LEARNING TO DIVE IN THE UK
If you don't already scuba dive but would like to learn, here are links to the main organisations that teach scuba diving in the UK, either from scratch or as a refresher. All have local clubs who regularly dive around the UK and organise trips abroad.
The British Sub Aqua Club www.bsac.com
The Scottish Sub Aqua Club www.scotsac.com
Professional Association of Diving Instructors www.padi.com
The Sub Aqua Association www.saa.org.uk
To help you choose an organisation and get advice why not try these forums
www.yorkshire-divers.com
www.scubadivers.org.uk
TECHNICAL DIVING AGENCIES FOR ADVANCED TRAINING
Technical Diving International www.tdisdi.com
International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers www.iantd.com
MARINE LIFE
For a good marine identification reference with excellent photos, click on
www.seaslug.org.uk
UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
If you would like to know more about underwater photography, The British Society of Underwater Photographers is a good place to start. It is the largest underwater photographic society in Britain, and members have access to meetings, competitions, a newsletter and its own website forum.
www.bsoup.org/
Another forum specifically for photography in temperate waters visit
www.digigreen.net/
MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY
For information on maritime archaeology visit the website of the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology (HWTMA). This charitable trust's work includes the Bouldnor Cliff and Hamble River projects, and they have set up dive trails at Alum Bay, Needles and Hazardous for divers to learn more about these historical wreck sites.
www.hwtma.org.uk
You might also like to learn more about the Nautical Archaeological Society (NAS), another registered charity whose aim is to preserve our coastal and marine archaeological heritage through education, excavation and conservation. The NAS courses are well recognised in the diving community.
www.nauticalarchaeologysociety.org
DIVING FOR EVERYONE
Visit the website of the International Association for Handicapped Divers at www.iahd.org
There is also The Scuba Trust, a non profit charity that promotes scuba diving for all abilities www.scubatrust.org.uk
DIVERS SUPPORT NETWORK ORGANISATIONS
Royal National Lifeboat Institution saving lives at sea in the UK and Republic of Ireland www.rnli.org.uk
USEFUL DIVING RELATED MEDICAL WEBSITES
Check the Diving Medical section on www.e-med.co.uk for online advice and information on decompression sickness. The website also has a worldwide diving chamber locator.
Another dive related medical website www.scuba-doc.com
THE HISTORY OF DIVING
The Historical Diving Society is a group of enthusiasts who aim to protect and preserve the old diving methods www.thehds.com
