annie
Contributor
What's the average cost of joining a BSAC club over there and does that include air / boat fuel?
Thx
Thx
why bsac v padi?
- Thread starter DORSETBOY
- Start date
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OP
Think the cost was about £30 pa for the club in question.
chrisch
Contributor
30 quid???? I think not. My renewal fees were £43 to BSAC and another 50 to the branch. On top of that was another fee for the yacht club. Times two as my missus dives too.
Boat dives were a little cheaper than commercial rates. Plus unlimited air and O2 for nitrox at a couple of quid a fill.
Training is "at cost" so if you need it then the money might make sense - if you are OWSI I don't think you need a lot of training....
I worked out we needed to do about 40 club dives a year to break even. My average most years is about 30. In fairness, we dived much more when we belonged to the club, so that was a benefit. Also we lived a long way from the branch so we did not get the social side.
Hope it all works out for you.
Chris
Boat dives were a little cheaper than commercial rates. Plus unlimited air and O2 for nitrox at a couple of quid a fill.
Training is "at cost" so if you need it then the money might make sense - if you are OWSI I don't think you need a lot of training....
I worked out we needed to do about 40 club dives a year to break even. My average most years is about 30. In fairness, we dived much more when we belonged to the club, so that was a benefit. Also we lived a long way from the branch so we did not get the social side.
Hope it all works out for you.
Chris
OP
pretty sure on that one, did not inc fee to ssac which was seperate charge.
BlueSky
Guest
Hi Dorsetboy,
I agree that that is not a decent way to welcome new members in a bsac club. However, I somewhat can understand why they have some doubts about padi certified divers. I learned to dive in Western Europe. Conditions here are tough. Very cold, often very low viz, currents may be strong...
Now, when we get new members in the club that have learned to dive in a padi school somewhere in Egypt or Thailand for example, we are cautious too. With reason. We have never had a padi open water diver that was capable to join us in open water dives immediately! Instead, we have to run the basic skills for diving in these conditions by them from scratch. I am certain that local padi schools give good courses. But they are far less thorough than ours. I know, because I've been there. I can assure you that when you are accustomed to dive in clear warm waters, you are scared witless the first time you dive in Zeeland.
Nevertheless, they'd better look at your experience instead of at your certification. The bsac guys, I mean.
Greetz,
BlueSky.
Oh, and by the way, membership in our club is 80 euro/year
)
I agree that that is not a decent way to welcome new members in a bsac club. However, I somewhat can understand why they have some doubts about padi certified divers. I learned to dive in Western Europe. Conditions here are tough. Very cold, often very low viz, currents may be strong...
Now, when we get new members in the club that have learned to dive in a padi school somewhere in Egypt or Thailand for example, we are cautious too. With reason. We have never had a padi open water diver that was capable to join us in open water dives immediately! Instead, we have to run the basic skills for diving in these conditions by them from scratch. I am certain that local padi schools give good courses. But they are far less thorough than ours. I know, because I've been there. I can assure you that when you are accustomed to dive in clear warm waters, you are scared witless the first time you dive in Zeeland.
Nevertheless, they'd better look at your experience instead of at your certification. The bsac guys, I mean.
Greetz,
BlueSky.
Oh, and by the way, membership in our club is 80 euro/year
)
OP
fair one bluesky, but had done more than a hundred dives in the uk before travelling and picked up a further 600+ whilst away, have dived frequently in south wales in ZERO viz (to get wet!) and now dive scottish west coast with no worries!
I'm in SSAC. There are many more branches of SSAC than BSAC in Scotland. I didn't notice at first you were living in Scotland, or I would have answered sooner. I live in Kilmarnock. In a dive branch the casual diving members often outnumber the regularly active divers sometimes 8 or 10 to 1. Many divers are not happy with their branch, or how their run, generally we call it politics. Whilst there are many very generous individuals in clubs, people are often unable to interact with one another, or are dissatisfied to the extent of reducing their association or leaving. BSAC, SSAC, SAA, all rely on constant recruitment to maintain numbers, expectation is a 25% turnover per annum. For a trainee a dive club is a cheap place for good basic training in local conditions and the loan of equipment. For someone like yourself its hard to see how branches without a compressor or boat offer value. Sometimes the office bearers of branches are not active divers and have far less experience than you. I have noticed other active experienced divers having problems joining a branch. Maybe because their knowledge and ability unsettles the status quo of the members and is resented. I recently saw a Padi instructor with mixed gas, re-breather and scuba technician experience rejected by a not very active branch D.O. There are many club officials, that give me the impression that far from trying to increase diving knowledge, retard and resent the efforts of those who intend going beyond the basic non deco sport level. Particularly active enthusiasts that have surpassed them and are still seeking development.
http://www.atlantic-divers.co.uk is a padi club that may interest you.
sbloomer
Contributor
It seems rivalry (politics) between associations and between clubs is pretty rife everywhere, which is a pity because we're all doing the same thing really.
Here in SA I recieved my initial training under CMAS (1* and 2*). The commercial operations (all NAUI or PADI) tended to frown at the certification, in spite of the fact that I had a lot of dives under a lot of varying conditions. At that time if you were a member of a club, the only training you could do was CMAS, as the South African Underwater Union is affiliated to CMAS (and all clubs have to be registered with SAUU). The jist of this is that most NAUI and PADI divers were coming into clubs after their training, and gave any CMAS trained divers the hairy eyeball. My point is that this same kind of thing may be occurring in DORSETBOY's case. NAUI and PADI divers may be viewed with a bit of suspicion. It doesn't seem to matter here as much now as it did then some 15 years ago.
As a matter of interest some clubs here do orientation days, where all new members spend a Sunday together with existing members, with the club sponsoring a day's free air/nitrox/boat. In the afternoon, everyone has a relaxing braai (sorry ... barbeque). That way everyone gets to know each other and their abilities, and their initial affiliations are basically forgotten.
Here in SA I recieved my initial training under CMAS (1* and 2*). The commercial operations (all NAUI or PADI) tended to frown at the certification, in spite of the fact that I had a lot of dives under a lot of varying conditions. At that time if you were a member of a club, the only training you could do was CMAS, as the South African Underwater Union is affiliated to CMAS (and all clubs have to be registered with SAUU). The jist of this is that most NAUI and PADI divers were coming into clubs after their training, and gave any CMAS trained divers the hairy eyeball. My point is that this same kind of thing may be occurring in DORSETBOY's case. NAUI and PADI divers may be viewed with a bit of suspicion. It doesn't seem to matter here as much now as it did then some 15 years ago.
As a matter of interest some clubs here do orientation days, where all new members spend a Sunday together with existing members, with the club sponsoring a day's free air/nitrox/boat. In the afternoon, everyone has a relaxing braai (sorry ... barbeque). That way everyone gets to know each other and their abilities, and their initial affiliations are basically forgotten.
OP
sbloomer:
This seems an excellent idea. I guess it's also important for any dive organisation to ensure that people have the training to react in a simliar manner if an emergency arose.
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