Horizon Divers Sub Aqua Club

Buntingford Horizon Divers is a small, friendly, branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club based in Buntingford, near Royston in North Hertfordshire. We have about 35 members, ranging in age from fifteen to sixty-something. We meet on a Wednesday evening at the Ward Freman swimming pool in Buntingford SG9 9BT, and afterwards at the Buntingford Social Club.

Our club was founded more than thirty years ago, our Club President is one of the founder members. New members are welcome, whether qualified, experienced or beginners who want to try diving for the first time. We have our own 5.6 meter RIB and our diving ranges between shallow drift diving to 50 meter deep wrecks. For those who like blue water diving, we generally have a few foreign diving trips each year.

Why not come along on a Wednesday evening at 8:30pm and see for yourself?

HDSAC is a very active club, despite being somewhat land-locked. We offer all levels of training as well as regular dive trips for divers. We have 3 fully qualified instructors to provide training for both novice and already-qualified divers looking to progress their skills and experience; and regularly organise a range of special development courses, such as first aid for divers and life saving. Please contact our training officer for information on upcoming training schedules.

A full calendar of events sees something going on most weeks throughout the year, so there is always plenty of diving to be enjoyed. HDSAC dive trips have recently included trips to Eygpt, Malta, Maldives, Scapa Flow, Ireland, Farne Islands and Norfolk as well as shorter (weekend) trips to Swanage, Plymouth, Brighton, and Lyme Regis. Planned trips for the next year include return visits to Mull, Lyme Regis and Plymouth, as well as weekends in Swanage and Eastbourne, and longer trips to Malta and Eygpt. Most dive trips we organise are suited to Sports Diver level, although we do also run trips specifically aimed at new Ocean Divers to extend their ranges of skill.

Some club members also make regular trips to our local inland sites, Gildenburgh Water in Whittlesey, and Stoney Cove in Leicestershire. Both are excellent sites for training in a controlled environment; but are also fun sites to explore if you’re simply keen to get in the water. The swimming pool at Ward Freman is also available to members on Wednesday evenings to practice skills or try out new kit.

Aside from diving, we also include a number of social events in our calendar so that partners, family, and friends can also join in the club’s activities. An annual Christmas dinner and disco features, as well as a summer BBQ and curry and bowling evenings occasionally.

Joining HDSAC is an excellent way to enjoy a very exciting and social sport, giving you the opportunity to extend your training and experience/or partake in a whole host of dive trips all year round. HDSAC take pride in our high standards of training and our safety record; but most importantly, we enjoy what we do –  above all we have fun whilst diving.

The benefits of joining us are many: unlike learning to dive with other organisations, whereby you pay a fee per course and maybe as part of a group you get intensive and brief training, then sent out into the oceans; BSAC has a different structure to its training. You pay a low-level subscription fee on an annual basis to BSAC and to HDSAC, and this covers all of your training – at a pace that suits you, on a one-on-one basis with one of our nationally qualified instructors.

Being part of a club means that you can share and learn from other divers’ experiences and enjoy all  the diving activities and trips that are arranged. There is always something going on – and because we book trips as a club, we are able to make group bookings and so keep your costs as low as possible. It all adds up to a very friendly, supportive environment, where the best training can be taught in a thorough and unpressured manner; and diving can be enjoyed at all levels no matter what your experience level.

The club meets every Wednesday evening at Ward Freman School, Buntingford, so if you would like to find out more of what HDSAC is all about, then come along and meet us. If you would like more information on HDSAC or have any questions relating to learning to dive or just what’s involved, please contact our Membership Secretary; or if you would like details on training, please contact our training Officer. We are also on Facebook and members keep up to date on whats happening via Facebook, so please do check us out on Facebook.

A typical Try Dive session involves poolside tuition on diving techniques and equipment, followed by a scuba dive in our pool with a BSAC-qualified instructor to make sure you get maximum enjoyment from your first scuba dive.

Currently our Try Dives are completely free of charge but his offer will not last for ever so if you are interested, don’t delay and contact our Training Officer today.

Perhaps you know someone how has always wanted to try diving or maybe a member of your family has a birthday coming up and you’re looking for an alternative gift, we can arrange a voucher to give as a gift, for either a Try Dive or Ocean Diver training course, once again, please contact our Training Officer or Membership Secretary for more details.

If you already hold a BSAC, PADI or CMAS qualification then you are also welcome to join and dive with us. We can provide full cross-over training and also further advancement of your qualification if you so desire.

Basically, we welcome all divers from all agencies no matter what your previous qualifications. Diving for Divers!!

We meet every Wednesday night at 8.00pm until 9.30pm at:

Ward Freman Swimming Pool
Bowling Green Lane
Buntingford, Herts
SG9 9BT