Guildford BSAC is a branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club, founded on 30 October 1957 at Guildford Lido by nine enthusiasts who became Branch 53 of BSAC. For nearly 70 years we have been training scuba divers and organising recreational diving around the UK and overseas. We are a not-for-profit members' club and offer a safe and informal environment to enjoy scuba diving, meet and make friends, and learn more about diving and the oceans.
Our first club dive took place at Durdle Door, Lulworth Cove, at Whitsun 1958, and we haven't stopped since. In those early years the club met in a succession of borrowed halls and pub rooms, came close to folding in 1962 with just £26 in the bank, and built its first compressor by hand from salvaged parts.
By the 1970s we had established ourselves as a serious dive operation, with our members at the forefront of technical diving safety. Pony cylinders, independent twin-sets, delayed SMBs and decompression trapezes were all in regular use at Guildford before these techniques had entered mainstream diving vocabulary. Our members also made several notable wreck discoveries, including the P&O liner Medina, which had served as the Royal Yacht for George V's state visit to India, and the submarine L24, lost in a tragic accident in 1924.
Overseas travel has always been part of club life. Members have dived Truk Lagoon (1979), the Great Barrier Reef (1991), the Galapagos, the Maldives, Belize and the Banda Sea. In 2005 we took 38 divers to Scapa Flow, reportedly one of the largest groups ever seen at Stromness.
We have been based at the Guildford Waterside Centre since 1971, moving into a purpose-rebuilt centre in 2005. Our clubhouse provides a great social base where members can enjoy a drink, share stories and prepare for dive trips. We meet every Tuesday evening. We have a purpose-built boat shed for our two 6m RHIBs and our compressor. Air fills and Nitrox are provided at club rates. We also provide all dive kit, except drysuit, to members while in training, and qualified members can hire kit at modest rates.
We typically have over 90 diving members with a wide range of qualifications and interests, so whatever type of diving you are into, it can be pursued here. Members range from trainees to First Class Divers, and we have more than 20 qualified instructors. We offer in-house training from complete beginner through to instructor level, plus specialist courses including boat handling and dive gas mixing.