The Splash, June 2026

Hi everyone, and welcome to The Splash, the newsletter of Wight Dive School.

Oh my word, things are getting busy, and it is fantastic to see so many divers in the pool and in open water this month.

First of all, huge congratulations to Gary, Bea and Amelia for completing their Open Water course. We wish them all the very best as they begin their Advanced Open Water course. Also joining us for the Advanced Open Water course will be Edward, who completed his Open Water qualification last year.

We were back in the pool for our usual fourth Sunday of the month session, with Christine completing her referral dives, alongside Cian. Congratulations too to Louisa, who, although unable to make the UKSA session, took advantage of our newly secured evening pool slot in Sandown to complete her Open Water pool dives. We are now looking forward to setting up sessions at Andark Lake so that they can complete the full Open Water course.

At the other end of the Open Water learning scale, huge congratulations to Clara, Wilf and Maisie, all of whom got their first pool dive under their belts on Sunday.

By the end of the summer, we expect the number of divers completing their Open Water course with us to be well into double figures, and for a first season, that is really encouraging.

Where next after your diving qualification?

Hopefully, some of you will already have had a chance to read our latest blog, which looks at where you can go once you have completed your diving qualifications with Wight Dive School. You can read What Happens After You Qualify? on our blog.

Although, to be honest, no one ever really completes their diving qualifications. There is always another course, another skill, or another adventure waiting.

For those of you looking to continue diving around the Isle of Wight, the blog highlights several local dive clubs that would be very pleased to hear from new members. Joining a club is a great way to build your confidence, gain experience, meet other divers and enjoy some of the fantastic diving opportunities we have around the Island.

Private evening at the Shipwreck Centre, Wednesday 15 July

As I work part-time at the Shipwreck Centre in Arreton, I am perhaps a little biased, but if you have never visited, I would thoroughly recommend a trip there. Visit the Maritime Archaeology Trust museum website.

Local diver Martin Woodward has put together an amazing exhibition across three rooms, with artefacts from dozens of different ships that he has discovered while diving around the Isle of Wight. I am always amazed when I speak to divers by how few have actually been to see it, so we would like to put that right.

I have therefore arranged a private viewing for anyone who reads this newsletter. The date of the event will be Wednesday 15 July, and we will meet at 6:30pm. I will give a 45-minute tour, sharing some of my favourite stories from the museum, and you will then have some extra time to look around at your own leisure.

Afterwards, anyone who would like to stay and talk diving is very welcome to join us next door at The Dairyman's Daughter for a quick drink.

I will also bring along a selection of masks and snorkels for sale. As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, having your own mask and snorkel is really important, and with so many students going on to do their Advanced Open Water course, this will be a good opportunity to find one that fits properly. You can read more in our blog post on choosing your first mask.

If you would like to come along to the evening, please just drop me an email and let me know. There is no charge for the event, but there will be an opportunity to make a contribution towards the upkeep of the museum at the end of the evening. The suggested donation is £5. A huge thank you to Izzy and her team at the Shipwreck Centre for making this possible.

Support our local Coastguard Rescue Officers

While we are on the subject of local dive clubs and organisations, I would also like to highlight an important issue currently affecting the Coastguard Rescue Service.

Andy, of Vectis Diving Services and Training Limited, is involved in raising awareness of the current concerns around Coastguard provision. This is a hugely important issue for the whole country, but especially for island communities such as ours, where effective Coastguard rescue services are absolutely vital.

Please do take a moment to visit the Save Our Service, Coastguard Rescue Service website and, if you feel able to, support your local Coastguard Rescue Officers by signing the petition at sos-crs.co.uk. Your support could make a real difference.

Esprit Freedivers and the Biosphere celebrations

A quick note from our friend Claire at Esprit Freedivers. With the Biosphere celebrations taking place across the Island, Claire has let me know that there are still a few tickets available for the Tapas and Talk evening in Seaview on Friday night. However, the Snorkel Safari on Saturday morning is now fully booked.

The main speaker for the evening will be Theo Vickers, who recently appeared on BBC Countryfile, so we will be in the presence of television royalty. I can thoroughly recommend the tapas evening, and if any of you are planning to come along, please do let me know so I can catch up with you there. If you would still like to book tickets, please follow this link.

Dates for the diary

We have hotel pool sessions booked for 2, 21, 22 and 23 July, but if anyone is interested in booking other dates, simply let me know and we can look at arranging something.

• Our usual fourth Sunday of the month session at UKSA will take place on 26 July.
• Open water sessions at Andark on 8 and 10 July, with another session at Vobster on 9 July.
• Evening at the Shipwreck Centre, Wednesday 15 July.

The great thing about all of these sessions is that we can run bespoke training for up to four divers at a time. With four instructors now on our books, our continuing relationship with Poole Divers, and the support of the UKSA and Wight Hotel in Sandown, July, August and September all promise to be very busy months under the water.

That's all for now. We hope to see you in the water soon.

All the best,

Ian