British Sub Aqua Club
Encyclopedia
Recreational diving
Recreational diving or sport diving is a type of diving that uses SCUBA equipment for the purpose of leisure and enjoyment. In some diving circles, the term "recreational diving" is used in contradistinction to "technical diving", a more demanding aspect of the sport which requires greater levels...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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The club was founded in 1953 and at its peak in the mid 1990s had over 50,000 members declining to over 30,000 in 2009. It is a diver training organization that operates through its associated network of around 1100 local, independent diving clubs and around 400 diving schools worldwide. The logo (pictured right) features the Roman god Neptune
Neptune (mythology)
Neptune was the god of water and the sea in Roman mythology and religion. He is analogous with, but not identical to, the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune was the brother of Jupiter and Pluto, each of them presiding over one of the three realms of the universe,...
(Greek god Poseidon
Poseidon
Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...
), god of the sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
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BSAC is unusual for a diver training agency in that most BSAC instructors are amateurs operating in diving clubs as opposed to professionals operating in diving schools.
Given that UK waters are relatively cold and have restricted visibility, BSAC training is regarded by its members as more comprehensive than some. Specifically it places emphasis on rescue training very early in the programme. BSAC also maintains links with other organisations, such as NACSAC
Naval Air Command Sub Aqua Club
The Naval Air Command Sub Aqua Club is an organisation within the Royal Navy that oversees sports and technical diving training activities for naval aviation and fleet units. Today it has branches at RNAS Culdrose and RNAS Yeovilton . Both bases provide training, and club members regularly dive...
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Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
writer and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
was a famous member of BSAC http://www.bsac.org/techserv/ndc/doc2003/rlvrep.htm
The current President of BSAC is the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
. His sons, William and Harry are also trained divers http://www.bsac.com/page.asp?section=1072§ionTitle=BSAC%27s+President.
History
For earlier events, see Oscar GugenOscar Gugen
Oscar Gugen was a founder of the British Sub-Aqua Club.He was born in 1910 of an Austrian father and French mother. He started as a hotel kitchen hand in Austria, peeling carrots. By the age of 21 he was a hotel director in the south of France....
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- 15 October 1953: BSAC founded by Oscar GugenOscar GugenOscar Gugen was a founder of the British Sub-Aqua Club.He was born in 1910 of an Austrian father and French mother. He started as a hotel kitchen hand in Austria, peeling carrots. By the age of 21 he was a hotel director in the south of France....
, Peter Small, Mary Small, and Trevor HamptonTrevor HamptonTrevor Hampton AFC was one of the United Kingdom's first scuba divers and helped to develop sport diving in the UK.-Early years:... - 1954: First BSAC branchBSAC London BranchThe BSAC London Branch is the original branch No.1 of the British Sub-Aqua Club. The branch continues as an active, member driven club to train and undertake scuba diving within the UK and around the world....
formed, in London. - 1954: Members of the newly formed BSAC Branch No.9, SouthseaSouthseaSouthsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre....
Sub-Aqua Club, invent the new sport of "Octopush" - a game now played internationally and more commonly known outside of the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as Underwater HockeyUnderwater hockeyUnderwater hockey is a global non-contact sport in which two teams compete to maneuver a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into goals.-Play:...
. - March 1955: BSAC is accepted by the Central Council of Physical Recreation.
- 1957: Alan Broadhurst became BSAC's second national diving officer. He modernized BSAC official diving terminology, including getting rid of the word "frogman".
- October 1957: BSAC's first overseas branch is formed in Kingston, JamaicaKingston, JamaicaKingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
. - January 1959: First edition of the BSAC Diving Manual appeared and cost ten shillingShillingThe shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s (now 50p). It was written by George Brookes and Alan Broadhurst. - November 1960: First Diving Officers' Conference, at St. AbbsSt. AbbsSt. Abbs , historically known as Coldingham Shore, is a small fishing village located on the south east coast of Scotland, in the Berwickshire area of Scottish Borders....
, with 15 delegates. - 1965: Fort BovisandFort Bovisandthumb|right|Fort Bovisand from the southFort Bovisand is a fort in Devon, England near the beach of Bovisand. It was built on the mainland to defend the entrance of Plymouth Sound, at the narrows opposite the east end of Plymouth Breakwater...
diving center opened. - 1973: The Diving Incident Pit at Diving Officers Conference presented by E John Towse
- 1988: Release of the BS-AC 88 dive table
- 1995: BSAC allows Nitrox diving and introduced Nitrox training.
- 2001: BSAC allows rebreatherRebreatherA rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
use by BSAC branches. - 2006: BSAC Mixed gas diving.
See Timeline of underwater technology
Timeline of underwater technology
This is a timeline of underwater technology.The entries marked ## are about decompression tables.-Pre-industrial:* Several centuries BC: This is a timeline of underwater technology.The entries marked ## are about decompression tables.-Pre-industrial:* Several centuries BC: This is a timeline of...
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Diving
BSAC currently has five diver qualifications. These are:- Ocean Diver - Basic skills, non-decompression diving (depth limit 20 m)
- Sports Diver - Rescue and decompression diving (depth limit 35 m)
- Dive Leader - Dive leading, marshalling and rescue management (depth limit 50 m)
- Advanced Diver - Fully trained diver capable of leading a group of divers in normal club activities
- First Class Diver - Trained to lead a group of dives carrying out a project. This is nationally examined with a two day practical test
Instructing
BSAC has eight instructor qualifications:- Assistant Diving Instructor - Trained but unqualified. Must be supervised when instructing
- Theory Instructor - Qualified to instruct unsupervised in the classroom
- Assistant Open Water Instructor - Qualified to teach open water under supervison
- Practical Instructor - Qualified to instruct unsupervised in open water
- Open Water Instructor - Qualified to supervise other instructors in classroom and open water training
- Advanced Instructor - Trained to teach advanced skills, such as boat based skills and group diving techniques
- Instructor Trainer - Qualified to staff Instructor events
- National Instructor - Leads Instructor Training courses and BSAC National exams
Grades previously awarded
Some qualifications which are no longer awarded may be encountered:- Novice I - A diver who has completed the extensive sheltered-water (i.e. pool) training of the BSAC syllabus of the time, but has not yet dived in open water.
- Novice II - A Novice I diver who has completed two open-water assessment dives.
The distinction between Novice I and Novice II was mostly for practical reasons to do with the difference between hiring a pool and travelling to the coast. A Novice I diver would normally complete the two open-water dives as soon as possible, but if this were not possible straight away (perhaps over winter) they would at least have a specific grade within the club.
The lengthy and club-oriented Novice syllabus was replaced with the Club Diver and Ocean Diver syllabuses in the late 1990s. (However, some argue the Novice description was usefully accurate and aided diver safety because nobody with such a qualification would attempt dives beyond their capabilities.)
- Club Diver - This is more or less the same as Ocean Diver; originally the two were operated in parallel with Ocean Diver awarded at schools and Club Diver at clubs.
- Club Instructor - An instructor grade junior to Open Water Instructor, but allowing the holder to instruct practical and theory lessons without supervision.
- Third Class Diver - Divers who held this grade were awarded the Sports Diver grade when the new grades were introduced.
- Second Class Diver - Divers who held this grade were awarded the Advanced Diver grade when the new grades were introduced.
Skill Development / Specialities
BSAC has a range of skill development courses:- Diver rescueDiver rescuethumb|right|Beaching a casualty while providing artificial respirationDiver rescue, following an accident, is the process of avoiding or limiting further exposure to diving hazards and bringing a SCUBA diver to safety...
courses:- Lifesaver Award
- Advanced Lifesaver
- First AidFirst aidFirst aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
- Oxygen Administration
- Automated External DefibrillatorAutomated external defibrillatorAn automated external defibrillator or AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of...
- Practical Rescue Management
- Rescue First Aid
- Diving Skills courses:
- Dive Marshalling and Planning
- Search and Recovery
- CompressorDiving air compressorA Diving Air Compressor is a gas compressor that can provide breathing air directly to a surface-supplied diver, or fill diving cylinders with high-pressure air pure enough to be used as a breathing gas.thumb|right|Filling a cylinder from the panel...
Operation - EquipmentDiving equipmentDiving equipment is equipment used by underwater divers for the purpose of facilitating diving activities. This may be equipment primarily intended for this purpose, or equipment intended for other puprposes which is found to be suitable for diving use....
Care
- Seamanship Skills:
- Small Boat Handling
- ChartworkNautical chartA nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent coastal regions. Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land , natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards, locations of natural and man-made aids...
and Position fixingPosition fixingPosition fixing is the branch of navigation concerned with the use of a variety of visual and electronic methods to determine the position of a ship, aircraft or person on the surface of the Earth.These techniques include:... - Diver Coxswain
- Outboard engine and Boat Maintenance
- Technical divingTechnical divingTechnical diving is a form of scuba diving that exceeds the scope of recreational diving...
Courses:- Advanced Nitrox Diver
- Extended Range Diving
- Sports Mixed Gas Diver
- Advanced Mixed Gas Diver
- Mixed Gas blendingGas blendingGas blending or gas mixing is the filling of diving cylinders with non-air breathing gases such as nitrox, trimix and heliox.Filling cylinders with a mixture of gases has dangers for both the filler and the diver. During filling there is a risk of fire due to use of oxygen and a risk of explosion...
- Full face mask
- RebreatherRebreatherA rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
Courses:- SCR Dolphin/CCR Inspiration/Evolution and CCR Inspiration/Evolution
- General Interest:
- Disability Awareness
- Marine Life Identification
- Marine biologyMarine biologyMarine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
- Underwater photographyUnderwater photographyUnderwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while snorkeling or swimming.-Overview:...
- Wreck Appreciation