The Diver's Tale

Britain is an island nation so, unsurprisingly, scuba diving is a popular British pastime enjoyed by some 50,000 keen participants and just as many of the armchair variety. A carefully-structured programme of training ensures that the British diver is well-­prepared for the challenging conditions which may be encountered beneath our seas.

Or does it? How many trainee divers were taught about the perils of high-speed testicular trauma during descent? Or the dangers of having sex in a tent with a deaf person? Why bacon should be in your first aid kit. How to build a space shuttle using salvaged ammunition? Or why the name Valerie is so very special?

During a 40 year plus odyssey through the strange and exotic world of British diving, Nick Lyon and his disparate collection of buddies have answered all these questions from personal experience, and many more besides. It may not be pretty, it may not be painless but to those in the know, it's real British diving.

This is not a diving manual -- quite the opposite. How not to do it, why not to do it, when not to do it and who not to do it with. Amusing, frequently embarrassing, often unpleasant and occasionally tragic, the book plunges into the world of the real British diver!

Nick Lyon was born in Plymouth to seafaring parents and has been obsessed with the underwater world since childhood. After unsuccessfully pioneering the use of cardboard diving equipment in the bath, he went on to learn to dive properly in 1982 and, to his great surprise, eventually became qualified as an instructor trainer with the British Sub-Aqua Club. He has worked as the Southwest Regional Coach for the BSAC and has twice won the Alan Broadhurst Award for displaying the highest standards of diving conduct whilst performing an underwater rescue. He spent 28 years working as an operating theatre practitioner before leaving the NHS to write and dive full-time. He has written over 100 articles for SCUBA magazine, including a monthly column. This is his first book. He is married to Julie, a teacher and diver and has two children from his first marriage. His other interests include cooking, polar exploration and trying to play Iron Maiden songs on the bass guitar. He lives in a small village in Cornwall which is probably the best place for him. He has a small flatulent dog called Skipper.

Andy Torbet is a British underwater explorer, skydiver, adventurer and TV presenter. He has been diving for over 30 years and has a long list of technical diving qualifications, including cave, mixed gas, rebreather and free-diving as well as his professional qualifications as a military and commercial diver and supervisor. His real passion is exploration whether that be new underwater cave systems, species or shipwrecks, but especially in areas which are difficult to reach and may require him to combine his diving knowledge with other technical skills.