Customer Feedback for the National Diving & Activity Centre

Thank you for making our first dive for some time, such a good experience. Your team is so friendly and helpful - we will be back!

Big thanks to the NDAC. Did my rescue course with Cardiff Scuba over the weekend, and we decided to stay in one of the Wigwams. They are brilliant! Very comfortable and spacious. With tea and coffee making facilities in the wigwam I was more than happy when I had to get up at 7am to prepare for my rescue course! Get up, drink coffee and walk down to my course, how easy do you want it! If you haven't stayed in one yet, give them a try! Well worth it!

I would just like to say a big thank you to all of the staff at NDAC on behalf of my buddy Bob and me.

We travelled from Peterborough to visited your centre on Sunday 26 October 2010.

We found all of the staff to be very friendly, chatty and helpful. When we had a piece of kit fail the guys in the shop were were only to happy to help out and loan kit to get us through our day. Other customers at the site all seemed to be friendly and helpful too. We will definately be returning, and hopefully with a larger group.

I've just got home from a great days diving at the NDAC and I'd like to say a big "Thank you" for the friendly help you gave us today. Between split wrist seals, cracked BCD inflators and

damaged zips, it was an unusually problematic day, to say the least!

I recently bought 2 cylinders from an internet dive shop (mention no names) and decided to take them for a test run.

After having them filled, the 12 litre O2 Clean cylinder was leaking from the neck!!

The young chappie from NDAC said that it was probably a wrong size O ring and would have a look for me. It was, and he fixed it for a fiver.

I know NDAC has come in for some critisism in the past, but I have been there several times and they have always been really good.

I've found the staff there exceedingly helpful and often do things way above what their job

technically is to assist someone.

We did 2 dives each, both were very enjoyable with visibility and temperature much better than I was fearing. NDAC is an excellent inland site.

Had a problem with my regs that needed some attention and a new o ring - staff at the shop we excellent and sorted the problem out quicky and with no charge. Many thanks for great service.

I tried out NDAC for the very first time in my 20 year diving career, yesterday.
The directions provided on the website were easy to follow; registration was painless and parking was easy.

Prices for gear in the on-site shop were very reasonable; the air-fills were around what I pay elsewhere and the mini-bus transfers were great fun! (I reckon they're in better condition than many in the Red Sea!!)

All of the staff were friendly, the viz was great, but most importantly there was plenty to see for all levels of diver

Just a note to say thanks for all your help last week when we visited your site.

Our jobs were made a lot easier through the co operation and help from all your team.

A few weeks ago I was diving at the NDAC Chepstow. My buddy wanted to practise with a blob, as he's new to UK diving, so at the end of the dive he sent up his new 'red and yellow' blob (one side each colour). I should add that he did not buy it on my recomendation!

When we got out, the guy on the pontoon came over and had a very friendly chat with us to let us know about a new-ish (to us anyway) rule that yellow blobs should only be used in emergency, and as my mates blob span round he coud see yellow, red, yellow, red! He was very nice, and said if we used it again to let him know before we got it - absolutely fair enough. Was nice to know he was watching in all honesty - certain other more 'stoney' sites don't seem to have that level of surface supervision.

Recently, I was arranging another trip, and pointed out this rule to the others I was going with. In doing so, I could not find any reference to the rule on the NDAC website, so dropped a mail to the contact us address. I was pleasantly surprised to get a prompt reply with thanks, and that they would add the information to the site. Today I get a mail from the Web Designer and from Darren telling me the change has been added to the rules page and thanking me again. I have to say I was very impressed with all of this.

Coupled to this, the NDAC actually seem keen to develop their site (like the new concrete road, new plane and helicopter 'attractions' etc), which again makes a pleasant change to 'our stoney friends' in the north. The only other place with a smilar attitude seems to be Vobster, and guess which two sites most of my training will be at this spring? The new attractions make a change; very nice to see a new improvement every time we visit. The concrete road made for a much smoother ride to the pontoon, and I imagine must save you pounds in van tyres.

So, once agian, well done the NDAC. And no, I don't have any connection apart from as a happy customer.

I have just completed an AOW course with Lee Sutton and Dave Mager at the NDAC and I would just like to let you know my thoughts.

I thought the course was very professionally run, although very intensive and the knowledge great, it was also great fun.

Lee and Dave are great instructors and went above and beyond in their instruction. They both made me feel very confident but not complacent in my new found diving skills.

One of the key priorities with training divers at any level, from novice to technical is obviously safety with the need to construct an appropriate risk assessment for any dive site chosen.

Whilst the preference with diver training would be to use a training site as close to the conditions the trainee wishes to dive in post training, example Trimix divers would be best taught in the Ocean where factors such as weather and tides apply, At times a sheltered site for initial training or additional training or a good site to guarantee course completion in the case of unexpected poor weather.

Over the last few years at least one high quality inland site has been there for the professional instructor teaching in the 35m range, but a site with good conditions, surface facilities and high safety in the 35m plus range has been hard to find.

The National Diving & Activity Centre fulfils this requirement very well. The Safety features include waterside staff at all times on the Pontoon network that gives easy access to the variety of buoyed dive sites. The waterside support has radio contact with the main office and shop where rescue staff and equipment are available. There is also a RIB on site by the surface support shed on the pontoon to give fast response to all areas of the quarry.

Transport is supplied from the large car park for divers and equipment to the waterside where sack trolleys are available to transport equipment to the appropriate entry point.

As a professional instructor the staff went out of their way to accommodate my needs for meeting the safety and training needs of my students and I would not hesitate to use them again for training in the 6 to 80 m range.

...very safe and very well organized. It gave us a perfect place for testing the equipment up to -75m, and to repeat again and again all the skills in every condition. A highly recommended place for training."

Dr Jerome Meynie, deep cave explorer
www.snoopyloop.com

It was refreshing to see a genuine hospitality at Chepstow.... immensely friendly and helpful...One of those places where you feel 'at home'. You could see they had a heart in what they were doing."

Izzy Imset
Underwater Explorers, Portland

A dive site set up with divers in mind

Sport Diver Magazine
May 2003

This dive site has got to be the "Safest place to dive in the U.K.

Whilst teaching a novice diver the finer points of diving, he became separated from us in low visibility (due to recent adverse weather conditions). The plan was, "if we became separated, we would search for each other for one minute and if still separated, surface." Needless to say, this inevitably happened and we surfaced ahead of our novice.

Our novice was following diving procedure to the letter, by ascending slowly and monitoring his computer, compass and air, which left him around two minutes behind us. Within seconds, the safety officer, Mike,(I think) was on the case, radio at the ready, along with Jon the Landy driver, without being alerted by us, and comfortingly concerned for our novice.

Fortunately, our novice surfaced as planned, albeit two minutes behind us. We were concerned, but not over worried, because he had proved great competence to us with his diving, but the sheer vigilance of the safety crew amazed us.

"Well done guys!" We are well impressed and will be back.

Martin Versfeld

I do apologise for taking an age to contact you I was a student on an entry level trimix course run by Robinhood Watersports in Yorkshire.

Your help and friendliness was probably the best I have ever received in 20 years diving, it even started with help to contact local accommodation before we set out on our travels.

I will be visiting you again and have recommended you to many of the dive clubs in our area.

Keep up the good work and again many thanks.

Paul Gaunt
Thorne S.A.C Branch - Diving Officer