The Travel Nut

Scuba diving – the sport or activity of swimming underwater using a scuba (self contained underwater breathing apparatus).

Scuba diving has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember but I hadn’t really had the opportunity to try it until our family holiday to Santorini in 2019, where I decided I finally wanted to have a go.

Long story short, it didn’t exactly go as planned! I could never envisioned what happened next.

As soon as I went completely under the water, I felt a overwhelming sense of panic. I could see as the water was calm and clear, I could breathe as I had the regulator in my mouth. I was only under ever so slightly, but I just felt trapped, like I was suffocating. I stood up from the bottom, and pushed myself up to the surface. I did after a few attempts, manage to stay down long enough for a photo (whilst gripping onto the instructors hand).

After the experience, I felt relieved I’d got back to dry land, but I did feel really disappointed in myself for not taking to it as quickly as I’d have liked too. I love the sea, I can swim comfortably and I’ve snorkelled before, so I couldn’t understand why I panicked – but I made a promise to myself that day that I would try again in the future as I wanted to get over my fear.

We visited Santorini late in the year, so the weather back in Wales was cold and rainy, but I started to research local scuba diving schools.

After some email enquiries and some phone calls, I came across Scuba Wales. You can visit their website by clicking here: https://scuba.wales – Dave’s contact details, choice of courses and price lists are all available on the website. Please do not hesitate to give him a call.

When I spoke to Dave on the phone and explained the panic I faced in Santorini, he immediately made me feel at ease. Dave said that I could go and do a try dive with the club, but only when I’m ready. He was both funny and informative and I knew after that first phone call that he was the instructor for me!

Then, lockdown hit – so all pools were closed, and we weren’t allowed to meet up with others. During this time, Dave arranged some zoom calls with himself and some of the other instructors/dive masters & students where we could learn some scuba theory before hitting the water. This really helped, as I think having a deeper understanding of the equipment used & how to use it properly helped to calm my nerves. They even suggested that we practice mask skills in the bath to help get used to adjusting the mask if we were in the pool etc.

When lockdown restrictions were lifted, we were still not allowed in the pool for some time, but we could now meet outside, so, we booked in for our first ‘try dive’ at Glynneath Lakes. Dave assured me that we would go at my pace through the session to ensure I didn’t become overwhelmed. As I was already familiar with the equipment by now through the zoom calls, this part seemed easy which was a good start 🙂

We spent some time ensuring the equipment fit, that I was weighted properly and that I felt comfortable. There was absolutely no pressure at all during the session, it was extremely relaxed.

After the first try dive, I was already feeling a lot more confident – so I booked in to complete an ‘Open Water Certification’. This would take place over a number of sessions in confined pool sessions (when the pools reopened), open water (Glynneath Lakes) and would require me to complete certain skills, 4 dives of over 20 mins and an online assessment to pass. The online assessment was based on knowledge we gained through weekly zoom meetings and through doing the practical side of the course. We were also provided with a PDF guide with loads of information in, that was broken down into easy to read sections.

We actually completed all our training in Glynneath Lakes, rather than using a swimming pool, due to the pools being closed – however normal practice is a pool is used first, before moving onto open water.

The pool sessions are normally held on a Thursday evening in Aberavon Leisure & Fitness Centre; postcode SA12 6QW. However, the pools are still currently closed, and these sessions may be subject to change when the pools re-open. For the most up to date advice, please check the website or Facebook page for Scuba Wales.

My husband, Stepson and I signed up, and we have now all completed the ‘Open Water Certificate’ and had started working on our ‘Advanced Certificate’ before the 2020 Christmas lockdown (by which time it was too cold to go in the lakes anyway!). And the little two even got to have a go in the pool when they opened 👍🏻

After we had completed our certification dives, we continued going up the lake with Scuba Wales for the rest of the Summer, just to practice our skills. As we had qualified, we were then able to take a camera into the lake (which you aren’t allowed to do during your course for safety reasons) – so I have included some photos of some of our dives.

We are looking forward to recommencing our training this Spring as soon as the temperatures in the lake are sufficient enough for us to start, and we are all hoping to complete our Advanced Certificate before the Summer. We have one ‘deep’ dive left to complete our training.

I honestly cannot recommend Dave and the team at Scuba Wales enough. They have been superb throughout all my training and they treated me like an individual, listened to my concerns and encouraged me when I needed it. Without them, I honestly believe I wouldn’t have completed the Open Water course; and I definitely wouldn’t have signed up to do an Advanced course.

Have you tried Scuba diving before? How did you find it? Where have you been diving? I’d love to hear your experiences!

*Please note* Glynneath Lakes where the scuba diving sessions take place is private property. No one is allowed to enter or use the facilities without the permission of the landowner – we were allowed to go as part of the Scuba Wales dive school.

*Please note* Scuba diving is a dangerous sport – this blog post is meant for information only regarding my choice of dive school. If you choose to participate in Scuba diving with Scuba Wales, or another dive school, you are doing so at your own risk.

All photos are my own, unless otherwise stated.