Bury Sub Aqua Club recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, and now the members are focused on rejuvenation. Interview by Kristina Pedder.
When was Bury SAC formed?
In 1973. Sue Platt was the first Diving Officer and by all accounts (including husband Brian’s) key to getting things off the ground. The club has just celebrated 50 years and invited some founding members to the party, it was great to hear their tales. Brian made his own regulators from gas valves back in the day, and everyone dived using whatever they could make or repurpose. It’s a miracle they are still around.
Who are your members today?
There are 25 divers, of which 20 are active; some of them have been with us for decades. Peak membership was around 45. At present, we have three trainees, six Ocean Divers, four Sports Divers, eight Dive Leaders, two Advanced Divers, a First Class Diver and a PADI Dive Master. Just one is a junior member and we are working on changing that demographic, using snorkel training.
What’s club life like?
Our training calendar is busy, with trips to inland sites for existing members, but we don’t yet have any new trainees. The dive calendar is not so busy, without critical mass there are few trips away, just our annual Porthkerris visit to look forward to at the moment. Members have a fantastic knowledge base of dive sites and dive kit, and the training department is very nurturing, it’s just that we haven’t had the numbers for dive trips lately. We take new trainees on our boat to show them what club diving has to offer.
So, you own a boat?
Yes. Bury was the birthplace of Robert Peel who is remembered for the formation of the Metropolitan London Police Force; we named our six-metre RIB Orange Peel after him. The RIB lives in a boat yard in Anglesey; no towing, no launching by members required. In 2023, we installed an integrated sonar and navigation system to better find and identify underwater features. We replaced the original trailer with a ‘new’ secondhand one to be ready for the start of the season. We can take six divers plus a cox’n. Sadly, even after this the boat only went out twice in 2023.
Oh no! What are your plans?
Club life goes in cycles, doesn’t it? Peaks and troughs? We recently recognised that we were in a bit of a trough. At an AGM we couldn’t sign off our accounts, so we analysed our operating costs and presented the facts at an extraordinary general meeting. Given that most of our funds come from membership fees, it turns out we need around 40 members to break even. We identified the point at which the club would run out of funds if we didn’t act, with a bottom line of one year’s overheads in the bank. The message was: it’s your club, do something or die.
How did members react?
They took the news well, on the whole. It was decided to keep the boat and raise fees for the first time in a while, to meet our obligations. The next step is to market ourselves better and to engage with members about what they want, via a survey. Questions will include ‘Why don’t you use the boat?’
What else are you working on?
We are setting up an online try dive booking form, as we have noticed that nowadays people want to engage without talking face to face or on the phone. For example, we recently undertook Ocean Diver training for a new member in his mid-20s, after he had completed the BSAC online training and passed the online assessments. It was a surprise that he came to us asking only for his pool and open-water training, which we signed off on the BSAC App, no paper records anymore. It felt a bit disconnected from club life, but he was learning for a holiday. It’s just another way to instruct and helps increase club membership.
Tell us about your instructor team.
They are fantastic. We have focused on teaching diving lately. We have an Advanced Instructor (who is also our First Class Diver and Diving Officer), five Open Water Instructors; an Assistant OWI; and a Snorkeling Instructor. Another member has come forward for Snorkel Instructor training. We have a pool session every Monday evening in the dive pool at Castle Leisure Centre, which while expensive offers us a fantastic four-metre deep pool.
What training is happening?
Four members are ready to start Sports Diver training and two have almost finished Dive Leader. We can do Oxygen Administration and Chartwork and Position Fixing in-house and combine these with Dive Leader. Two divers have undertaken rebreather training and one is waiting for a mixed-gas course. Don’t make a mistake and think we aren’t active divers; the first club dive of 2024 was a training dive for some of our Ocean Divers, as early as 13 January.
How do you fund training?
New Ocean Diver trainees pay £334; this covers branch (£100, soon to rise to £150) and BSAC membership, the study pack, nitrox tables, logbook and loan of scuba kit. It also includes some instructor expenses (notionally two trips at £20 each). When we celebrated our 50th anniversary, we combined the do with a raffle and other fundraising, such as our 50th Anniversary T-shirts. We raised about £500-£600.
What problems are you still wrestling with?
Costs. Our boat is ageing, we may not replace it when it is past repair; and pool fees continue to increase. We are actively promoting use of both the pool and boat. It can be tricky to explain to prospective members that training will take both time and commitment as we are not a commercial operation.
When might you restart club trips away?
We are trying to get back to business as usual after the pandemic. Our annual Porthkerris trip is going ahead, and members are venturing off on personal trips abroad. If nothing else, COVID gave people more time to reflect on things and decide what is important to them. For each of our members the purpose of diving is different. Many dive to teach others, or because they like the social aspect of our friendly supportive community. Some find it helps with mental wellbeing and general fitness, others enjoy planning and executing challenging dives. In our 50 years we’ve probably visited and re-visited all the classics.
A trainee’s story
A recent trainee, Louis Heal, 19, joined Bury SAC in April 2022 to help his career choice and supplement his interest in marine biology. Just before he achieved Ocean Diver, he visited the University of Plymouth, and heard about the HSE SCUBA part IV qualification offered there.
He soon qualified as an Ocean Diver and started Sports Diver training. Once he finished his school exams, Louis spent most weekends at the local quarry, getting comfortable in the water and progressing his skills. He also dived from the RIB in Anglesey. Louis says: “Bury Sub Aqua Club has helped me tremendously with my diving career, the club is extremely supportive and there is a real sense of community.”
Thanks to our advice and training, Louis was able to feel confident applying for the HSE scuba course. At university, he is involved with his local BSAC club, Plymouth Sound Divers. How about that for a real success story?
What sort of club diving did you do?
Back in 2016 we worked with another club, Sub-C Divers in nearby Atherton, to organise an expedition to the Summer Isles off the west coast of Scotland. The project was awarded the BSAC Expeditions Award. Sixteen divers and one non-diver took everything needed for a 10-day stay, including a 7.5-tonne wagon with all dive kit and a compressor, a minibus for passengers towing a RIB and a van with all the food towing a second RIB. From the largest island Tanera Mor, the team dived on wrecks and reefs; doing all the chartwork, filling cylinders and catering. The aim was to build diving experience and carry out some Seasearch projects. It really was a traditional club-run diving expedition. The team worked together to prove that, despite being from different branches, we are all part of the same club.
And now?
The regional team is active here in the north-west; we joined the BSAC 70th anniversary day out at Capenwray in September (2023) and had great fun. We met clubs celebrating all sorts of anniversaries. Our longest serving member Steve Slade (who joined in 1979 and is still
diving) is a monumental mason; he made a plaque for us to attach to the diving bell at Capernwray as part of our 50th celebrations, replacing the one he fitted there for our 40th. Newer members enjoyed diving as part of the plaque installation and supported by filming and photographing the dive to promote on our social media.
What’s next?
We are gearing up to increasing our diving members, snorkellers and family members, as we are a socially focused club. Our first move is to get involved with the leisure centre’s own 50th anniversary event and run half-hour snorkel experiences. Even if no-one dives on the day, this will give us wider exposure in the community and a chance to warm up and practice our try dive planning and preparation for future events without any costs. We are already working with local scouts to host a snorkel experience (we are hoping to get some interest in scuba training from their leaders and families). This work will help to reinvigorate our regular try dives. It is financially worthwhile; try dives bring in £20 per head and the only cost is our time. Local dive shop DiveLife in Whitefield was kind enough donate a bag of assorted masks and snorkels to the cause.
We hope to work up to securing some community grant aid. New kit would allow the club to achieve its goal of community interaction to increase awareness of scuba diving, and the environmental and educational benefits in particular.
Anything else to tell readers?
If you’re nearby we’d love you to come and meet us. You can contact us via the Bury Sub Aqua Club Facebook page, but wherever you are please like share and follow us on Facebook and Instagram as it really does help. We look forward to marking our 60th, so watch this space in 2033.
Article ‘Club Focus – Bury Sub-Aqua Club’ by Kristina Pedder first published in SCUBA magazine, Issue 146 June 2024.
How do I find scuba diving near me?
If you want to learn to dive in Lancashire with Bury Sub Aqua Club, please contact Peter Faulkner.
