DSAC is a Fife based, active, outgoing and friendly group of divers who trawl the basins of Scotland’s sea lochs.

We dive all year round and offer full training for new members. 

DSAC is a member of the Sub Aqua Association (SAA). 

.........................................................................................................................................................

We are a member of the Sub Aqua Association, all members are trained and insured as divers by the SAA as long as they remain members and dive within the club’s regulations.

This Website is designed to give you more information about DSAC and learning to dive. It is also a resource for club members to interact with each other and organise dives. 

.........................................................................................................................................................

Thinking of joining a diving club? 

DSAC is the oldest SAA club in Scotland - club number 203 overall. 

We have over 30 members, many of which actively dive each weekend with the club. As well as weekly diving, the club charters boats and organises dive weekends in the North of Scotland, we're on first name terms with skippers and accommodation owners in places like the Sound of Mull, Skye, the Moray Firth and Scapa Flow.

We meet every Wednesday at our Clubhouse in Dalgety Bay where we conduct our training sessions, boat maintenance and sometimes meet for a few drinks on special occasions...

Learning to Dive:

During training season, powerpoint lectures in the clubhouse are accompanied by pool training at Carneigie pool in Dunfermline. Training is free to members, only some special qualifications such as Nitrox and Instructor grades carry a small fee.

To join, members pay a joining fee and a yearly membership fee - both are around the £90 mark. The joining fee is one-off and the membership fee is paid yearly to maintain your insurance with the SAA and voting rights within the club. 

When you join, you are given a diving log book and course materials to help get you through your first major diving qualification - Open Water Diver.  

Once you are a member, our aim is to train you to the level you want to reach, over weeks, months or years - depending on how far you want to go and how much of your own time you want to put in. 

As a club we offer qualifications through the SAA. You would start off earning the basics with Elementary Diver, before you progress through open Water diver to Club Diver, which are roughly equivalent to PADI open water then advanced. You would still be able to use these qualifications if you wanted to dive abroad at a later date, and the SAA has the added benefit of being affiliated to CMAS which is an internationally renowned diving organisation. You can find more Information on the qualifications on the SAA website www.saa.org.uk, including a cross-over chart comparing PADI/SAA and other types of qualifications.

Other than the social benefits of the club setting, and the ability to learn through the experience of other people who have decades of experience between them, you would receive free training from club instructors (once you had paid your one off joining fee and annual membership; currently £90 joining fee, £95 annual membership). We also provide the equipment you need to train free of charge until you are qualified. After your initial qualifications, you can also progress to the next level without paying again. 

Club Equipment: 

We have several full sets of equipment for trainees to use in the pool and in open water. Until you are qualified as an Open Water Diver, using this equipment is free - thereafter, you can continue to hire it from the club to continue diving in the open water and build up your experience. Each dive you do in the open water under training will be with an Instructor or Dive Leader, overseen by a Dive Marshall. The club owns O2 kits, which are taken on each dive for additional safety.

We also have a number of boats in the club and are in the process of applying for a grant to purchase a new RIB which will suit our needs.  

Club business is managed by a committee of 12 members, with a core consisting of Diving Officer, Secretary and Chairman. The committee meet once a month and decide how best to run the club. All members of the club take part in these discussions, which are generally held in an open forum.

Who can dive?

Although there is an age limit to how young a diver can be to gain SAA qualifications, there is no limit on how old they can be! Diving is not a strenuous sport, and although it can involve heavy equipment and activity in water, help is always at hand. To learn to dive, you must demonstrate a basic fitness (swim 200 metres) and sign a medical form to verify that you don't have pre-existing medical conditions that will be affected by diving. If you feel that your health may be an issue, you can discuss this with your GP. 

Is it cold?

The variation in water temperature throughout the year is not as dramatic as the variation in air temperature. In fact, we dive in the winter when the air is colder than the water. Obviously, the body loses heat to water more efficiently than air, therefore you do need clothing to protect you from the elements. We use undersuits and drysuits, which combine to keep you warm and dry.

Generally, only the hands and cheeks get the full brunt of the cold water, as these are the most exposed.

There is usually that much to see that you don't think too much about the cold!

How much is there to see? 

Have a look at our Photos section - all these pics were taken in Scotland. There are many common creatures seen on just about every dive such as species of starfish, urchins, anenome as well as squat lobsters, crabs and various species of fish. There are even more rarely seen animals such as conger eels, lobster, monkfish, wolf-fish, octopus and dogfish. 

We also love to dive shipwrecks - most require a boat to reach, but are always worth a dive. Wrecks often attract huge amounts of coral life, which begin the foundations for an ecosystem. Some wrecks are also of historical importance, whether maritime or merchant. Floating around the deck of a steam ship that has lain on the bottom of the sea for a century is an awesome experience, but not one for the novice diver...!

Is it expensive?

Much of the equipment is expensive to purchase. Many divers start their diving careers with a trip to ebay. Second hand BCDs and Drysuits can cost anything from around £100 and perform as well as new equipment.

Other kit such as Cylinders and Regulators need regular safety checks and maintenance and it's common to buy these from new so you know exactly what you're getting. Whilst Cylinders are moderately priced (£150-£200), new Regulators are not cheap and neither they should be. When it comes to Regs, you buy the best you can afford.

Ancillary equipment such as fins, kinves, masks, hoods and gloves are reasonably priced as well (£30-£40), but add up...

Finally, you may want to dive with a torch and computer, maybe a camera? These can become expensive, but are generally not things you should start your diving career with. Worry about holding onto expensive objects once you've mastered your buoyancy.

Is it dangerous?    

Of course, diving occurs in an environment that is dangerous to humans. You can't breath, you can't see, it's cold and there are sharks everywhere. Ok, so there aren't that many sharks....

Because of the drysuit, diving in the UK is slightly more complex than diving abroad. Good equipment and knowledge of how to use it is important to safe diving, but the real key is good discipline.

New divers should discipline themselves to dive well within their limits and ensure they are learning at the right pace. All divers follow a disciplined dive plan under water and stick to well established principals such as ascent rates and safety stops. We dive in buddy pairs which means you have somebody within a few feet of you throughout the whole dive. 

It all sounds a bit complicated, but it doesn't take long before it is second nature to check your air, use your equipment to maintain buoyancy, calculate your air consumption, monitor your depth, communicate with hand signals to your buddy.... 

What if I'm already a qualified diver? 

If you have a qualification with another Diving Organisation - PADI, BSAC, etc - it will crossover to SAA. There will be some assessment involved including a check dive, but it won't be long before you can get out diving with the club members.