NDAC - National Diving Activity Centre - permanently closed

[TimPB]

Wibs, for dotty you need to be a member of BSAC and North Wales Technical Divers.

NWTD | North Wales Technical Divers Club

A BSAC affiliated club, NWTD welcomes qualified divers to explore Dorothea Lake, an inland quarry, deep in the mountains of North Wales.

www.nwtd.co.uk

Members can take a guest, so let me know if you fancy a trip. You wont complain about the car park at Stoney after you experience "heart attack hill"!

 

[JonG1]

Are you BSAC Wibs, if so can dive as a guest with me. Could make a weekend or long weekend of it and dive the mines too.

 

[Wibble]

Not BSAC. All the local branches in Sussex are very recreational and haven’t found a reason to affiliate to one. Kind of did my contribution to the diving community by paying for UKDivers for 7 years — closed it in Dec 21.

Do need to re-evaluate membership though. I often dive with people who are members of excellent BSAC clubs but they’re all well over an hour from me.

This time of the year is always quiet for diving and normally consists of trips to inland sites. Covid has put paid to that with all the restrictions and probably the final straw for NDAC, our national resource for UK technical diving.

Am off to Lanzarote next month for a week of CCR diving which I’m very much looking forwards to — hopefully the first of many foreign dive trips. The south coast season restarts in April and have over a dozen or so days booked. Anyone on the Eyemouth classics week in June?

 

[JonG1]

U can join BSAC wo being in an actual club and get the associated benefits like insurance, webinairs, media, discounts etc.

 

[TimPB]

Not BSAC. All the local branches in Sussex are very recreational and haven’t found a reason to affiliate to one. Kind of did my contribution to the diving community by paying for UKDivers for 7 years — closed it in Dec 21.

Do need to re-evaluate membership though. I often dive with people who are members of excellent BSAC clubs but they’re all well over an hour from me.

This time of the year is always quiet for diving and normally consists of trips to inland sites. Covid has put paid to that with all the restrictions and probably the final straw for NDAC, our national resource for UK technical diving.

Am off to Lanzarote next month for a week of CCR diving which I’m very much looking forwards to — hopefully the first of many foreign dive trips. The south coast season restarts in April and have over a dozen or so days booked. Anyone on the Eyemouth classics week in June?

The club I'm in is 2 hours drive away. I don't get to many social events, but I'm on most of the dive trips.

Enjoy Lanzarote. Not been for a few years, but I've enjoyed it the couple of times I've been.

 

[Graeme Fraser]

+1 for being gutted about NDAC. General consensus seems to be that a steady MoD income and minimal overhead simply made more financial sense in the end. There are going to be quite a few tech instructors left high and dry, that's for sure. Obviously MoD don't work at the weekend (hope Mr Putin isn't listening) so maybe someone will make an offer on a weekend lease, but not holding my breath.

I've got a couple of students half way through 45 and 50 and another waiting to start Trimix, so if anyone's got any alternative recommendations within a few hours drive of Southampton I'm all ears. Looking at deep site charters but can be expensive and unpredictable for training purposes.

I've signed up on the NWTD Facebook page and am seriously considering a trip up there in the Spring. From what I've read about access, I might look to hire a Sherpa though. Not the LDV variety previously enjoyed at NDAC, maybe something more reliable... and comfortable!

 

[Wibble]

Alternative to NDAC…

A deep lake in Cumbria? It is a sodding long way from the south coast but can be done in 5 hours ish. Don’t have the name to hand but it’s very deep.

Without NDAC though, the UK technical diving community is proper knackered.

 

[TimPB]

Are you thinking of Wastwater, Wibble?

I've dived there a few times. Theres not a huge amount to see, but vis can be good and there's a wall that drops to 60-70m that is worth doing. I did the deep dives of MOD1 there. It's not easy to get to, parking is limited and its cold but the location is stunning.

 

[Wibble]

Are you thinking of Wastwater, Wibble?

I've dived there a few times. Theres not a huge amount to see, but vis can be good and there's a wall that drops to 60-70m that is worth doing. I did the deep dives of MOD1 there. It's not easy to get to, parking is limited and its cold but the location is stunning.

That's the one.

Seems it's not really a viable NDAC replacement :-(

I did a cheeky dive in Loch Ness on the way back from Scapa a couple of years ago. Interesting in a lot of ways: very few entrance points (I found one on the eastern side several miles south of Inverness); quite dark at 2m as the tannins suck the light out of your torches, by 5m it's pitch black; very little to see as there's no light; the water's clear and clean but it's an odd feeling needing to be close to the bottom to see it; that stupid feeling of pending doom as my "captain" was having a fit on my shoulder -- Nessie's going to get you... I literally didn't want to go any deeper than 10m and 30 mins was enough for me.

 

[Wathdoc]

I have dived Wastwater a few times, great for scree, depth and little else!