About BlueFish Diving
Guy Story
Guy at a pool training session
It was a mid-life crisis that started it all. You know, get to 40 and wonder what the hell you are doing with your life. That was me a in 2004!
Aviation had been my career and, whilst the pay was good, the hours were long. I was never at home and it got in the way of my diving! So it was decision time, and the result is BlueFish Diving.
"This is your Captain speaking!".......37,000ft, over Lake Geneva in a British Airways Citi Express Embraer 145
My son Matthew
had a lot to do with it as well. It is a great thing to be able to dive with
your family, and as Matthew’s skills got better, I had to get better.
So when he got his Rescue Diver, I had to get my Divemaster. In a short time
he will be an instructor and in the years to come I have no doubt
that he will surpass me as an instructor and diver. The future is in our
children, and this is definitely the case here. More about Matthew ...
I have also has maintained a passion since childhood for Elasmobranchs, better known as sharks. As you can see from the Sharks page, there is a lot more to them than being mere eating machines. I have been lucky enough to dive with a variety, including Tiger Sharks and Great Whites. As part of my Shark education I have PADI Distinctive Specialities in Shark Awareness and Great Whites and I am now lucky enough to work with the Blue Planet Aquarium, diving with their sharks and teaching people about them. Please take the time to look at these pages to find out more.
I must also mention Brian Goldthorpe (and of course Annette, Marilyn and Eduardo) of Davy Jones Locker in Gran Canaria, for their suggestion of not settling for a recreational qualification but to go professional. From there it was natural to get the full Open Water Instructors rating, and hey ho, here we are. Thanks also to Tim Lawrence, formerly of Davy Jones Gran Canaria, now of Davy Jones Koh Tao in Thailand, for amongst other things, showing me the "glamourous" and "non-glamourous" sides of dive instruction!
When we set up BlueFish Diving we wanted to do something different. We can't offer any more courses, we can't be the cheapest, we can’t have our equipment in a Rainbow of colours, but we can strive to be the best, and our “unique selling point” is our availability. Instead of saying “The course starts next Sunday and there are 10 people on it” we ask you:
- What do you want to do?
- When are you available?
- How many people do you want on your course?
- How do you like to learn?
That is our core value and we hope that it will make the difference when you choose your Diver training.
Finally I must mention New Horizons Dive Centre in Macclesfield. They taught me on my initial Assistant Instructors course and since then have been a great help. Rather than take a “competitor” attitude, Steve, Bill, Roger and Sue have shown nothing but encouragement, sound advice and help, so many, many thanks to them for helping me in this venture.
So please, read on, and if you like what you see, contact us!
Guy during pool training 1978
Historians note the old ABLJ, jet fins, typhoon regulator and homemade wetsuit, colour black of course! No direct feeds, low pressure inflators or the like!
Matthew Story
It is hardly surprising that Matthew had an interest in diving from an early age, and he qualified at 12 as a Junior Open Water Diver in 2002 with Davy Jones Diving in Gran Canaria.
Currently a Divemaster, he is using his gap year to further his diving and to gain as much experience as possible before starting Marine Vertebrate Zoology at University.
Matthew with Numero Uno Amigo Eduardo, who helped teach him to dive all those years ago!
Matthew completing his final dive to become an Open Water Diver with Tim Lawrence of Davy Jones Locker, Gran Canaria, 2002
Diving with his school at Sharm El Sheik in 2005 he managed to dodge the sharks to be the first to complete the Marine Reef Ecology part of a Marine Biology Degree course in that area, getting higher marks than a qualified Marine Biologist taking the course with him, whilst still waiting for his GCSE results!
Matthew also has an interest in sharks and has also completed the Blue Planet Distinctive Shark Awareness Speciality and Great White Speciality. He hopes to carry on this work in the future at University.
