The Crawley Divers, Hut 24, Tilgate Drive, Tilgate Forest, Crawley, West Sussex RH11 9BQ invited Shelley to K2 for a Try Dive.

The day before the Try Dive Shelley went to the huts in Tilgate to meet Mark Mumford who is the longest current member of the club with twenty years under his belt. Mark told us “the club was established back in 1956 when a group of like minded keen divers came together. The Crawley Divers Club was the 148th club of it’s kind to be formed in the world”.

We asked Mark about qualifications and how the club can help people who are interested in diving. Mark told us “the Try Dive is a great tester session for anyone who may be interested in diving. You get to experience the equipment in a controlled environment with a qualified instructor at your side at all times. If people would then want to move on from the Try dive they can then gain further recognised qualifications on various levels as time goes on. These qualifications are recognised by SCUBA all around the world”.

Mark told us the furthest he had travelled to dive was all the way to Australia where he saw some amazing sights and had a great experience.

To do a Try Dive with The Crawley Divers it costs just £10. Mark said “this sport is pretty much like any other sport, you start with the basics then work your way up. The total cost of equipment can come to around £1000 but that is for the keen divers who wish to venture to deeper waters”.

There are some health restrictions which may prohibit you from diving which can be discussed with Mark when visiting the club in Tilgate.

Shelley was very nervous about doing a Try Dive as she is very claustrophobic, but as you can see in the video, with the help of her instructor Audrey Dungey Shelley eventually became very comfortable with breathing under the water and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Shelley told us “I was so nervous. Once I got over the noise and bubbles I started to settle into it and in the end I really enjoyed myself. I might even do it again!”.

We would like to thank Mark Mumford, Audrey Dungey and of course our good friend (who convinced Shelley to do the Try Dive) Carol Turner. Thank you to the Crawley Divers Club for a wonderful experience. We would encourage anyone thinking of going away and doing a bit of diving to pop along and for a Try Dive first. The experience will be so much more enjoyable