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HAVE A QUESTION? IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL, EMAIL US OR FILL IN THE ENQUIRY FORM BELOW
07375 949197 or 07972 110225
scuba@hertsdiveclub.co.uk
Hatfield Swim Centre, Lemsford Road, Hatfield, AL10 0EB

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Frequently Asked Questions

If you can’t find the answer your looking for on our website, please feel free to send us your question. We will do our best to answer.

Diving Questions

No, in fact, it’s probably easier than you imagine. Especially if you’re already comfortable in the water. The PADI Open Water Course is conducted over five days with one day devoted to theory, two days devoted to pool skills and two days allocated for your four open water dives. The course is “performance based,” which means that you progress as you learn and demonstrate knowledge and skill. There is some home study required first.

With the necessary training and experience, the limit for recreational scuba diving is 40 metres/130 feet. Beginning scuba divers stay shallower than about 18 metres/60 feet. Although these are the limits, some of the most popular diving is no deeper than 12 metres/40 feet where the water’s warmer and the colors are brighter.

When you’re lucky, you get to see a shark. Although incidents with sharks occur, they are very, very rare and with respect to diving, primarily involve spear fishing or feeding sharks, both of which trigger feeding behavior. Most of the time, if you see a shark it’s passing through and a relatively rare sight to enjoy.

People find the “weightlessness” of scuba diving to be quite freeing. Modern scuba masks are available in translucent models, which you may prefer if a mask makes you feel closed in. During your scuba diving training, your instructor gives you plenty of time and coaching to become comfortable with each stage of learning. Your scuba instructor works with you at your own pace to ensure you master each skill necessary to become a capable scuba diver who dives regularly.

Sunburn and seasickness, both of which are preventable with over the counter preventatives. The most common injuries caused by marine life are scrapes and stings, most of which can be avoided by wearing an exposure suit, staying off the bottom and watching where you put your hands and feet.

Not necessarily. Any condition that affects the ears, sinuses, respiratory function or heart function or may alter consciousness is a concern, but only a doctor can assess a person’s individual risk. Doctors can consult with the Divers Alert Network (DAN) as necessary when assessing a scuba candidate. Alternatively ask us for a Medical Statement to take to your doctor.

You can dive practically anywhere there’s water – from a swimming pool to the ocean and all points in between, including quarries, lakes, rivers and springs.

Where you can scuba dive is determined by your experience level, site accessibility, conditions, interests. For example, if you’ve just finished your PADI Open Water Diver course, you probably won’t be diving under the Antarctic ice on your next dive. But, don’t limit your thinking to the warm, clear water you see in travel magazines.

Some of the best diving is closer than you think. It may be a manmade reservoir or a fossil-filled river. It’s not always about great visibility because what you see is more important than how far you see.

PADI is the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, the largest scuba certification organisation in the world.

PADI develops scuba programs and diver training products, monitors scuba training conducted by more than 100,000 PADI Professionals worldwide, maintains diver certification records and issues your diver certification credentials.

In addition, PADI maintains various support services for PADI Dive Centers and Resorts. Since its inception in 1966 PADI has grown to have members in more than 175 countries and territories and international service offices in nine countries. Approximately 85% of all divers worldwide are certified by PADI.

General Questions

As the name suggests – we’re a group of like minded dive enthusiasts based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK. The diving club is very active and continues to grow as more like minded scuba enthusiasts join the fun here at Herts Dive Club. All divers are welcome (whatever agency!). So if you’re looking for a friendly diving club with a good diving and social calendar then come along on our club night and check us out.

Members benefits include:

20% discount on all scuba diving courses
New members get a free Discover Scuba Diving voucher for a friend so you can share the experience with your friends
Free air fills for this that have there own cylinders
Full use of the Hatfield Swim Centre on club nights
Free use of club equipment if available
Discounted merchandise (T-shirts/Fleeces/Hoodies etc)
Regular club newsletter
Dedicated Member online members zone where you can chat to other members, log dives – A social network just for us!

Yes!

Herts Dive club is a very active group of like minded people and we have several events arranged. These trips include foreign holidays, UK dive trips and social events. Check out our Trips/Events page to find out what is being planned.

We are based in Stevenage/Hatfield, Hertfordshire and our club members / scuba diving students come from all around the surrounding area of Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire including: Letchworth, Ware, Hertford, St Albans, Hemel Hempstead, Luton, Welwyn Garden City, Cambridge, North London

As a club, we regulalry get together for social events and diving, details of which are updated on this site. We also meet every other Tuesday for some pool diving sessions at: 

Hatfield Swim Centre,
Lemsford Road,
Hatfield,
Herts, AL10 0EB

Time: from 7:30pm
Pool time: from 9:00pm – 10:00pm.

No. Like any hobby or recreation, you can invest however much you want, depending upon your interest level. Because as a club we can loan equipment (most dive centres and resorts also rent equipment), you can invest in equipment over time, renting what you don’t have.

There’s probably good diving not far from where you live, so travel costs can be flexible enough to accommodate even the tightest budget. Most people find the costs of scuba diving similar to the cost associated with skiing or mountain biking.

No. You need to be a reasonably proficient swimmer and comfortable in the water.

You must swim 200 metres/200 yards nonstop, without a time or specific stroke requirement or a 300 metre/yard swim with mask, fins and snorkel. You’ll also perform a 10 minute tread/float – Remember, it’s not a race!

Testimonials

We are proud of the feedback we get from our students and customers.

He really enjoyed the course

Hi John, Tory (pls fwd) & Steve,

Thank you very much for getting Lucas passed for his PADI. He really enjoyed the course, and we felt very comfortable with the level of professionalism & focus on safety you have, alongside your friendly and inclusive approach.

Lucas will be in touch directly about joining up to HDC (once his latest exams are through) as a member.

Look forward to seeing you all soon, thanks again.

Richard & Maddie

A memorable and enriching experience

We recently completed an open water diving course at this local scuba diving club, and it was an amazing experience! As a family, myself and my two daughters, aged 14 and 13, were guided through 5 pool dives and 4 open water dives. Our instructors, Paul and Kevin, with support from Nikki, were outstanding. They were incredibly patient and skilled in working with my daughters, ensuring we all felt confident and safe. Their approach was the perfect blend of fun and informative, making the learning process enjoyable and thorough. We highly recommend this club to anyone eager to learn diving or to enhance their diving skills. A big thank you to the team for such a memorable and enriching experience!

I really loved the session

I completed a Discover Scuba Diving session at Herts Dive Club tonight, under the guidance of Kevin. I really loved the session and felt safe and supported all the way through. Kevin was knowledgeable, reassuring & encouraging, whilst still allowing me to go at my own pace. The session was fun and a really relaxed. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this club & plan to now follow up by doing the next Open Water Diving course next year.
Thanks to Kevin & Steve.

Look forward to many more diving experiences

Thanks for the email, Myself and Erin will definitely be joining the club, we’ve both enjoyed the training and experience, everyone treated us like they’ve known us for a long time, and all the instructors and Dive Masters and yourself on week 5, and put me,  especially at ease and were patient when I had some issues with my mask.

So we both look forward to many more diving experiences and what we can learn going forward.
Thank you.
Gary

A great welcome into the world of diving.

I have just completed my PADI Open water diver course with HDC. What a fantastic team, every member of the HDC team that I met was friendly and supportive.
It all started with a enquiry call to Steve, who answered all my questions and gave me all the details I need to sign up. On the first night, I met the team and in particular my instructor (Paul) and two dive masters (Gary and Kev) along with the rest of our group. Paul, Gary and Kev were friendly and welcoming and explained about the course and the plan for the coming weeks. One thing I really liked about HDC was the rapport between the team members, they all seemed to get on really well and were friends, this made for a great atmosphere and environment. All of the team were approachable and would regularly check in on us all, which helped to make sure we all felt comfortable with all of the team.

I had to miss week 3 because of a prior commitment but the team were flexible and accommodating, when I came back one of the other instructors (John) took me for a 1:1 session so I could catch-up with my group. John was also friendly and supportive, explaining the session in detail and although we had a lot to do I never felt overwhelmed. We worked through it all step by step and nothing felt rushed.

After all the pool sessions, we went to Stoney Cove for the open water dives. We got all the necessary details from Nikki and Steve so we knew what we had to do and when, how to get there and even suggestions for where to stay and where the team were staying so we could join them for the evening debriefing. At Stoney Cove we had a change to our dive team, we had a second instructor (Donny) join us and Kev joined the second group, this gave us 1 instructor to 2 students and a dive master to support we felt safe, supported and well looked after. There was lots of team HDC around for the weekend on hand to help and support us. There was also a number of HDC club members diving too, who were all friendly and supportive too.

Overall, HDC were fantastic throughout not only were they all friendly and supportive they were reasonably priced too. All the gear we used was good quality and worked as it should. I am more than happy I chose to do my PADI course with HDC and would highly recommend them to anyone considering a PADI Scuba Diving course.
I wanted to give a balanced review and have been trying to think of any negatives throughout this and truly can’t think of any.

Thank you HDC for a great welcome into the world of diving.

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