake (instructor) for giving up his Sunday to run the course, and to Simon Clark for coming along too- sharing his knowledge of operating our new compressor.

Well done everyone!

Compressor rota to follow..

Last week our ocean divers took a big step in their training. Up to now they've been in shallow water practising skills and gaining confidence.  This week they had the experience of diving in the 6m dive pit. Feeling pressure on their ears and understanding the distortion on vision.  They all smashed it and did amazingly well. 

And just like that another diving season is over and  we met for our last social event this year. Some of us will go diving between Christmas and New Year, but officially, we are done for this year and starting our break.

It has been an amazing and fascinating year for our club, full of new challenges, adventures and beautiful friendships.

Thank to all our amazing members for an ongoing support and for keeping club going.

Thank you to our amazing Committee, who always try their best to make club better and members happier.

We cannot wait to see you all again on the 8th January, when we are back for a new season.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

As part of our on-going involvement with local community groups, we recently held two separate Try-Dive events for two Scout groups.

Both of these events were really successful- with lots of very happy scouts at the end!

They all did really well, spending nearly an hour underwater learning to use scuba kit and having fun.

Thanks to the Scout leaders, instructors and helpers for making this happen!

We received some lovely feedback from the scout leaders:

‘Absolutely brilliant session this evening. Thank you so much to all of the team involved. They (the scouts) all achieved their dive, some of them overcoming a lot of nerves to do it.’

How wonderful is that?

#BSAC

#ScoutsUK

Last night we held our annual pool tournament/ Christmas party.  Many new,  current and ex members joining in for a night of fun with our friends at the 147 Sports Bar in Pudsey.  As always we were treated to one of Sharon s brilliant buffets.  Congratulations to Simon and Julie for winning the play offs and thanks to Victoria for her sterling efforts with the raffle!!!!! 

What a fabulous way to spend Saturday.

PRM course done and it was brilliant and very effective learning for our wonderful divers.

Amazing scenarios, great involvement and fantastic team work.

Big well done to: Victoria Marie, Henry Moore and Alex Pieczarka for completing the course and being a step closer to getting their Dive Leader qualifications. Thank you for wonderful collaboration with divers from Leeds University Union Sub-Aqua Club (LUUSAC) and Sheffield Scuba, it was so lovely to meet you all and do the course with you.

A massive thank you to our charming and lovely Diving Officer Yasmine Thorn and Jake for leading the course and looking after us all day - and to Steven Horan for assisting.

Big hugs to two furry attendees- Milos, for keeping us entertained and relaxed when needed

Last weekend our club went to South Shields, where divers discovered the amazing underwater world full of stunning wrecks and beautiful Marine Life.

Divers were able to see:

Ida at 32 meters

Pandora at 24 meters

Oslo Fjord at 14 meters.

Big well done to Alex Aleksandra Pieczarka for making her depth progression and reaching depth of 33 meters and  Henry Moore for completing his ADP.

Thank you to: Victoria Marie for being so supportive to everyone and organizing accomodation;  Louise for wonderful stories and a little bit of touring while on the boat,; Bryn and Mark for making us laugh and entertained through the whole trip.

A special thank you to Kath Hutt for organizing the trip and making it happen, regardless of all the obstacles and Bob from Voyager Boat Charters   for having us on the boat, looking after us and being so supportive, we also send a big thank you to his wife for the amazing food she was preparing for us for each day.

What a whirlwind this last week has been! A group of our members took a fantastic trip to Dunoon to explore the stunning Scottish lochs. Over 7 days, they completed an impressive 11 dives, visiting Loch Long, Loch Goil, Loch Striven, Holy Loch, and Loch Fyne.

It was a trip full of firsts for many of our divers:

- Stewart and Laura completed their first sea dives.

- Amelia and Matt experienced their first wreck dives from a RIB.

- Victoria attempted some dive leading with lots of support from Darren… it was not always smooth sailing

- Louise made her return to sea diving after a short hiatus.

- Kieran practiced his navigation skills underwater.

We’d like to extend a special thanks to the Leeds Uni BSAC club for teaming up with us and providing cylinder fills. Huge shoutout as well to Wreckspeditions and Dunoon Divers, who saved the trip by stepping in to provide cylinder fills! Thank you also to Clydebank Sub Aqua Club for being on standby, you are superstars!

Well done to Victoria for organising her first trip and thank you to Darren for helping with the organisation and for ensuring everyone had safe, enjoyable dives. We are so proud of you all.

Beautiful views, amazing dives and excellent company! Here’s to more adventures,  memories and cross club cooperation!

Look at those stunning and amazing views from Faroe Islands, where Kath and Steven are spending their time diving.

They even spot a Tope Shark. How cool is that?

Thanks guys for an amazing photos and we hope you will enjoy rest of your trip.

Leeds Scuba Club's Amazing Trip to St Abbs!

Hey Scuba Friends!

We had an incredible weekend diving in the stunning waters of St Abbs!

The underwater scenery was breathtaking, and we were lucky enough to see a variety of marine life.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and made this trip unforgettable.

A massive thank you to Henry Moore, who organized the trip and looked after our divers throughout the weekend.

Well done to Amelia and Andrei for their first sea dive. You made us really proud.

Congratulations to Steven Horan for his 200th dive.

A special shoutout goes to Henry, Matthew and Alex for organizing a fantastic BBQ on Saturday night! Your efforts and delicious food made the evening perfect. We truly appreciate it!

Check out some of our favorite moments from the trip in the photos below.

If you couldn't make it this time, don't worry! We'll be planning more exciting trips soon. Stay tuned and join us for our next adventure!

#LeedsScubaClub #StAbbsDive #UnderwaterAdventure #BBQFun