360 miles there, 360 miles back – and for what?  Well, I’ll tell you!

For those of you that haven’t been, it doesn’t get much better than this anywhere around UK waters….

I’m sure you’re not bothered about the journey to get there, so I’ll get straight to the point – the diving!

As promised, a short report about our Maldives trip plus a true life tale from one of our intrepid travellers who left it until the very last dive to go reef surfing!

After a one-hour flight delay at Heathrow the remainder of the journey passed without incident and we arrived at Male airport at 1.15 in the afternoon. The first thing to impress was that once in the arrivals area it was only a 2 minute walk to our dive Dhoni which was to take us to Nautilus 2 from landing to getting onto the Liveaboard was probably about an hour and a half which was a great start. The second thing to really impress was the size of our floating home for the next week think one of the Red Sea Liveaboards and double it I kid you not - the top deck had 35 sun loungers on it and could have taken 70. We also debated having a 5 a side football match but it was far too hot!

At long last I’ve managed to finish the trip report for the Scilly’s trip at the end of June.

This was to be my first experience of diving in the UK (with the exception of Stoney Cove – which for me doesn’t count) and I must say I was more than apprehensive.  It was also my first visit to the Scilly’s.  Daniel, who I travelled with and was an excellent buddy for the week, assured me more than once that I’d love it, but I wasn’t quite so sure.

Scubanuts trip down to the Jurassic Coast on Saturday 7^th June was excellent for Helen (who didn’t dive but performed key minding and biscuit providing duties due to an ear problem) and the nine divers who got up early to beat the caravans down to Dorset.

The road to Swanage is not too bad now with about 3 hours being the average journey time to get some excellent shore diving in under Swanage Pier.

Only Emily and her dad Alan had been diving here before, so this was all new for the rest of us.

Many congratulations to 4 of the Scuba School team who have just passed their PADI Instructor Exams:  Jon Lyall, Mike McNamara, Donna Matthews and Steve Matthews.  They have all worked extremely hard over the last couple of months in preparation for a very stressful assessment weekend and did a fantastic job.  We look forward to seeing them instructing for the school in the future - and celebrating with them at the party on Saturday!

‘Twas  the week before Christmas and all was quiet at the Worlds End pub in Ecton. Suddenly there was a stir, the wildlife started scattering, the locals stopped talking and pricked up their ears, what was that noise?.......nothing happens in this quaint backwater of  Northampton?. Then it dawns, that local couple booked a room for a party…yep the Scubanutters Xmas do had arrived!. Descending on the village came various members of the Scubanuts members and crew for the annual event. It was a crisp evening, frosty even (Frosty enough for one unlucky Scubanutter to arrive courtesy of their backside!). Inside we found an oasis, for those that have never been to the Worlds End it is a stunning pub, extremely well decorated and most importantly stocks various different types of beer!.

With less than 8 weeks to go we thought we should get our annual party arranged so we’ve booked this for Saturday 16th December at the Cellar Bar in the Worlds End pub, Ecton, Northampton from 8pm until 1am.

Why not join your fellow ‘Nutters’ for a drink, boogie and a bite to eat for the bargain price of £2.50 per person. Get your tickets from This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it as usual.

It was finally here, September 15th 2006, a day fixed in our minds for months. Emotions were mixed - excitement at the prospect of our first livaboard holiday and finally getting into some clear warm water, but also niggling doubts about spending 24 hours a day for a whole week in such a confined space with new friends. Have we packed the right things? have we forgotten any important bits of dive gear? what if we all don't get on and we hate it?

Once again we visit the famous Scubanuts Summer Barbeque. Weather wise, who could have asked for more? Glorious sunshine and no clouds in the sky. Food wise, the resident Scubanuts chef Shaun Fox supplied us all with excellent fodder, prepared to a very high standard by Shaun and his merry band of helpers. Shaun impressed his helpers by demonstrating how to peel and chop an onion in 2 seconds flat without a tear in his eye, compared to the rest of us with tears streaming down our faces (Oh did we suffer for your fried onions!).

So you bought yourself a camera, and you have taken some fantastic photos with it and you want to show them to the other club members. Why not enter your work in the Northampton Scuba School Photographer of the Year 2006 competition? It doesn’t matter what level of experience you have, anyone can enter, including the PADI Seal Team Snapshot Specialists.

Shaun led a group to dive the pier and the wreck of the Fleur de Lys at Swanage the week after the barbeque. 

This proved to be a good dive site for both newly qualified and experienced divers and although the visibility was like Gildy on a bad day on the pier, it was much better on the Wreck and everyone seemed to enjoy the experience. 

We’ll definitely be arranging more trips here next year.

The Swains set off on their first ever Scapa Flow trip. We did not really know what to expect, but other members of the NSS team had raved about previous visits, so spirits were high! The car was topped up with fuel and we were good to go. And go we did, for the next 11 hours! It is a LONG way...no it’s a bloody long way. Well worth it though for the sights along the way including the beautiful lake district, the Scottish highlands and the not so beautiful Sheffield.

It was a gruelling day from beginning to end but massively rewarding. The sun beat down, there was a chill wind and the water was 9 degrees. Not too bad unless you're an idiot and decide to try and dive without a hood.

Read how I got on, what I got right and how many potential rescue victims we killed.