Two PADI dive-centres based in Falmouth, Cornwall are celebrating the ninth PADI Women’s Dive Day with special events this Saturday (15 July). The training agency says it set up the global annual date to encourage more women to take up scuba diving and to strengthen existing dive communities.
Cornish Diving Centre is marking the day with a Dive Against Debris Ocean Clean-Up of Falmouth dive-sites. Dive Against Debris is a citizen-science programme that encourages scuba divers to remove seabed litter and share data on types, quantities and locations of rubbish collected.
Shannon Moran, lead instructor at the centre and an underwater photographer, works with Seasearch and Fathoms Free to survey and clean Cornish sites. “We’ve noticed lots of litter such as fishing-gear and lines and ghost pots on our dives recently,” she says, “so we’re going to spend the day cleaning up some of our local shore dive-sites.”
Female participants get a 10% discount on their dives and kit-hire on the day. Divers interested in joining in are asked to call Cornish Diving Centre on 01326 311265 or email info@cornishdiving.com
Ex-marine and navy clearance diver Dan McColl was on Divernet less than a month ago, offering free guided snorkel tours off Falmouth to mark Armed Forces Day. Now the lead instructor and founder of Dive In Falmouth has put his centre forward again – this time to host a 24-hour snorkelling marathon along Castle and Gyllyngvase beaches for women to raise money for breast-cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel!.
This was founded by twin sisters Kristin and Maren Hallenga after the former was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer at the age of 23. “I think CoppaFeel! is a great charity,” says McColl, “and this is the perfect opportunity to get a group of women together to work as a team and raise money and awareness for a good cause.
“The marathon will be an accumulative distance so every little helps, and the distance covered by each individual will contribute towards the total 26.2 miles. We hope to raise £2,000 for this incredibly important charity.”
Dive in Falmouth will provide masks, snorkels, fins and wetsuits if required, and there is a further incentive, with Fourth Element Scout masks awarded to the three snorkellers who swim furthest. Call 07361 541119 or email contactus@diveinfalmouth.com. It might even be possible to participate in both events!
No other UK Woman’s Dive Day events are currently listed on PADI’s Event Locator but it suggests that anyone hoping to take part in an organised event contact their local dive-centre to check whether anything is planned.
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