September to May we meet for training at 8.30pm on Thursday evenings at the Leith Academy, Edinburgh.

Prospective Ocean Divers complete a programme of training in the classroom and the pool before progressing to diving in the sea. Classroom sessions run from 7.15 to 8.15 pm and are followed by pool training from 8.30 to 9.30 pm. This training, which covers all the basic skills required to dive in British open water conditions, includes such topics as familiarisation with scuba equipment, dive planning and procedures, diving physiology and basic rescue techniques.

During the summer, with the longer days, Tuesday evenings are used for open water training at local sites with easy shore access, such as Dunbar and North Berwick. All training is carried out under the supervision of nationally qualified instructors, of which the branch has several. We also run the occasional day/weekend event too.

The Ocean Diver training programme is estimated to need about 17 hours of pool, classroom and open water training. In practice, this varies considerably with individual ability and application. Someone commencing training in October and attending training sessions regularly could expect to be ready for open water training by February/March but possibly sooner. In fact, most people make their first open water dives when the weather starts to improve in March-April. Ocean Divers will be encouraged to progress within the branch to Sports Diver, Dive Leader and Advanced Diver and then, at national level, to First Class Diver.