The Scuba Santas descended on Cromhall Lake on Saturday 13 December for more festive fun and games, and all in the name of raising money for good causes. Organiser James Neal takes up the story…
It takes many hours of graft sat staring at a computer screen to bring Scuba Santas to life every year. But those hours are quickly forgotten about as the parcels start to arrive packed full of all manner of goodies for the raffle, then the tickets start to sell and the Santa registrations gradually increase over the days and weeks that run up to the event.
As those days pass, the excitement starts to build, along with the inevitable nerves, the clock ticks down and, just like Christmas, before they know it they’re on the eve of the event and sleep is about the last thing the organisers will get!
A frosty early morning start is met with frozen breath and the stamping of feet, everything has been loaded and is ready to go. It takes an hour to drive to The Lake at Cromhall, another hour, at least, to get everything set-up. A glance at the time shows it’s 6am and time to leave. It was a 5am wake-up, it’s still dark outside and eerily silent.
An early morning accident on the main road resulted in a road closure and a 40 minute detour through the country lanes, a little ironically, past the old NDAC site, stirring many fond memories.
Arriving at The Lake’s main gas room, some 30 minutes behind the planned time, it was a case of grab gas and go! Whiz through check-in and drive around to what is known as the ‘beach end’ of the quarry. The car park is already rammed and it’s only been open about 15 minutes. Surely all these cars aren’t for Scuba Santas. As it turns out, they were!
Like a well-oiled machine, the majority of things had already been set-up by Heidi and the team, we just needed to get the shelter up, the raffle prizes out and on display, distribute the schedule around the site and make sure everyone knew where they had to be and when. It would be fair to liken it to ‘herding cats’!
It was at this point, early in the day, that the atmosphere on site shifted towards the jovial. It was light-hearted, laughter rang out across the crisp air, there was a palpable sense of anticipation.
Various Santas and elves started to appear from all corners, and an orderly queue formed to buy raffle tickets, the sun broke cover, the sky went from grey to pale blue and the day turned glorious!
Christmas music thrummed out across the still air, all around was a hive of activity as divers busied
themselves with their kit, a sea of red, mottled with a splash of green, the mood electric, people
were here to have fun! Heidi appears, dressed as a Christmas tree, complete with presents for feet! A chap called Tim, unable to source a Santa suit, opted for a pair of pyjamas instead – he looked brilliant. Various sacks adorned cylinders, reindeer antlers on DPVs and tinsel around twinsets!
As 10am approached they all started to gather together at the water’s edge, readying themselves for the group photo, some perched against rocks, others sat on stacks of breeze blocks to take the weight off their backs as they waited for the stragglers and late-comers (there’s always one!)
Eventually everyone was ready, the group photos taken and all the Santas took to the water at once and the viz… was great!
Santas went off in their respective buddy pairs and groups in search of the various atractions hidden within, some ventured as far as the far side of the quarry, others to the large catamaran in the middle. I had the job of trying to get a few shots of the Santas underwater, and was left hovering over the cars by the first shipping container with my camera, taking snaps as Santas, elves and Christmas trees swam by!
The dive itself lasted about an hour and the sight of soggy Santas exiting the water was certainly a comical one! As they emerged in their pairs and groups the hum of chatter and laughter gradually increased, the smell of sizzling bacon wafted across the air, salivating Santas started to congregate around the frying pans, the many packets of mince pies and tins of chocolates temporarily satiating appetites while the bacon sizzled its way to readiness. Cups of hot chocolate warmed hearts and hands and the mood was indeed merry.
There was about an hour of chatter, eating, drinking and making merry before it was time to draw the raffle. There were in excess of 90 raffle prizes to work our way through, thanks to the generosity of so many in the UK dive community. The likes of Kent Tooling had donated one of their reels, Nautilus had given multiple items including a dive watch, Pandora Lab had supplied one of their new K1 Rescue Torches. Other top brands such as Fourth Element and O’Three had also given very generously, Narked@90 had shipped a large box full of multiple items, as had MaxShow, the company that takes care of all things KUBI and Miflex, among others.
Then there were all of the non-dive-related companies that had backed the event – Gordano, Wye Valley Brewery, Circular & Co to name but a few. We simply can’t name everyone in this editorial, but the generosity was amazing!
The raffle itself took just over an hour to complete! Some participants had bought multiple tickets and consequently won multiple times! The items won were well received, with beanie hats going straight on heads and beer being bagged with festive cheer. There were some amazing diving related items, some quality books and handy, never seen before, gadgets.
By the time the raffle was done, the proceeds counted, the event itself had raised a whopping £542 for the charities! The funds will be passed on to them directly within days. For 2025, Scuba Santas raised funds for two worthy causes – DDRC Healthcare, and Headway Gloucestershire.
DDRC Healthcare delivers a 24/7 diving and hyperbaric medical emergency service, with on-call teams consisting of a Diving Physician, a Chamber Operator and Chamber Attendant. This service runs across 365 days and is capable of treating intensive care patients.
Headway Gloucestershire is the local branch of the Headway charity that supports individuals that have suffered any form of TBI – Traumatic Brain Injury – from unfortunate events like car accidents, assaults, falls and such like, or ABI – Acquired Brain Injury – from medical events such as strokes, haemorrhages and tumours.
The link to Scuba Santas stems from the fact that I suffered a grade IV bleed on the brain on 22 December 2013, known as a Subarachnoid Haemorrhage, and have been supported by Headway and the Gloucestershire Brain Injury Unit ever since. I would not be diving today had it not been for their support.
A handful of divers ventured back into the frigid waters for a second dive, they retrieved a few errant Santa hats while making the most of the excellent viz. The majority, however, had had their fill of mince pies and mulled wine and instead packed away their scuba kit, for some it would be for the rest of winter, others just for a matter of days. The ardent UK divers will always continue to dive throughout the winter months, making the most of the improved viz and quieter dive sites. As for Scuba Santas, well that will indeed return in 2026, on Saturday 12 December!
The team behind the event very much hope that everyone that took part enjoyed themselves and they hope to see you again in the New Year. They would also like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
Scuba Santas is run by InDepth Dive Club, with the permission of Darren Bryce, of the National Diving & Activity Centre, whose ongoing support makes this event possible every year. All proceeds go to the designated charities, any costs associated with the event are covered by InDepth Dive Club.
Photo credit: James Neal / InDepth Dive Club
