The BiG Scuba Podcast

This week on The BiG Scuba Podcast, Gemma and Ian chat to Jason Pritchard. Adventure has always been at the heart of who Jason is. Ever since His first dive back in 2009, he has been captivated by the mysteries of the ocean — from uncovering hidden wrecks to exploring the unknown. What started as curiosity soon became a calling. By 2018, Jason had earned his certification as a professional instructor, and today, as a PADI Course Director. He is very proud to help shape the next generation of divers through calm, safety-first guidance and real-world experience. For Jason, shipwrecks are the ultimate adventure. Each one tells a story, a blend of history, danger, and discovery frozen in time beneath the waves. Diving isn't just a pastime; it's stepping into another world, one where every shadow might hold a secret waiting to be found. In 2022, he faced his toughest challenge yet: a life-threatening bend caused by a PFO. That experience could have ended his diving journey, but instead, it reshaped it. It taught him discipline, patience, and a deep sense of gratitude for every single dive he makes. These days, Jason is diving deeper, exploring legendary wrecks like Scapa Flow, advancing his technical diving, and preparing for the next frontier: rebreathers. Jason recently become Sidemount qualified, adding another level of flexibility and efficiency to his dives. Beneath the waves, Jason finds peace, focus, and an endless sense of wonder. No matter how far he travels or how deep he explores, Jason will never lose sight of the simple joy of discovery. Every puddle, big or small, holds its own adventure. That spirit of curiosity keeps Jason pushing boundaries, chasing secrets, and living the ultimate underwater journey. Social Media Links Insta/Tiktok @jason_inthe_argonaut , Insta @themidlandsidc, FB @Jason Pritchard The BiG Scuba Podcast is proudly supported by Narked at 90 – "Beyond Technical." Whether you're new to diving or thinking about moving into tech, they can help guide you with the best kit and advice.💬 We'd love your feedback! Leave us a ★★★★★ review, share with your dive buddies, and get in touch via our socials or at mailto:[email protected] 👉 Check out our affiliate links and stores: Insta360 Store – use our code BIGSCUBA Waterhaul link Hapi Bottles Stream to Sea McConks use our code THEBIGSCUBA2025 Amazon Store Patreon – support the show and keep us diving! 📲 Follow us on socials: Instagram: @thebigscuba Facebook: @thebigscuba LinkedIn: Ian 🦈 Last 🌐 Website: www.thebigscuba.com 🎧 Listen to The BiG Scuba Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and all major platforms. ISSN: 2752-6127  

This week on The BiG Scuba Podcast, Gemma and Ian visit the Midlands Diving Chamber and experience a 40 meter Dry Dive in the Chamber. They also sit down with Sally Cartwright, Chamber Manager and Carolyn Peel, Chamber Hyperbaric Doctor and hear more about what happens at the Midlands Dive Chamber. The Midlands Diving Chamber, a Hyperbaric decompression chamber offering NHS funded recompression to divers with Decompression Sickness (DCS) together with other Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) treatments. Midlands Diving Chamber specialises in Diving Medicine and provides a 24 hour centre with everything a diver could need from a medical facility. They also offer medicals too. To find out more follow Scott here:  Midlands Dive Chamber The BiG Scuba Podcast is proudly supported by Narked at 90 – "Beyond Technical." Whether you're new to diving or thinking about moving into tech, they can help guide you with the best kit and advice.💬 We'd love your feedback! Leave us a ★★★★★ review, share with your dive buddies, and get in touch via our socials or at mailto:[email protected] 👉 Check out our affiliate links and stores: Insta360 Store – use our code BIGSCUBAWaterhaul link Hapi Bottles Stream to Sea McConks use our code THEBIGSCUBA2025 Amazon Store Patreon – support the show and keep us diving! 📲 Follow us on socials: Instagram: @thebigscuba Facebook: @thebigscuba LinkedIn: Ian 🦈 Last 🌐 Website: www.thebigscuba.com   🎧 Listen to The BiG Scuba Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and all major platforms. ISSN: 2752-6127  

This week on The BiG Scuba Podcast, Gemma and Ian sit down with Scott Divitt, owner of West Coast Diving in Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland.   His whole life has been about the water. It started as a kid, messing about with boats and sailing, which led him straight into the Royal Navy after secondary school. After leaving the navy Scott started working as an ROV Pilot, and now works freelance as an ROV Supervisor. He gets paid to drive robots and manage operations in tough marine environments!   On the fun side, Scott is a massive fan of diving, especially sidemount. He is a RAID Instructor for both regular and sidemount diving, and loves showing people what an amazing underwater world we have.   When Scott is not teaching or guiding super-yacht dives on Scotland's west coast, he ca be found in the workshop. Thanks to his long engineering background, he expertly handles the technical side of the business, testing cylinders and servicing dive gear.   Scotts background gives his a pretty unique take on diving. Whether it's the high-tech demands of his day job or teaching a new diver, it all comes back to a lifelong love for the ocean.   To find out more follow Scott here: Facebook West Coast Diving Instagram West Coast Diving West Coast Diving Website https://www.facebook.com/share/1CRwdq7JWj/ Gemma and Ian have a catch up before chatting to Scott and cover the new attraction at Stoney Cove, a train carriage that will be sunk to a depth of 22 meters. Read more about this here. We had the pleasure of attending the Ocean Film Festival at the UEA in Norwich and you can read more about the films we saw here : Read about the 7 films. We are also excited about our visit to Midlands Dive Chamber and going on a dry dive as well as talking to the team about the importance of the facility. We also talk about the 52 litre Adventure Kit Box from Waterhaul and how useful it will be for diving gear. Take a look here :Waterhaul link   The BiG Scuba Podcast is proudly supported by Narked at 90 – "Beyond Technical." Whether you're new to diving or thinking about moving into tech, they can help guide you with the best kit and advice. 💬 We'd love your feedback! Leave us a ★★★★★ review, share with your dive buddies, and get in touch via our socials or at mailto:[email protected] 👉 Check out our affiliate links and stores: Insta360 Store – use our code BIGSCUBA Waterhaul link Hapi Bottles Stream to Sea McConks use our code THEBIGSCUBA2025 Amazon Store Patreon – support the show and keep us diving! 📲 Follow us on socials: Instagram: @thebigscuba Facebook: @thebigscuba LinkedIn: Ian 🦈 Last 🌐 Website: www.thebigscuba.com   🎧 Listen to The BiG Scuba Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and all major platforms. ISSN: 2752-6127  

This week on The BiG Scuba Podcast, Gemma and Ian sit down with James Soos — British Army veteran, technical diving instructor, and founder of Dive With Jimmy, a thriving dive centre based in Bedfordshire. James has led teams during his military career and has dived all over the world. As an instructor with both BSAC and SSI, he teaches everything from recreational diving right through to advanced technical and closed-circuit rebreather courses. Qualified to dive to 100 metres on both open and closed circuit, he has also worked as Cruise Director in some of the planet's most iconic dive destinations, including Truk Lagoon and Bikini Atoll. In this episode, James shares his passion for diving, the joy he brings to every course and expedition, and the stories behind his global adventures. Tune in for an inspiring conversation with someone who truly lives and breathes the underwater world. Find out more about James Soos here :https://www.divewithjimmy.com/ Previous epidode when we spoke to James before he started the dive centre : https://www.thebigscuba.com/podcast/episode/2964b1ef/dive-with-jimmy We also discuss the BSAC The Annual Diving Incident Report : https://www.bsac.com/document/bsac-diving-incidents-report-2024/ The BiG Scuba Podcast is proudly supported by Narked at 90 – "Beyond Technical." Whether you're new to diving or thinking about moving into tech, they can help guide you with the best kit and advice.💬 We'd love your feedback! Leave us a ★★★★★ review, share with your dive buddies, and get in touch via our socials or at mailto:[email protected] 👉 Check out our affiliate links and stores: Insta360 Store – use our code BIGSCUBA Waterhaul link Hapi Bottles Stream to Sea McConks use our code THEBIGSCUBA2025 Amazon Store Patreon – support the show and keep us diving! 📲 Follow us on socials: Instagram: @thebigscuba Facebook: @thebigscuba LinkedIn: Ian 🦈 Last 🌐 Website: www.thebigscuba.com 🎧 Listen to The BiG Scuba Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and all major platforms. ISSN: 2752-6127

This week, the BiG Scuba Duo, Gemma and Ian chat to Nick Schiller. Nick is a keen lover of being on and under the water. He is a sidemount diver and an assistant BSAC instructor. He has dived extensively in the UK as well as Egypt, Iceland, Mexico and Tobago. He loves diving with a scooter and is keen on helping people out removing tarpaulins, ropes, etc form props, searching for mobile phones and wedding rings. So that's how he got involved with S32 - a phone call "could you just come and inspect a sunken WW2 air sea rescue boat for us?" - a year later and Nick is very involved in trying to save the MASB S32 Whaleback. He is currently, taking a break from diving as a result of the accident on Sea Palling beach involving a boat but ready to return to diving next year. More about Nick : linkedin.com/in/nschiller Whaleback Revovery: https://asrwhaleback.com/ BBC Coverage : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cql2wzdkp24o Facebook Detail : https://www.facebook.com/groups/angliandivers/posts/8468685639852662/ The BiG Scuba Podcast is proudly supported by Narked at 90 – "Beyond Technical." Whether you're new to diving or thinking about moving into tech, they can help guide you with the best kit and advice. 💬 We'd love your feedback! Leave us a ★★★★★ review, share with your dive buddies, and get in touch via our socials or at mailto:[email protected] 👉 Check out our affiliate links and stores: Insta360 Store – use our code BIGSCUBA Amazon Store Patreon – support the show and keep us diving! 📲 Follow us on socials: Instagram: @thebigscuba Facebook: @thebigscuba LinkedIn: Ian 🦈 Last 🌐 Website: www.thebigscuba.com   🎧 Listen to The BiG Scuba Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and all major platforms. ISSN: 2752-6127

Episode  212                 Jo Moseley    Paddleboarder, Diver and Author   This week, the BiG Scuba Duo, Gemma and Ian chat to Jo Moseley. Jo Moseley, 60, is a bestselling award winning author of three books about paddleboarding.. At university in Scotland she also learned to dive, becoming her university club captain and qualifying as a BSAC Dive Leader in the late 80s. The west coast of Scotland was a favourite diving location. Jo loves wild swimming, touring the UK in her van called, Summer and does a 2 minute beach clean every day. One of her goals is to learn to freedive! Website www.jomoseley.com Instagram @jomoseley @thejoyofsuppodcast_ Facebook Jo Moseley The Joy of SUP Podcast Public email [email protected] Links to books:   www.adventurebooks.com   Other Links discussed in the podcast: McConks Paddleboards : https://mcconks.com/  Use Code THEBIGSCUBA2025 for a discount Diverstime and West Lake Diving Site :  Go dive at West Lake - Take a look Lundy Diving and Channel Swim :   Donate to Gemmas Channel Swim The BiG Scuba Podcast is proudly supported by Narked at 90 – "Beyond Technical." Whether you're new to diving or thinking about moving into tech, they can help guide you with the best kit and advice. 💬 We'd love your feedback! Leave us a ★★★★★ review, share with your dive buddies, and get in touch via our socials or at  mailto:[email protected] 👉 Check out our affiliate links and stores:  Fourth Element:  Fourth Element Website Insta360 Store – use our code BIGSCUBA Amazon Store Patreon – support the show and keep us diving! 📲 Follow us on socials: Instagram: @thebigscuba Facebook: @thebigscuba YouTube : Watch The BiG scuba LinkedIn: Ian 🦈 Last 🌐 Website: www.thebigscuba.com   🎧 Listen to The BiG Scuba Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and all major platforms. ISSN: 2752-6127  

This week, the BiG Scuba Duo, Gemma and Ian bring a roving report from their Sept 2025 trip to Seahouses and diving around the Farne Islands off the North East coast of the UK. Our local dive centre  Christal Seas Scuba Norwich organised the trip using the dive boat services of  Sovereign Diving.   We mention our stop off on the way to Seahouses to see the On Freedom Wings  monument.  This is a full-sized, steel representation of an Avro Lancaster Bomber, elevated 15 meters high to create the illusion of flight, located on the border of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, England The BiG Scuba Podcast is proudly supported by Narked at 90 – "Beyond Technical." Whether you're new to diving or thinking about moving into tech, they can help guide you with the best kit and advice. 💬 We'd love your feedback! Leave us a ★★★★★ review, share with your dive buddies, and get in touch via our socials or at  mailto:[email protected]  👉 Check out our affiliate links and stores: Insta360 Store – use our code BIGSCUBA Amazon Store Patreon – support the show and keep us diving! 📲 Follow us on socials: Instagram: @thebigscuba Facebook: @thebigscuba LinkedIn: Ian 🦈 Last 🌐 Website: www.thebigscuba.com  🎧 Listen to The BiG Scuba Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and all major platforms. ISSN: 2752-6127

Episode 210 – Our Adventures in Lundy and Under Swanage Pier This week, the BiG Scuba Duo, Gemma and Ian, along with Scuba Honey, head to Ilfracombe to board the Barbara B with Lundy Diving for some unforgettable underwater adventures with the playful seals of Lundy Island. You can find out more at: https://www.lundydiving.co.uk/ From there, our journey continues to South Devon, where we dive Chesil Cove, catch up with Colin at DIR Direct (https://www.dirdirect.com/), and bump into our good friend Dave Mason enjoying the local waters. Along the way, we give shout-outs to Glen Barnes from the Seahorse Dive Club (https://seahorsediveclub.uk/), coastal hikers (and fellow divers!) Rhianna and Ed, and Liam from Divers Time (https://diverstime.com/) who shares tales of his own South Devon adventures. A big thank you also goes to the Swanage Pier Trust for looking after us with parking and pier access: https://www.members-swanagepiertrust.com/ The BiG Scuba Podcast is proudly supported by Narked at 90 – "Beyond Technical." Whether you're new to diving or thinking about moving into tech, they can help guide you with the best kit and advice. Visit: https://www.narkedat90.com/?affiliate_code=p42PzCC8sx&referring_service=link 💬 We'd love your feedback! Leave us a ★★★★★ review, share with your dive buddies, and get in touch via our socials or at [email protected]. 👉 Check out our affiliate links and stores: Insta360 Store: https://store.insta360.com/ – use our code BIGSCUBA Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/thebigscuba Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebigscubapodcast – support the show and keep us diving! 📲 Follow us on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebigscuba/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebigscuba/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian%F0%9F%A6%88-last-325b101b7/ Website: https://www.thebigscuba.com/ 🎧 Listen to The BiG Scuba Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and all major platforms. ISSN: 2752-6127

The BiG Scuba Duo, Gemma and Ian report live from their road trip to Seahouses, Northumberland and diving adventures around the Farne Islands with Serentiy Farne Island Boat Tours https://farneislandstours.co.uk/ They also visit https://diverstime.com/ and catch up with Scoobs at the Dive Shack and have a dive in West Lake to see the new attractions. Gemma and Ian drove the Auto-Trail Excel 620g throughout the trip and give a review of the motorhome… safe to say they loved it!   https://www.auto-trail.co.uk/discover-the-award-winning-auto-trail-excel-range/ The BiG Scuba Podcast is brought to you by Narked at 90.   "Beyond Technical"   If you are thinking of moving across to tech diving or completely new to diving, Narked at 90 can advise and guide on the best equipment and set up for your personal or commercial requirements  https://www.narkedat90.com/?affiliate_code=p42PzCC8sx&referring_service=link We hope you have enjoyed this episode of The BiG Scuba Podcast.  Please give us ★★★★★ review, and tell your friends and share and like, it all makes a difference.   Contact Gemma and Ian with your messages, ideas and feedback via our media links or email   [email protected]   Take a look at the  Insta3620 Store    https://store.insta360.com/ and use our affiliate link  BIGSUCBA We are on Instagram              @thebigscuba   We are on Facebook              @thebigscuba   We are in LinkedIn                 https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian%F0%9F%A6%88-last-325b101b7/ The BiG Scuba Website                      www.thebigscuba.com Amazon Store :                       https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/thebigscuba   Visit   https://www.patreon.com/thebigscubapodcast and subscribe - Super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.   🎧You can listen to the BiG Scuba Podcast on all major podcast platforms including …. iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify and Stitcher 😀.      ISSN Number 2752-612

The BiG Scuba Duo, Gemma and Ian chat to Barry McGill.  Barry McGill is a deep wreck photographer and CCR instructor trainer with Indepth Technical. His main area of focus is exploration of deep-water shipwrecks around the Irish coastline, and he has been fortunate enough to discover and explore many significant previously undiscovered shipwrecks.   Exploring iconic shipwrecks such as the R.M.S. Justicia, H.M.S. Audacious and R.M.S. Lusitania has left a significant impression on Barry, which helped develop his desire to discover and explore shipwrecks. Barry aims to share his passion for shipwreck exploration by capturing and sharing his images of many previously unphotographed shipwrecks including R.M.S. Amazon, H.M.S. Viknor and H.M.S. D6.   Barry has also been part of many international shipwreck expeditions, most recently in September 2021 where he formed part of an international team of divers who undertook the first internal exploration of HMHS Britannic which lies in 120 m of water in the Kea Channel in Greece. This expedition was funded by the Explorers Club and aimed to document key internal elements of the ship which had never been accessed by divers previously.    https://www.instagram.com/barrymcgill/ https://www.facebook.com/barry.mcgill.125 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbH2StdHWo0P-ARfjmxjPeQ https://indepthtechnical.ie/   The BiG Scuba Podcast is brought to you by Narked at 90.   "Beyond Technical"   If you are thinking of moving across to tech diving or completely new to diving, Narked at 90 can advise and guide on the best equipment and set up for your personal or commercial requirements  https://www.narkedat90.com/?affiliate_code=p42PzCC8sx&referring_service=link   We hope you have enjoyed this episode of The BiG Scuba Podcast.  Please give us ★★★★★ review, and tell your friends and share and like, it all makes a difference.   Contact Gemma and Ian with your messages, ideas and feedback via our media links or email   [email protected]   Take a look at the  Insta3620 Store    https://store.insta360.com/ and use our affiliate link  BIGSUCBA   We are on Instagram              @thebigscuba   We are on Facebook              @thebigscuba   We are in LinkedIn                 https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian%F0%9F%A6%88-last-325b101b7/ The BiG Scuba Website                      www.thebigscuba.com Amazon Store :                       https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/thebigscuba   Visit   https://www.patreon.com/thebigscubapodcast and subscribe - Super quick and easy to do and it makes a massive difference. Thank you.   🎧You can listen to the BiG Scuba Podcast on all major podcast platforms including …. iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify and Stitcher 😀.      ISSN Number 2752-6127