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British Sub Aqua Club - snorkel training - anybody tried it/teach it?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Mr. X

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Back when I was but a youth, there was no PADI dive training, just BSAC - the British Sub Aqua Club. They published a little book that I got. I was fortunate to have a Scout Leader that was a BSAC qualified SCUBA instructor (he was a professional outdoor pursuits centre instructor & taught sailing too), although I only got a couple of pool sessions, it gave me a chance to try things out in a relatively safe environment. I didn't use it much until decades later but it was a useful, formative experience.

Fast-forward to now, you don't hear so much about BASC now, PADI seems to have grabbed "much of the market". But I noticed this week that BASC still offer snorkel training & qualifications. I wondered if any of our forum members were involved, either as students or instructors, & what they think of it?

Just google "BSAC snorkelling" for more info.
 
e.g.
1. http://www.bsac.com/landing.asp?section=365
2. http://www.bsac.com/page.asp?section=1368
3. http://www.bsac.com/page.asp?section=3997&sectionTitle=Snorkel+Grade+Training
4. http://www.bsac.com/page.asp?section=398&sectionTitle=BSAC+Snorkelling+Centres
5. http://www.bsac.com/STPGuide/

It might suit those who like a structured approach to things (training courses, certificates, badges & booklet). From that last link (above), it appears they have 5-stage offering:

Experience snorkeling -> Dolphin Snorkeler -> Snorkel Diver -> Advanced Snorkeler -> Snorkel Dive Manager

Parallel to the latter stages of that there is an instructor stream:

Assistant Snorkel Instructor (16yrs old+) -> Snorkel Instructor (16+) --> Advanced Snorkel Instructor --> Snorkel Instructor Trainer (18+)
 
I've just signed up here and must say I'm amazed how much talk of trying and courses there is.
Maybe I'm not too old to learn?
 
Never too old to learn You could likely take up recreational snorkeling at almost any age as long as you are reasonably fit. There are a lot of old folk fitter than a lot of young folk these days. Best to get checked at the doctors if you over 50 - & perhaps younger if you have not been active - and mention what you plan to do. Spearfishing, in the UK, means swimming in the sea. That's a step up but if you choose your location & conditions sensibly, it need not be arduous.

Get comfortable snorkeling first. Then snorkeling in the sea. Then with wetsuit, weightbelt, marker buoy (float) & float-line, etc. Then spearfishing when you feel ready for it.
 
Reactions: Pinniped72
Things seem rather formal? Snorkelling is pretty simple for anyone to do...... I'm 63 and never thought of speaking to my doctor about spearfishing?
I hope I don't sound disagreeable but I'm truly amazed at what I've seen about training to spearfish, free dive and even just snorkel on the forum deeper blue.
I spearfish alone mostly and have always felt safe and happy. It's quite a different way of thinking, perhaps it's my age.
 
So you are already spearing, I thought you said you were looking for training?

The early stages of the above training looks like it is aimed at kids. Some folk seem to like/need training more than others - horses for courses. There are several people on this forum who offer spearfishing training - if you are a complete beginner, you can probably learn a lot quickly that way and, if they are local, some good locations. I learnt from the deeperblue.com forums & a few sage words from the SA spearo who sold me most of my early gear and I have made some mistakes along the way. For some people that's enough, for others not. Especially these days, seems like people expect (professional) training for almost everything. I have no vested interest, just curious. I learnt to climb from & with friends in clubs but almost everybody these days instead takes training (e.g. basic safety protocols/indoor wall climbing, single pitch outdoor (sport), single pitch outdoor (traditional), multi-pitch, Scottish Winter, Waterfall ice, Alpine Winter/glacier tracel, Big Walls, Big Mountains, Everest guided, etc.).

Some of the spearos have taken freediving/apnea training, typically in the UK at Vobster or Gosport's deep submarine escape training tower, to learn some basic theory, safety and find out what the pro freedivers are doing. If you want to dive deep(er) or for long(er) bottom times, safely, it's probably prudent. I don't - because I too dive alone so I don't push it - but I don't knock it.
 
We sound like we're on the same wavelength Mr x - I like to get on and just do things. I think in all walks of life today there are too many talkers and not enough doers.
I've been spearfishing 30 years, or at least 28 for sure. Im probably diving like a baby in comparison to some of you guys here - the deepest I spearfish is around 20 m but that's just a guess. I did use a young guys watch a couple of years back and he said I'd been at 25m. Have you seen a watch that tells you your depth - amazing but not really useful. Nice gadget though! I've got a bit of a chest problem from old age and too much smoking but spearfish when I can. I've kept catch records the last few years and last year I had a total of 124 days spearfishing but only caught 218 fish. Fishing gets poorer every year. No, my question about training courses to spearfish was more out of surprise that such a thing existed really.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
The BSAC courses are just for snorkeling not spearing but as mentioned above, yes spearing & freediving training is available elsewhere.

If you read the story of the first documented european freediver, in the popular freediving book (I forget the name), he was a gnarled (Greek I think?) sponge diver who helped the Italian Navy recover an anchor. Apparently he was in appalling health at the time with several serious conditions but even so managed to dive deep and accomplish his task. For his reward, he asked to fish with dynamite!

Re. checking with your GP, I would recommend that to anybody over 50 taking up any new physical activity (and a check-up every year or 2 even if they don't). Unfortunately even youngsters keel over & die from undiagnosed heart problems from time-to-time; as you get older the chances increase considerably. I expect(/hope) they would encourage you to stop smoking. A colleague/friend's father died while out jogging a few years back: undiagnosed heart condition. Last winter, a fellow stood next to me on a hill top died on his feet: a slim, apparently fit chap, 52 years old, he was a smoker - took his last puff about 20 minutes before he pass away: undiagnosed enlarged heart . Diabetes has become a big/common problem in the UK too, especially for older folk, and for that treatment is readily available; untreated, the damaged caused can be extremely severe (blindness, amputations, permanent nerve damage, etc.). As you get older, getting prostrate problems diagnosed early might save your life/love-life. Might be worth thinking about.
 
Son, I really didn't come here for medical advice but thank you your comments are of course correct.
I'm very aware of my prostrate after my life partner had a scare last year. Sadly he doesn't spearfish but he is an excellent chef.
Are you a medical Dr by any chance?
Like you most of my diving is alone but I really don't worry about my safety. If something was going to happen it would have happened by now.
Maybe we could meet up for some spearing together? I will be out again as soon as the swell drops and there's any vis.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
Maybe, I like Devon. I'm not sure I'd keep up with you, maybe when you're 10 years older but then I'm not getting any younger either . Your name's not Crawford by any chance? I am sensing a sandbagging.
 
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Hi John, do you use a float of some description?
I ask because before I joined this forum I had never used a float, almost always dived alone... in fact I just had a suit & a basic gun & went diving!
I was really surprised when I found out all about safety equipment, black outs, spearfishing courses etc....
A lot of it makes sense now ... shame there are so few fish left to make use of my new found gadgets....
 
Reactions: Mr. X
Hello, yes I do have a float but seldom use it for 2 reasons - firstly I find it just troublesome with the rope tangling and secondly I don't like people to see where I'm diving.
My equipment is very simple - I use an old gun that I couldn't tell you what make it is and I take 2 fish stringers on my belt. If I've had a good day I know because I struggle to swim back in.
I'm not sure a float would help me much?
Sorry Mr X - I had to look up sandbagged on the Internet and I'm still not understanding what you mean really?
 
Reactions: SubCurrent
Johndory Hunter said:
... secondly I don't like people to see where I'm diving.
Click to expand...
The idea of the float/"marker buoy" is to let boats, etc. know where you are diving - is that not a concern? A float-lines can be a hassle but you get used to it, using a stiff, floating line (e.g. 6mm polyester rope or aquarium air-line sealed at the ends are 2 popular options) helps.

...2 fish stringers on my belt. If I've had a good day I know because I struggle to swim back in.
I'm not sure a float would help me much?
Click to expand...
With a float, you hang can hang your fish from a stringer at the back of your float, which can sometimes make it easy to bring them in. BTW 2 fish-stringers - what sort of fish-stringers are you using?

Sorry Mr X - I had to look up sandbagged on the Internet and I'm still not understanding what you mean really?
Click to expand...
Oh sorry, that's probably a hang over from climbing days. Sandbag climbs were those deliberately undergraded, intended to "sandbag" the uninitiated. In this context (the Beginner area of the forum) something like definition 6b/c: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sandbag. The Crawford reference was to Peter Crawford*, who I believe was many time British champion (& possibly World Champion?), who lives down your way. The gist of the comment was that I started talking to you as complete novice & end up wondering if you might be a Peter Crawford!

*I just looked up Peter Crawford: His son Neale is a forum member. Peter Crawford was 13x British Champion & by my estimate he must be about 79 now. I think I might have bumped into him once, several years go (he must have been in his 70s), at the end of a competition at Thurlestone but it didn't occur to me until much later that it may well have been him - I mean how many spearos are active that age, let alone competing? The diver I saw was the first competitor out and he had some decent sized pollack on his stringer; his float was a very large, orange "double bladder (i.e. skin-&-bladder) torpedo float with an alpha-flag and the ballast weight looked like kind of weight a SCUBA diver would wear on their dive belt, strapped somehow to the bottom.
 
My stringers are long u shaped thick wire. I can do two off the front of my belt and one on the back = 18 bass but that really is hard work swimming!
I've spearfished for so long and never had concerns about boats. I just keep my eyes open and dive if I think they're getting too close.
That blackout was freediving, not spearfishing? How many spearfishermen have had blackouts here in England? Have there been a few?
Looking at charts most if my favourite spots are around 15-20m. I don't really think I have much to worry about in the shallow end.
 
Reactions: Mr. X
If you watch that video on youtube, rather than in situ, there is another video next to it of a spearo blacking out. He was diving to recover a dropped speargun in 30m of water. Fortunately (& unusually) he had 3 very alert buddies watching him at the surface and one was very on-the-ball and helped him to the surface - looking at the video, I can only think they anticipated the diver was likely to have trouble with the dive and so were very alert.

I don't recall hearing of any spearo blackouts in the UK, although I recall that the body of a spearo was found in Dorset some years back. Unfortunately blacking out spearing (SWB or Samba) might often, perhaps, be related as a fatality rather than as a blackout We see lobster diving fatalities reported in the USA pretty much every year I think.

I've seen pictures of those wire stringers, quite popular in the USA. Haven't seen much sign of them in the UK. I use a cable stringer with a s/steel pin T'd across the end clipped to the back my float and a similar, smaller, monofilament stringer on my waist (which could be cut if tangled). I'm thinking of moving my float stringer to the float-end of my float-line the year, to better act as an attractor/decoy.
 
That video really does put it all into perspective, its a slap round the face of complacency. Although I have the upmost respect for the sea at all times, a little reminder about the dangers now and again is never a bad thing, thanks Mr X
 
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