Into the Deep Blue Yonder

SCUBA diving is as close to travelling to an alien world as you’ll get without heading out of the atmosphere.

Now learning disability charity Mencap is encouraging all diving fans to get underwater for a 24-hour fundraising challenge.

Over this weekend it hopes teams of divers will take the plunge at local swimming pools, rivers and dive centres.

Reporter STEPHEN HALLMARK decided to test his underwater mettle.

TAKING the plunge into an underwater world and swimming with the fish has always held a fascination for me.

Although a small swimming pool at Foxford School, Grange Road, Longford, Coventry, is a far cry from diving in the Mediterranean, it’s essential to practise before diving into the deep blue sea.

And I was pleased to have a solid floor beneath me in case I got that sinking feeling.

My tutor, Steve Taylor, whetted my appetite with tales of the fish he had seen, the places he had been and the seas he and his pals had swum in.

Ever since snorkelling off the shores of Wales as a young lad and seeing a plaice, I have dreamed of swimming over magnificent multicolored corals.

So I was desperate to find out if I took to scuba diving like a duck to water.

It felt weird buckling weights around my waist, but I was assured I would be too buoyant without them.

After strapping into my breathing apparatus I resembled a hybrid robot, but was surprised that with all the weight attached to me I was still weightless in the pool.

I was nervous the first time I lowered my head beneath the surface. But apparently it’s common for people experiencing their first dive to panic.

But I had been snorkelling in the Mediterranean on a number of occasions and soon took to its more adventurous cousin.

The best bit was learning how to enter the water as if I were doing it from a boat, by simply stretching out a leg – like John Cleese doing the goose step in Fawlty Towers – and plummeting into the pool.

With the combined weight of the oxygen tank and weights strapped around my waist, I sank like a stone and loved the rush of the water past my goggles.

Steve, a Professional Association Diving Instructor (PADI), summed it up beautifully when he told me: "When you dive in clear waters with excellent visibility, it is the closest you can come to flying."

Now I am desperate to pull on an aqualung and investigate shipwrecks.

Steve, who works at Dunlop Aerospace, also helps to run the Coventry Scuba Centre, in Brownshill Green Road, Coundon.

He said: "The golden rule is to breathe continuously and never hold your breath.

"Sometimes that might feel unnatural, but as soon as the basics are mastered, scuba diving opens up a whole new world to you.

"Diving is very, very special. I got involved as a teenager because of Jacques Cousteau, who invented the aqualung, and enjoyed an incredible life sailing and exploring the oceans.

"I love the marine life – I’ve seen everything from man-eating sharks to sea slugs."

How you can get involved

DIVERS can sign up to take part in Dive:24 anywhere in the UK tomorrow and on Sunday.

The event is supported by PADI and will involve teams of 24 divers taking it in turns to dive over 24 hours. Mencap is encouraging divers with a learning disability to take part.

Divers will be asked to raise a minimum of pounds 50 sponsorship. Money raised will help Mencap support children and adults with a learning disability, their families and carers. For more information, contact 0845 977 7779 or e-mail: events@mencap.org.uk

To become a qualified diver costs pounds 290, and that pays for two lessons a week for five weeks. One lesson is theory, the other practical.

After the course is completed, open-air diving takes place at Stoney Cove, near Hinckley.

To book, call the Coventry Scuba Centre on 024 7633 8789.