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Caversham Park Aquanauts

Dive Club (English)

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Company description CPA was founded in April 1972, and entered the 21st century with around 60 members. It is affiliated to the UK`s Sub Aqua Association, which in turn is part of the World Underwater Federation CMAS. The club`s culture is very social -- it is not a fanatical or extreme diving club. The attitude is more one of a having a fun day out with some diving thrown in. The diving standards are taken very seriously though, and we do have an exemplary safety record.
We meet in Reading on Tuesday nights, 8pm, at Crossfileds School swimming pool for training, then afterwards, around 9.30pm, at The Bell and Bottle pub. Trainees also meet up on other evenings for lectures.
Membership of the club is £156 per annum (£13 pcm). This includes free training to various SAA levels, weekly use of the pool, SAA annual membership, insurance, an SAA qualification logbook, use of the club`s SCUBA equipment during pool training and cheap use of club dive boats.
The Club owns two RIBs (with electronics and full safety equipment), and several full sets SCUBA equipment for use by trainees.
Most of our diving is on the south coast, typically between Bognor Regis and Lyme Regis. We occasionally go further afield (Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, Scillies, Normandy...) for longer breaks. We run fairly frequent tropical holidays, and are quite active in the local community.
New joiners can usually start training immediately. The basic SAA fitness test is rarely any difficulty, but there is a medical certification requirement too. Training can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months depending on the student. From there, we work hard to try and keep ongoing diving costs down for members.
If you are already a qualified diver, you can start diving with us as soon as we have checked your qualifications and done an assessment dive. You will be able to dive at levels appropriate to the equivalent SAA standard as defined in the recognised crossover table.
Training is available.
The training consists of weekly swimming pool sessions and regular lectures. In these, trainees are taught about:
the equipment
the effects of pressure
how to communicate and behave underwater
a range of safety procedures to avoid an incident; plus
rescue & first aid techniques in case something were to go wrong.
In the pool trainees are shown (usually one-to-one with the instructor) how to put all this into practice by learning a range of drills. This culminates in a pool assessment to SAA standards.
At the end of the training, there are standard SAA exams. Once the instructor is happy with the theory standard attained, the next step is the open water assessment. If passed, the trainee then becomes a diver.
But training doesn`t stop there. No matter how much diving is done, you can always learn more. CPA runs advanced training for its experienced members too. The club can also arrange low cost, professionally run specialist courses in subjects such as:
boat handling
oxygen administration
underwater photography
chartwork & navigation
VHF radio operation, and even
underwater demolition with explosives!
Students take a standard SAA theory exam at every qualification level. If the lectures have been attended, most people will pass these exams. Failure is not a disaster however. The aim of the exam is simply to ensure the knowledge is there. If not, we do lectures again -- or special sessions to make up for shortfalls -- and after a suitable break do the exams again. There is no limit to how many times an exam is taken. There is a theoretical time limit to the exam, but this is very generous will never cause a problem, only lack of knowledge will lead to re-takes.
The important thing about SAA training is that you do it at your own speed and to your own level of ability. There`s no time limit. There`s nothing to pay for club training, no matter how much you need.
Location description: Part of CPA`s philosophy is to encourage a broad range of diving experience. This is helped by joint dives with other diving clubs to compare notes, explore new dive sites, and be sure the club is continually up to date with the latest and best diving practices. In general though, here is the sort of diving we do...
During the diving `season` there is a day trip or weekend at the South coast most weeks. British waters, though cooler and less clear than the tropics, are hugely varied and filled with a fascinating range of marine life. The UK`s strong maritime history has also provided an enormous number of shipwrecks to explore. So, on the south coast alone you can weave through pier legs, float along underwater cliff faces, tunnel through forests of kelp, drift across vast mussel beds, rummage in rocky gullies, and explore sunken vessels ranging from coal barges through huge cargo ships to submarines.
River and lake dives are popular too. True, freshwater diving is the coldest you`re likely to do. The visibility can be poor too. But the ability to pop down the road for a dive, find a fascinating old artefact or two, and still be back home in time for breakfast keeps divers going back for more. Many a CPA member has a mantelpiece showing off a proud collection of Victorian bottles, old clay pipes, odd coins and the like.
Around the British Isles
A little further afield, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and North-East England, The Isles of Scilly, Normandy and so on all offer yet more variety. There are some very experienced divers who prefer diving in Scotland and South West Ireland to the Great Barrier Reef!
CPA normally organises an annual club holiday. Favourite destinations are places like Florida, Malta (Gozo) and the Red Sea. In the latter, you can dive among the most stunningly colourful corals and fish imaginable. The water is clear and warm, and the diving easy & relaxed. Great diving, good company, fun nights out. Splendid.
Some places to dive
Maldives
A beautiful location with blue seas and cloudless skies.....location Bandos situated in the Noth Atol not far from the capital Male. At this point I would like to bring it to the attention that will dissapoint most divers Alcohol is banned in the Maldives. You can buy it at a very unreasonable price but just cant bring it in. Dive bags are a good way to get it in just decant into aluminium bottles and hide in dive bag. At the airport they x ray bags going in.
Bandos Dive Centre
The island is one of the largest and has its own dive centre...and is one of the few to have a decompression chamber. The dive centre was well equipped and the guides were superb, both in knowledge of the area and in the care and conservation side of it all. Trips were laid on daily 2 trips per day..one morning one afternoon.... only fault was the trips were expensive plus an extra for the boat @ $10 per half day trip.
and others

Website: Preview http://www.cpanet.freeserve.co.uk/ by Thumbshots.org http://www.cpanet.freeserve.co.uk/
SAA affiliated scuba diving club offering training, diving trips and social events. Has two rigid inflatable boats. Based in Reading area.

Contact information:
Street Address:

England
United Kingdom
Spoken language(s): English
Open: from 09-00 till 17-00
Local time:  Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) London, Edinbourg, Lisboa
Note: No guarantee is made to the accuracy of these details.

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