Interested to know what we've been up to since Vobster Quay first opened its gates back in 2003? Below you'll find links to all the major events and changes that have taken place at Vobster Quay over the last few years. From DPV racing to charity fund raising events, 'celebrity' visits to the placement of new dive attractions, we've seen it all - and it's all here for your perusal...

PLEASE NOTE - For more information on any of the news items listed below, contact the website administrator.

		Compressor Maintenance 10th October 2006

Due to essential maintenance required to the site's compressor, visitors to Vobster Quay should note that air, nitrox and trimix fills may not be available from the 10th October thru to the 13th October 2006. Please note that normal service will be resumed in time for the weekend.

If you are planning to visit the site over the next few days, we advise all visitors to Vobster Quay to bring whatever gas they require with them as fills may not be available. The management of Vobster Quay apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

For those unable to get fills in advance, we will have a very limited number of prefilled breathing air cylinders available during this period of disruption. We regret that the number of cylinders available is very limited and so we cannot guarrantee their availability unless booked in advance. If in doubt, please call us.

For a status update on this maintenance work, please call site manager Tim Clements on 01373 814666.

		Challenge Your Senses! 15th September 2006

There's nothing quite like a night dive to awaken the senses - with nothing more than your torch beam to guide you, a night dive at Vobster is a thrilling experience not to be missed! Bowing to popular demand, we'll be running a special night dive evening on Thursday 12th October...

Open to all divers with night diving experience, the dive centre will re-open between the hours of 7:00pm and 10:30pm for divers wishing to take to the waters in the inky blackness of night. Spaces are very limited so get in touch to reserve your place now! Dare you take the plunge and challenge your senses?

Please note that only divers with night diving experience or suitable training will be allowed to dive...

		Stamp Your Log Book! 11th September 2006

Visitors to Vobster Quay can now give their dives that aire of authenticity with our new log book stamp. By stamping your dives, anyone who needs to view your log book can be sure that it provides an accurate account of your diving experience to date.

To get your dives validated, fill out your log book and bring it into the dive centre shop with your orange entry tag. A member of our staff will check that the dive is dated and will then stamp the page to validate it. We regret that we will only stamp dives logged on the day of attendance - we cannot stamp back-dated dives.

		We're 'Doing It Right'... 15th August 2006

Vobster Quay has hosted more than a few training courses in its time but we were particularly pleased to learn that we'd be the initial venue for the very first GUE Tech-2 course to be held here in the UK. It was also our pleasure to welcome celebrated GUE President Jarrod Jablonski and GUE Instructor Richard Lundgren to the site.

Jarrod is recognised as one of the leading technical and cave divers in the world. Through his involvement with the Woodville Karst Plain Project (or WKPP to its friends) based in Northern Florida, Jarrod and former WKPP Director George Irvine still jointly hold the record for the world's longest cave penetration - a staggering 19,000 feet!

So what do you think of Vobster Quay? We asked Jarrod. "From a logistics point of view, Vobster is great - everything you need to run a course is right here - and the staff are just so friendly!" he commented. So whether you're running a cutting-edge DIR course like Jarrod or a humble Open Water course, why not give us a try?

		Join the Vobster team! 11th August 2006

Regular visitors to Vobster Quay will know that it's our friendly and courteous staff that are the secret to Vobster's success. As part of our ongoing programme of growth, we're looking for bright and enthusiastic individuals to join our team of part-time staff - could you be one of them?

As well as a competitive rate of pay, all posts include a full benefits packaging offering free entrance and discounted prices on all shop purchases. The following part-time vacancies are available...

Weekend Site Staff
As a member of our weekend site staff, you will be the face of Vobster Quay. With a flexible and enthusiast attitude to work, your responsibilities will be varied and could include signing site visitors in and out of site, retail sales, providing safety cover, site maintenance and cleaning, food catering and more. We're particularly keen to hear from divers with first aid, boat handling and O2 admin training.

Data Manager
Vobster Quay Diving Centre requires the part-time assistance of an experienced computer data handler to input data from entry forms into existing Microsoft Access database. You will coordinate the collection of the separate database on site and merge into one master file for checking and deletion of duplicate records.

Book Keeper
Vobster Quay Diving Centre requires the part time services of a qualified book keeper to assist with the spreadsheets for sales and purchases, quarterly VAT returns, annual trial balance and unaudited set of accounts for signing off by the Directors.

For more information and to arrange an informal interview, contact Tim Clements on 01373 814666.

		NDCS Fundraising Success 10th August 2006

On the 1st July, divers from all walks of life took part in a charity Treasure Hunt to raise money for the National Deaf Children's Society. Hosted at Vobster Quay, the event raised over £1500 for this worthwhile charity.

Organised by Mark Taylor at Deep & Wide Diving in Surrey, the event proved to be a roaring success. With 160 numbered golf balls dotted throughout the lake, participants took to the waters to find as many of the golf balls as possible. Culminating in a raffle at the end of the day, many lucky divers saw their numbered golf balls turn into prizes donated to the event by Vobster Quay, Deep & Wide and other generous donors.

Visit the NDCS website for more information on the National Deaf Children's Society and the good work it does.

		Vobster Flying High! 6th August 2006

Ever wondered what Vobster Quay looks like from the air? This was one question that clearly taxed one Vobster visitor as he took it upon himself to take a photo of the site from high up in the sky! As you can see from the image opposite, the resulting photograph is simply stunning!

We'd like to thank Paul Dowding over at Dive Monkeys Ltd in Bristol for sharing this stunning image with us. You can view a very nice high resolution copy of Paul's photo by clicking here (245k)...

		Vobster now easier to find! 4th August 2006

Listening to feedback from our visitors, we know that we're not the easiest dive centre to find. Working with the local council, we've taken steps to rectify that situation with the installation of strategically placed road signs in the local area.

Combine these road signs with the regional and local road maps available for download from our site and we're sure that finding Vobster is now going to be a whole lot easier! For those of you with those flashy in-car GPS satellite navigation systems, don't forget that you can also find us via our postcode - just enter BA3 5SA and you'll be practically on our doorstep!

For fans of online gadgets, we've recently introduced a new fully interactive map that lets you get your bearings by exploring a highly detailed map of the UK. Based around Google Map technology, we think it's pretty sweet - why not try it for yourself!

		Dusk Diving 30th July 2006

There's nothing quite like a dusk dive to awaken the senses - with just your torch beam to guide you, a dusk dive at Vobster is not to be missed! Bowing to popular demand, we'll be running a special dusk dive evening on Thursday 3rd August...

Open to all divers with night diving experience, the centre will reopen between the hours of 5:30pm and 10:00pm for divers wishing to take to the waters as the sun sets on the horizon. Spaces are limited so get in touch now to reserve your place!

		Trimix Now Available... 20th July 2006

Technical divers will be pleased to learn that Vobster is now able to provide trimix gas cylinder fills. Building upon the success of our existing air & nitrox service, our skilled gas mixing technicians have been hard at work 'gearing up' to deliver a trimix filling service which is now available.

For the uninitiated, trimix is a special diving gas consisting of three gases - oxygen, nitrogen and helium. Designed to reduce the effects of nitrogen narcosis, trimix allows divers to dive deeper than would normally be possible using air or nitrox. Like nitrox, trimix requires special training and will only be available to divers holding a suitable certification. For those interested in trimix training, our dive school can provide trimix courses from both TDI and IANTD.

Need your diving cylinders filled with air, nitrox or trimix? Click HERE for more information...

		Treasure Hunt 22nd June 2006

On the 1st of July, visitors to Vobster Quay can come for a dive, win prizes *and* do their bit to help deaf children by entering the treasure hunt event being held on the day. Held on behalf of the NDCS - National Deaf Children's Society in association with our friends at Deep and Wide Diving, the event promises to be a fun and rewarding experience for all.

A large number of 'treasure' items will be hidden throughout the lake for retrieval by divers entering the hunt. Each item will be numbered with each number corresponding to a raffle ticket. To make the contest as fair as possible and to stop all chances being nabbed early, more treasure will be hidden in the lake throughout the day at depths to suit divers of all levels. The raffle for prizes will be drawn at 3.30pm.

To enter, divers need to be sponsored per item of treasure found, plus pay to enter the site. For each diver entering the treasure hunt, Vobster Quay will donate £2.50 to the NDCS. In addition, Vobster Quay is donating five annual memberships as prizes with many other special prizes up for grabs.

For more detail and entry forms, call Mark Taylor at Deep and Wide Diving on 07738 222865.

		Road Closure 6th May 2006

If your journey to Vobster Quay winds its way through the villages of Coleford and Vobster village, please note that the road between Vobster village and the crossroads immediately before the entrance to Vobster will be closed for a period of 4 weeks starting from the 8th May.

For most visitors to Vobster Quay, these roadworks will have very minimal impact as the roads leading from Bath, Radstock and Frome are unaffected. Visitors who approach Vobster Quay via Vobster village are advised to seek an alternative route.

Click HERE to view a larger map of the affected area.

		New Faces! 7th April 2006

We'd like to welcome aboard the latest members of the Vobster team - new site manager, Tim Clements and his dog, Sennen. With a background in Marine Biology, Tim brings with him a raft of unique skills, fresh ideas and boundless enthusiasm that we know will translate into making Vobster bigger and better than it already is. Under Tim's direction, visitors can look forward to some big changes!

Of course Tim isn't the only one who's made himself right at home. Under her master's watchful eye, Sennen has been sniffing out her new surroundings and has already learnt just how effective wagging your tail and 'looking cute' can be around divers for blagging the occasional tasty treat! The same trick doesn't seem to be working quite so well for Tim, unfortunately...

		Food for thought... 7th April 2006

What visit to Vobster Quay would be complete without a bacon bap and a steaming hot cup of coffee? Over the last three years, visitors to Vobster have eaten their way through a mountain of bacon baps and other delicious treats served up through our catering trailer 'old faithful' that sat pride of place near the slip way.

Realising that its time for a change, we're proud to announce the arrival of a new and even larger catering trailer. Twice the size of 'old faithful', the new trailer offers visitors a raft of improvements including faster service and a wider range of delicious hot and cold foods. We've got big plans for our new catering service so stay tuned for more - in the meantime, why not try one of our famous bacon baps for yourself?

		'Afternoon Dip' Special Offer! 27th March 2006

Ever get the afternoon off work and fancy a quick dip at Vobster Quay? With our new 'afternoon dip' rates, anyone can enjoy a dive at Vobster Quay and save upto £5.00 off our normal entry fees. This offer is available to any diver arriving onsite after 2pm on a Monday, Thursday or Friday.

Introduced as a result of customer feedback, this special offer enables those who can only manage a single afternoon dive to take advantage of Vobster's facilities without breaking the bank. For Quay members, the price is reduced to £7.50 (a saving of £2.50) whilst non-members pay just £10 (an even bigger saving of £5.00).

NOTE - Divers wishing to take advantage of this offer must arrive on site after 2pm and complete their dive by 4pm...

		Vobster Lake Revealed 6th March 2006

Ever wondered what the lake at Vobster Quay would look like if you drained out all the water? Well now - thanks to our friends at SEA (Group) Ltd and their state of the art sidescan sonar technology - we've been given a fascinating glimpse of what lies beneath the lake waters.

Mounted on a motorised floating platform, SEA managed to map the entire lake with just a single pass, revealing detail on the quarry floor that even we didn't know about! SEA hope to return at a later date to produce a multi-pass scan of the lake floor that will produce a smooth and noise-free scan of the lake topography, revealing even more detail and who knows - perhaps even objects still hidden in the lake's darker recesses!

More images from the SEA sidescan sonar sweep can be viewed in our Photo Gallery. Click here to view them now...