Easter Activities

We are already quarter of the way through the year, but what a great start!  Thank you to all the staff and helpers who have been hard at work behind the scenes to make sure we have lots to offer you throughout 2015.

Our new catering van ‘Nemes Nibbles’ is now open every day serving hot food and drinks, why not sit by the lake and enjoy a tasty snack on our new patio area. We have a growing menu and the luxury Hot Chocolate seems to be a hit with everyone!  We have also added more kitting up benches and more gravelled areas so you can keep everything clean and tidy.  There is even a pretty little flower garden, thank you Jackie!

The first big bank holiday weekend is here so what’s going on over Easter..

EASTER OPENING HOURS
Good Friday 3rd April 10am – 4pm
Saturday 4th April 9am – 5pm
Easter Sunday 5th April 9am – 5pm
Easter Monday 6th April 9:30am – 4pm (EASTER EGG HUNT)

…Booking is recommended, there will be games and activities throughout the weekend, prizes for kids (and Adults) dressed as bunnies, Tombola and Easter Bonnet competition. Underwater and land based Easter Egg hunt on Monday 6th.. All to raise Money for Project Aware, come and join in the fun! Thank you to everyone who has donated prizes

During the Easter half term we will also be organising activity days for kids including Craft Days, Kayaking, Nature Sessions, Mini Beasts, BubbleMakers and more… keep a check on Facebook or give us a call to find out what activities are available each day.

Water temperature is slowing warming up its currently just creeping up to 9 degrees so it wont be long before its warm enough to start taking bookings for this years swim inductions, we think this will be around the end of April.

If you are looking for a Red Sea diving trip we are off to Egypt on 25th June for a week staying on Cyclone coving the Northern Wrecks and Reefs.  We only have a few spaces left.

Our South Africa trip is now FULLY BOOKED but don’t worry we are planning some more wonderful getaways so watch this space.

APRIL SPECIAL OFFERS
Divers – 10% OFF Wreck or Deep Diver Courses, must be booked before the end of April.
Swimmers – Buy a 10 swim card and swim for free on the day you purchase, only valid during April.

Loads more coming soon, make sure you FOLLOW this page and don’t forget to LIKE US on FACEBOOK

Have a great EASTER, hope you see you soon!

Best Wishes
Dave & Paula x

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year

XMAS & NEW YEAR OPENING HOURS
Dec 22nd CLOSED
Dec 23rd 10:00am – 4:00pm
CHRISTMAS EVE 10:00am – 3:00pm
CHRISTMAS DAY CLOSED…
BOXING DAY 10:00am – 3:00pm
DEC 27th 9:00am – 4:00pm
DEC 28th 9:00am – 4:00pm
DEC 29th CLOSED
DEC 30th 10:00am – 3:00pm
NEW YEARS EVE CLOSED
NEW YEARS DAY 10:00am – 3:00pm
JAN 2nd 10:00am – 3:00pm
JAN 3rd 9:00am – 4:00pm
JAN 4th 9:00am – 4:00pm
JAN 5th CLOSED
JAN 6th 10:00am – 3:00pm
JAN 7th 10:00am – 3:00pm
JAN 8th CLOSED
JAN 9th 10:00am – 3:00pm
THEN BACK TO NORMAL WINTER OPENING HOURS FROM JANUARY10th
AS ALWAYS THIS TIME OF YEAR PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT. WE MAY CLOSE EARLY IF WE HAVE NO BOOKINGS
Thanks for your custom throughout 2014
We hope you have a great Christmas and New Year
Best Wishes from Dave, Paula & and all the staff at Nemes

Project Aware Clean Up BBQ

September is the Project Aware Debris Month of Action #DebrisMonthofAction.  At Nemes Diving & Water Sports Academy we are very strong supporters of Project Aware and the amazing work they do.  Every year we hold a Dive for Debris clean up event and this years event will hopefully be the best yet!

Come along and join the fun on Saturday 20th or Sunday 21st September 2014.

There will be a hog roast and BBQ, trade stands, a photography expert will be on site all weekend to give you top tips on how to get the best photos.  We have a huge raffle with prizes donated from our wonderful suppliers including Scuba Travel, Zoggs, Suunto, Apeks, CPS, Northern Diver, Zone 3 and loads more.  There will be loads of spot prizes throughout the weekend as well as fun and games, come along and MUCK IN!

Great fun for divers and non-divers, adults or kids.

CAN YOU HELP? We need gloves, rubbish bags, litter pickers, rope… anything that will help us with the rubbish collection.  We also need donations of cakes for our cake stall and raffle prizes, anything that will help us raise extra cash.

We have set ourselves a challenge to beat last years total funds raised, so this year with your help we aim to raise over £1000

To find out about the great work Project Aware do visit ProjectAware.org

As this month is dedicated to Project Aware we have some special offers on Project Aware Courses

SEPTEMBER SPECIAL OFFERS

Take a PROJECT AWARE (non-divers can do this one!), CORAL CONSERVATION or DIVE FOR DEBRIS course for just £45 (price includes course, certification and a donation to Project Aware so you will receive a Project Aware picture card)  this offer will run until the end of October.

EXTRA SPECIAL OFFER – Take the DIVE FOR DEBRIS course on 20th or 21st September and you will also receive a mesh goodie bag completely FREE

Please come along and show your support, whether you come along as part of a group or on your own you will be sure to have fun and make lots of new friends.  We have dive buddies waiting to jump in with you.  Divers please bring lift bags, SMBs and gloves.

Hope to see you at the weekend!

Dave & Paula xxx

Summer Fun

Its official Summer is here!  The whole team at Nemes Diving and Water Sports Academy have been having fun in the sun and teaching loads of new students how to Scuba Dive.  Our Peak Performance Buoyancy courses have been incredibly popular this year with many students commenting that they now understand ‘how to scuba dive’ after taking the course.  With the longer evenings we are now open until 9pm every Tuesday and Wednesday evening until further notice.  We also have the occasional late night Friday, so keep an eye on our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/nemesdiveacademy to find about these extra evenings.

On the social side our events have been varied and attracting lots of new faces, a great opportunity to bring along family and friends.  We have had some great nights out and August’s social event will be no exception…

 

Join us for the Nemes August Social event. On Thursday 14th August starting at 7pm

Take part in an immersive murder mystery experience transporting you back in time to Victorian London where things have taken a turn for the worst!!
A small district of London is in absolute disarray, the panic fuelled by the fatal loss… of two pillars of the community and a break out from New Gate prison.
You’ve come to town for a charity ball at families request but now you must dive in to the action.
Can you help solve the case?
2 lucky winners will receive a hamper which includes a £50 cash prize, bottles of bubbly, 2 tickets to any event of their choice at the Britannia Theatre!
Nemes Special price just £19.95 per person which includes a 3 course meal. This themed event takes place in the heart of Dickens World, Chatham. Please be quick to book as we only have a limited number of tickets at this price.

August is the month for trying something new so if you haven’t scuba dived before maybe you would like to learn, we have a special offer below you might be interested in.

We offer Discover Scuba Diving sessions in a nice swimming pool where you can build confidence and progress to doing a few skills under the watchful eye of our patient and friendly instructors.  Its a great way to find out if Scuba Diving is for you and gives you a taster before progressing to the full PADI Open Water Course.

We now have several new single and double kayaks to rent, they are very stable and after a few guidelines from our instructors you will be paddling around the beautiful lake admiring the wildlife.  What a relaxing way to enjoy a few hours on the water.

Open Water swimming is now a very popular sport and our swimmers can enjoy the clean water at Holborough Lakes where we have a 400m swim circuit.  All swimmers must first complete an induction with one of our staff, which also includes a 200m swim.  We can offer inductions most days except Mondays and Thursdays, just give us a call on 0750 762 4911 to book. We have coaches who are available to book for group sessions or one-to-one coaching and our Wednesday night swim club is the place to be to meet like minded swimmers, meet new friends and get a few free hints and tips.  All levels of swimmers are welcome tri-athletes, channel swimmers and those that like a leisurely dip can all play side by side, it’s always a very friendly atmosphere.

All our swimmers our amazing but we think we need to give an enormous shout out to Liam Cameron and Mark Sheridan who both completed successful solo channel swims recently.  Well done guys you are truly inspirational, Congratulations from all the staff and your friends at Nemes!

So, with so much on offer don’t be shy come and join in, the waters great!  The lake temperature is now an amazing 23 deg on the surface!

Now for our Special Offers

OFFER 1  Book a PADI Rescue Course before the end of August and receive an Emergency O2 course completely FREE

OFFER 2 Book a Discover Scuba Diving session before the end of August and bring a friend along for FREE, this amazing BOGOF offer is always popular so make sure you book your sessions before they all sell out! We have already added an extra date to keep up with demand!  We can also offer gift vouchers for this experience.  Minimum age 10 years old for Discover Scuba Diving but we can offer a Bubblemaker session for kids aged 8 – 10 years on the same BOGOF deal.

OFFER 3 Get a FREE Project Aware course with every PADI Open Water course booked during August.

On-going offers…

Ask us how you can get your PADI Advanced Open Water Course completely free!

Buy a Drysuit from us and receive a PADI Drysuit course completely free!

To take advantage of any of the above please mention Nemes Blog Offers when you book.  Don’t delay call the dive centre today on 0750 762 4911.  August is a very busy month and we don’t want you to miss out!

So, until the next update, enjoy the sun, be safe and we hope to see you soon.

Best Wishes

Dave & Paula xxx

May Madness!

So, we are now well into May and as the post title suggests its been another busy month.  Summer is almost here the evenings are getting longer and the temperature is rising.  The wildlife at the lake seems very happy with lots of babies being spotted, a very cute baby Grebe had his first outing on the lake with his very proud mum over the weekend.  There is also a family of Coots with several balls of fluff swimming frantically to keep up with Mum and Dad.  The tadpoles are starting to change into little frogs so yes, Summer is well on the way!  The lake temperature is just under 16 degrees so warming up nicely.

We have had several Bank Holidays close together and all of you have been making the most of the extra time off work!  Over Easter we had our Annual Easter Egg Hunt, the divers search and recovery skills were excellent and all but 2 of the Underwater Eggs were found.  Congratulations to everyone who won prizes in the Underwater hunt, the raffle and also well done to all the kids who took part in our Easter Bunny Hunt.  Together you all helped to raise a grand total of £145.57 for Project Aware a great achievement for a very worth while charity.

We have seen many new swimmers coming in for inductions and on Wednesday 28th May swim club starts, every Wednesday evening we are open until 9pm and swimmers of all abilities are welcome to come along.  Nemes Nutters Swim Club doesn’t have a membership fee and is open to anyone who has had a swim induction with us.  There will be a free hints & tips coaching session at around 6:30pm we will also have trade evenings and a chance to try before you buy and maybe the odd BBQ if the weather is kind to us.  All this is included in your normal £5 swim fee. Its a great social evening and a chance to make new friends.

From June we will be extending our opening hours and stay open until 9pm on Tuesday evenings as well, please book if you plan on coming in.

Our Monthly social events have been very popular and its great to see you all with your clothes on for a change! (Instead of wetsuits, drysuits and swimming costumes, whatever were you thinking!!)  We have been asked by many people is we run a club and the answer is we do everything a club does without charging you a membership fee and there is no politics or AGM to attend, with us its all about having fun and you are welcome to join in as much or as little as you like.  Every month we organise a social event, we went Dog Racing in March, it was School Disco time in April and this month we have organised a Brewery Tour, Beer Tasting and Meal at Shepherds Neame Brewery in Faversham. There are still a few spaces but you will need to be quick, tickets are £28.50, this includes a meal, beer tasting and tour (soft drink option available for the non-drinkers and drivers!).  Why not bring your friends and family everyone is welcome!

We have just returned from a great week in Southern Egypt, Brothers, Dadilus, Elphinstone.  We were fortunate that the Hammerheads were around and one of the highlights of the trip was a group of 5 Hammerheads swimming by us.  We also had a very playful Manta who decided to stay and do a few graceful flips and turns with the divers.  A great trip, many photos have been posted on our Facebook group page and more will appear on our Flickr site shortly.

Looking ahead we have a fabulous opportunity to spend a week on a Liveaboard in the Northern Red Sea with Photography expert Duxy! This trip is selling very fast as an added bonus we have also convinced Duxy to come to the lake on 20th June for a photography day, he will explain camera setup and share some hints and tips so you can be prepared for the trip.  This day is FREE to everyone who books on the November trip… contact us for full details but don’t delay offers like this don’t come along very often!

We are now taking bookings for our South Africa Adventure in November 2015.  This 2 week trip will blow your socks off, diving with some of most awesome creatures, cage diving with Great Whites, spend time with playful seals, dolphins, mantas, whales, turtles and not forgetting all the amazing land based activities, like kayaking across a lake full of hippos or watching huge turtles lay their eggs on the beach, walking with penguins and of course there’s the Safari included… we wont go on about it, we know this is the ultimate trip of a lifetime.  Already over half full if you want further details let us know and we can send you an itinerary.

SPECIAL OFFERS FOR MAY/JUNE

OFFER 1 This one is for the swimmers, have you every wanted to try scuba diving?  Well, book a Discover Scuba Course with us before the end of June and bring a friend for FREE.  This offer is open to everyone who has done a swim induction with us, just mention BLOG OFFER next time your at the lake and we can get you booked in.

OFFER 2 Book a PADI Open Water Course before the end of June, mention BLOG OFFER and get a Project Aware Course completely FREE

On-going offer ask us how you can get your Advanced Open Water Qualification FREE

Don’t forget to follow this blog so the updates drop into your mailbox, that way you wont miss any news or Special offers.

If you love the water you have come to the right place, hope to see you all soon.

Dave & Paula x

March Madness!

Well March has seen the most varied weather so far, we have had everything from glorious sunshine to hail and even snow!  Whatever the weather we are still busy planning fun events and training, looking ahead April will be an exciting month.

Our March social event, Greyhound Racing, sold out very quickly.  Sorry if you couldn’t get a ticket but April’s event is now available, so please book asap to avoid disappointment.  On Friday 25th April we are going back to the 80’s with a School Disco!  Join us for Aprils Social event at The King Charles Hotel, Gillingham. Enjoy a yummy 3 course meal, 80’s tribute act and Disco the night away. School Uniforms optional or maybe dress as your favourite 80’s pop star! £29.50 per person.  Call us on 0750 762 4911 or pop into the dive centre to book.  Everyone welcome 🙂

Clocks spring forward at the end of this month which means longer days and Summers just around the corner. There is still time to get in a night dive and we are running Night Specialty courses (or Adventure dives) on Wednesday 2nd, 9th or 16th April, let us know asap if you would like to book.

Summer opening hours start on Tuesday 1st April so we will be open from 10am – 5pm weekdays and 9am – 5pm weekends, with a late night Wednesdays until 9pm but please book to avoid a wasted journey.  The lake wont be open late on Wednesday 23rd April but we have a very special presentation evening instead, see details below.

EASTER OPENING HOURS
Friday 18th April  – 10am – 4pm
Saturday 19th April – 9am -5pm
Sunday 20th April – 9am – 4pm
Monday 21st April – 9:30am – 4pm

UNDERWATER EASTER EGG HUNT
EASTER MONDAY 21st April, the Easter bunny will be paying us a visit again this year and hiding Easter Eggs in the lake!… Lots of prizes, but can you find them? There will be the usual fun and games on land for kids. Underwater Easter Egg hunt will start at 9:30am, the prize list will include lots of surprises and not just chocolate eggs.  Entry cost will be the normal lake entry of £9.00 plus a £2.00 donation to Project Aware. Fun for all the family, children (and adults) dressed as bunnies will receive a free gift, there will be a free prize draw, games and a land based Easter Egg hunt for non-divers.

SWIM INDUCTIONS
With the lake temperature currently around 9 deg we are hoping to start swim inductions over the Easter weekend.  This is of course weather dependant and with the weird weather we have been having who can tell what will happen so if you are hoping to come in for an induction please call the week before Easter to confirm temperatures and hopefully book yourself in.

SOUTH AFRICA PRESENTATION EVENING
Fancy a trip of a lifetime to South Africa?  Well we have a very exciting trip planned for November 2015.  If diving with Sharks, dolphins, Seals, Manta Rays, whales and turtles appeals to you, then this is the trip for you!  If a safari with a chance to see the big 5 appeals to you then this is the trip for you!  If being on a beach in the evening as giant turtles come up on the sands to lay their eggs appeals to you, then this is the trip for you!  If watching whales breach and perform acrobatic displays, or being on a beach full of penguins appeals to you, then this is the trip for you!  If you are a diver, this is probably the best trip you will ever go on!  If you are a non-diver who loves wildlife, this is the trip for you!  If you like great food, being totally spoilt and experiencing things you can only dream of, you need to come along to our presentation evening on Wednesday 23rd April to find out why you need to be on this trip of a lifetime!  So, what are you waiting for call us to book and find out more about this amazing adventure. Presentation starts at 7:00pm in The Village Hall, Holborough Lake.  You must book in advance so call now 0750 762 4911 to make sure you don’t miss out!

If you haven’t been in the water for a while why not book in for one of our Scuba Review sessions?  Just £50 and that includes full kit hire, a pool session with an instructor refreshing all your skills, a theory session to brush up on your diving knowledge, a lake dive with an instructor, air, lake entry and pool entry fees.  We want to get you back in the water so this great value package has been designed to build confidence and get you diving again. Call us for available dates.

If you prefer to be above water why not hire one of our new kayaks for a fun paddle around the lake?

MARCH SPECIAL OFFERS
Book a NIGHT DIVER SPECIALTY course before the end of APRIL and receive 10% discount
We have also extended our February offer so.. Book a RESCUE COURSE before the end of APRIL and receive an Emergency Oxygen Provider Course completely FREE
Just mention BLOG OFFERS at the time of booking to take advantage of these special offers!

See you soon

Dave & Paula xx

 

February Update

Its been a brilliant start to year so far.  At the beginning of January 6 of our instructors qualified as IDC STAFF INSTRUCTORS. A great achievement and we now have a total of 8 Staff Instructors working with us, which means we will be planning IDC’s very soon… watch this space!  Also in January we had an amazing trip to the Maldives, we were diving amongst Sharks & Rays in the ‘small Maldivian currents’! The highlights of this trip had to be the Night Dive at Alimata Jetty, during the dive brief they said there would be sharks but we didn’t expect to be surrounded by hundreds of them for non-stop action! A wonderful experience we wont forget and then the beautiful Manta Rays who came so close you could feel the power of their wings, such graceful creatures, such lovely memories. Some photos have been posted on Facebook and we have loads more which will be added to flikr shortly.

Our swimmers have been busy too, the Nemes Nutters Swim Club did us proud again.  The Chill Swim event at Lake Windermere saw our Nutters walk away with no less than 8 medals between them. We have an awesome team of swimmers and it takes a lot to jump in to freezing temperatures in just a swimsuit, so proud of all of you.

Recently we took another group for a Dry Dive at Whipps Cross Dive Chamber.  They had a great time getting ‘narced’ at 40 metres without getting wet.  Big thanks to Wayne at Divers Emergency Service for looking after us again and showing us how the chamber is a divers best friend.

We have our first social event for this year on Friday 28th February. A comedy night at Dickens World, be entertained by 4 world class comedy acts, followed by a Disco til the early hours. We have also heard a rumour one of the acts from TVs ‘The Voice’ will also be there. All this for just £13.50, call the Dive Centre on 0750 762 4911 to book.

Looking ahead we have our Egypt Liveaboard trip in May, only 2 spaces left now so if you want to book on this one you better be quick!

We couldn’t give an update without a special offer so here it is…

Book a Rescue course before the end of March and receive an Emergency Oxygen Provider Course completely FREE

Don’t forget we give a FREE Drysuit course with every Drysuit purchased from us, this offer is on-going and we have some great deals on Drysuits at the moment.

If you don’t want to miss out on the latest News and Special Offers make sure you Follow this blog and you we receive an email each time we add updates.

The lake temperature is currently 7 deg and slowly rising so hopefully we will see you soon.

Best Wishes

Dave & Paula x

Xmas & New Year Opening Hours

XMAS & NEW YEAR OPENING HOURS

Dec 21^st                     9:00am – 4:00pm
Dec 22^nd                    9:00am – 4:00pm
Dec 23^rd                   CLOSED
CHRISTMAS EVE   10:00am – 3:00pm
CHRISTMAS DAY   CLOSED
BOXING DAY          10:00am – 3:00pm
DEC 27^th                  10:00am – 3:00pm
DEC 28^th                    9:00am – 4:00pm
DEC 29^th                    9:00am – 4:00pm
DEC 30^th                  CLOSED
NEW YEARS EVE   CLOSED
NEW YEARS DAY  10:00am – 3:00pm
JAN 2^nd                     10:00am – 3:00pm
JAN 3^rd                      10:00am – 3:00pm
JAN 4^th                      9:00am – 4:00pm
JAN 5^th                      9:00am – 4:00pm

JAN 6^th – JAN 27^th CLOSED

THEN BACK TO NORMAL WINTER OPENING HOURS FROM JANUARY 28th

AS ALWAYS THIS TIME OF YEAR PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT.  WE MAY CLOSE EARLY IF WE HAVE NO BOOKINGS

Thanks for your custom throughout 2013
We hope you have a great Christmas and New Year

Best Wishes from Dave, Paula & and all the staff at Nemes

December Update

Its nearly the end of the year and what a great year its been.  We have just got back from an amazing trip to the Red Sea where we were lucky to make friends with a pod of around 30 dolphins.  They were extremely playful and invited us to swim amongst them, a truly unforgetable experience.  We have posted loads of photos on our facebook site.  Take a look at the Nemes Dive Academy facebook group.  If you fancy joining us on one of our trips we now have dates available for next year.  Unfortunately our Maldives trip in January is now fully booked but we have a ‘Simply the Best’ Red Sea liveaboard in May with a real good chance of spotting some Hammerheads and other Sharks, then next November we have a special Red Sea Photography trip.  This is selling out fast, we will be doing the Wrecks and Reefs of the Northern Red Sea but as an added bonus we have photography expert Duxy on board and he will be teaching us how to get the best from our cameras and by the end of the week you will be taking shots the pros would be proud of.  Not forgetting our Farne Islands trip in October to dive with the seals.  If you fancy something different we have a DRY DIVE in February, Super Santa day on 14th December, we are open Boxing Day for a post Xmas dip or you can see the New Year in with a New Years Day Dive or Swim.  All details of whats coming up can be found on the Events Page or give the dive centre a call on 0750 762 4911 for more details.

We still have places for our Christmas Party on Friday 20th December £35 a ticket and includes a 3 course meal and Madness tribute band, if you want to join us please get in touch asap because time is running out!

DECEMBER SPECIAL OFFERS
OFFER 1. Book an Open Water Course before the end of 2013 and receive a Dry Suit Course completely FREE
OFFER 2. FREE Drysuit course with any Drysuit purchased from us before the end of the year.
Just mention ‘Blog Newsletter Offer’ to take advantage of either of these great offers.

Dont forget we also do Gift Vouchers for any amount and they can be used against Courses, Holidays, Lake Entries, Equipment etc so if your stuck for present ideas or maybe you want to drop a few hints for a present for yourself we are here to help 🙂

We will be pubishing Xmas Opening hours here shortly so make sure you check back often.. or better still Follow this blog and all the News and Gossip will come straight to your in-box so you wont miss out on any special offers.

Best Wishes
Dave & Paula xx

 

November Update

What happened to the October update?  Well, we have been so busy the month came and went so fast we didnt get round to doing an update!  So, what have we been up to?  If you haven’t visited for a while you will find lots of new attractions in the lake, we wont spoil the surprise you can hunt them out for yourselves 🙂

At the end of September we had our Annual Project Aware Clean Up weekend, This was such a huge success with divers, swimmers, kayakers, friends and family all taking part to clean rubbish from in the lake and the surrounding area.  We managed to collect 7 skip loads of debris!!  More importantly we also held a raffle and took donations and raised over £300 for Project Aware.  So thank you everyone who took part.  The money raised will be added to the total from events we have held this year along with donations from the collection tins, we are hoping to beat the amount we raised last year.

In October we took a group of divers for a weekend trip to the Farne Islands.  The seals most have heard we were coming, loads of them came out to play and our divers got some amazing photos.  It was a brilliant weekend, with great company, lots of good food and plenty of laughs.  We enjoyed ourselves so much we have already booked for next year!

Then at the end of October we had our Halloween Spooktacular!  Lots of scary faces (that was just the staff!), loads of food and some spooky surprises underwater!  One of the Halloween attractions have stayed in the lake, he told us ‘I’ll be back!’ and true to his word he was there the following day and has stayed ever since 😀

Now the darker evenings are here we are open until 9pm every Wednesday until further notice for night dives, please make sure you book so we know you’re coming in.  We had a lovely treat this Wednesday with a stunning Firework display over the lake lasting around 20 minutes.

For photos and details of all our events and trips make sure you like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/nemesdiveacademy and also join our facebook group nemes dive academy to get all the gossip!

We are now busy planning next years events but before that we have our Christmas Party, see the events page for full details. With a Madness tribute band its sure to be a fun night.  Everyone welcome just get in touch to book.  We also have several trips planned and more being arranged to keep you entertained.  If you dont fancy getting wet there’s always our social events, more news to come shortly so keep an eye on Facebook or the Events page for more details.

NOVEMBER SPECIAL OFFER
Book any course before the end of November, mention BLOG OFFER and receive £10 off your course.

Until the next update, stay safe, stay warm and have fun!

Dave & Paula xx

August/September Update

What a great Summer we have had so far!  Sunshine in the UK is something we dont see very often so we have been spoilt this year and its brillient to see so many of you making the most of the hot weather.

Training is now in full swing and if you fancy learning to Scuba Dive there is plenty of time to book a PADI Open Water Course and as an added bonus we have another special offer, see details below.

There’s lots happening at the lake with several events coming up.
For our swimmers we have the Nemes Nutters swimming Gala on Wednesday 4th September, this event is open to anyone who has taken a swim assessment with us. We will have several distance events including, 100m, 200m, 400m, mile and a relay.  If you would like to enter you can get full details from the dive centre.
Our annual Project Aware Clean Up Weekend takes place on 28th and 29th September. A very popular weekend and a chance for divers and non-divers to remove unwanted debris from the lake and surrounding areas.  Help us raise lots of money for Project Aware and join us for this fun event.  There will be a raffle and surprise spot prizes throughout the weekend.  Who will find the most unusual item and who will collect the most rubbish.  Great for lift bag practice and we welcome clubs who want to take part, if your interested in joining in this year please let us know and contact the dive centre for more details. The staff will all be mucking in so we will be happy to find you a buddy.

As promised we have 2 Special Offers for you…
OFFER 1. Book a PADI OPEN WATER Course or PADI ADVANCED OPEN WATER Course before the end of SEPTEMBER and receive a PROJECT AWARE Course FREE.
OFFER 2.  If you have always wanted to try Scuba Diving then this is the offer for you.  During September we have several dates when we are offering a Buy one get one FREE DISCOVER SCUBA DIVING Experience.  Minimum age 10 years old. We can also offer a PADI BUBBLEMAKER Experience from age 8 under the same deal.  Taking place in a nice safe pool environment its a great opportunity for you and a friend to try scuba diving together.  We can also take groups (depending on availability).  This is already selling out fast so contact us on 0750 762 4911 to take advantage of any these great offers.

Here’s hoping the warm weather continues.  Dont forget we are still open on Tuesday evenings until 9pm right up until the 17th September and we are open until 9pm Wednesday evenings until further notice.

See you soon
Dave & Paula x

June/July Update

Wow where does the time go, its mid July already and Summer is here.  The lake temp has risen to a nice toastie 20 deg and fingers crossed we have lots of sunshine and fun ahead. Its lovely to see the lake busy with swimmers, divers and kayakers making the most of the nice weather.

We are now open until 9pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so you can make the most of the Summer months and pop along for an evening dip.  During August we will also have a few late night Fridays, so keep a check on our facebook page www.facebook.com/nemesdiveacademy where you can find out all the latest news and details of late nights, events etc.

Our Ice Creams are proving very popular during this hot spell and our range of novelty T-Shirts are such a hit that stock is starting to run low. Unfortunately we only have limited sizes in some of the designs and wont be able to get new stock this season, so if you havent seen them yet get in quick to make sure we still have your size.

We have lots of clearance offers including wetsuits, masks and diving accessories as we try to make room for new stock.  Pop along to the dive centre and maybe grab a bargain.

If you fancy a trip to the Red Sea in November we have 2 spaces left on our Liveaboard trip 23rd – 30th November.  Its the Get Wrecked tour and at a bargain price of only £995 it would be a shame to miss out on some Winter sun and blue water diving.

Our Farne Islands trip was full but due to popular demand we have booked a second boat so if you fancy a weekend diving with the seals we now have more spaces but these are sure to be snapped up quick.  Only £170 for diving and accomodation this is one not to miss.

Details of all trips are on the Trips and Holiday page of our main site www.nda-scuba.com

JULY SPECIAL OFFER
Book a PADI Underwater Photography course during July and as soon as full payment is made you will receive a Nautilus underwater camera completely free of charge (while stocks last).  So whether its for yourself or maybe you know someone who loves diving and would be interested in a Photography course just give us a call on 0750 762 4911 or pop into the dive centre to book. Please note course needs to be booked before the end of July to qualify for this offer but you can start your course anytime this year.

As we are now into peak season we are quite busy so the best way to find out whats going on is probably via Facebook. So dont forget to LIKE us. We will try and keep the blog updated too!

So until next month we hope you enjoy the sunshine and look forward to seeing you soon.

Dave & Paula xx

May Update

Finally the sun has come out and the water temperature is picking up.  Its great to see so many of you coming out of the long Winter Hibernation and getting wet.  We are now fully open to Swimmers and doing swim inductions for those who are coming to us for the first time.

Every Wednesday night we are now open until 9pm for diving or swimming, please call to book so we know your coming in.

If you would like to learn how to Scuba Dive then May is a great time to book your PADI Open Water course with us (see our May special offer below).  Or maybe you would like to progress with your diving and do an Advanced Open Water course or one of the many Speciality courses we offer.  Deep, Wreck and Navigation courses are all very popular.  Our next Rescue course will be taking place on the weekend of 25th & 26th May, we still have a couple of spaces if you would like to book please call the Dive Centre on 0750 762 4911

We are now settled in our new building so if you havent visited recently come and say hello and see whats changed.  The old cabin has now been removed and we are busy adding new features lake side and under the water.

If you have any free time during the week and would like to volunteer to play (er, that should say work!) by the water and assist with general DIY etc just give us a call, there is always lots to be done as we improve the area.

As promised we will be running a Special Offer every month. So……

MAY’S SPECIAL OFFER.  Book a PADI Open Water course during May and receive a FREE Mask and Snorkle.  It doesnt get much better than this.  As long as the course is booked before the end of May you will receive the Mask and Snorkle once you have made full payment (sorry this doesnt apply to referral courses). So give us a call and get booked in.  If you have any questions regarding the special offer or the Open Water course just give us a call on 0750 762 4911 or pop along to the Dive Centre at the lake and we can discuss everything with you over a cuppa.

See you all soon
Dave & Paula xxx

April Update

Hope you all had a good Easter weekend and didnt overdo the chocolate! We had a great time and would like to thank everyone who came in for our Underwater Easter Egg Hunt. Well done to all of you who found a prize. The good news is we raised £58 for Project Aware so thank you everyone for braving the cold and getting wet!
We have just updated our website so if you havent seen the new design yet pop over to http://www.nda-scuba.com and take a look. Its still being developed but this new layout should make it more accessable to mobile devices, ipads, tablets etc so give it a try and if you experience any problems viewing the pages please let us know.

If you have ever wanted to learn more about recompression chambers and the effects diving can have on the human body we still have a couple of spaces for our Dry Dive at Whipps Cross Chamber on 4th May, cost is £65 and this includes the PADI Chamber Aware Specialty certification and a chance to experience Nitrogen Narcosis at 40m with a few friends 🙂

We will shortly be listing our Wreck Dives for this year, these will be posted on the website and on Facebook. If you havent dived in the Channel before we can provide you with everything you need, including a buddy if you need one! Just get in touch and we will be happy to help.

SPECIAL OFFER- Now the clocks have gone forward it means it wont be getting dark until later in the evenings, but there is still plenty of time to enjoy a Night Dive. This month we will be doing a 10% discount for anyone booking a Night Dive Specialty. To receive the discount just book your course during April, so what are you waiting for give us a call and get yourself booked in.

We hope to be able to offer you a special offer every month so make sure you check the blog to see what next months deal will be 🙂

Best wishes
Dave & Paula x

February Update

We have had snow, gale force winds and freezing conditions so far this year but this hasnt put off our hardy divers and swimmers! Yes, we did say swimmers, the Nemes Nutters swim club have been swimming throughout the winter and putting the divers to shame!! We have had record breaking swims, Jackie Cobell was the first female to complete an ice mile swim in England, and then last week we were honoured to have Ram Barkai (Mr Ice Man himself) swim his Ice Mile at the lake and become the first male swimmer to complete an Ice Mile in England. You can find photos and more details on our facebook pages. The swim team have braved the cold at Tooting Bec UK Cold Water Championships and won 5 medals between them and then at the Big Chill Swim at Lake Windermere they managed a whooping 8 medals. All their training and dedication has paid off and we are so proud of them all. Well done!

Its the time of year when we are busy planning events, activities and holidays. If you fancy a bit of warm water diving over Easter we have a few spaces on our March liveaboard in the Red Sea. For all our trips see the events page for more details. Our trips are very popular so if there is something you fancy dont leave it too late to book or you could be disappointed.

Please LIKE us on facebook http://www.facebook.com/nemesdiveacademy and make sure you join the facebook group as well so you dont miss out on the gossip!

Thinking of buying a DRYSUIT? Get in touch and we can discuss your options, did you know you get a FREE Drysuit course with any drysuit you purchase from us 🙂

For our Open Water Swimmers we stock ZONE 3 wetsuits. The Zone 3 ADVANCE wetsuit is only £149 so why rent when you can have your own quality suit at this bargain price.

Hope to see you soon.
Paula & Dave

Xmas Opening Hours

CHRISTMAS EVE 10:00am – 3:00pm
CHRISTMAS DAY CLOSED
BOXING DAY 10:00am – 3:00pm
DEC 27th 10:00am – 3:00pm
DEC 28th 10:00am – 3:00pm
DEC 29th 9:00am – 4:00pm
DEC 30th 9:00am – 4:00pm
NEW YEARS EVE CLOSED
NEW YEARS DAY 10:00am – 3:00pm
JAN 2nd 10:00am – 3:00pm

THEN BACK TO NORMAL WINTER OPENING HOURS…
WEEKDAYS 10:00am – 4:00pm
WEEKENDS 9:00am – 4:00pm
LATE NIGHT WEDNESDAY TIL 9:00PM (pre-book please)
CLOSED MONDAYS
AS ALWAYS THIS TIME OF YEAR PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT. WE MAY CLOSE EARLY IF WE HAVE NO BOOKINGS

How time flies!

What a busy year its been so far, an update is long overdue!

Lets start with a review of what we have been up to.  Back in April we had our yearly Underwater Easter Egg hunt. Despite terrible weather most of the underwater prizes were found and the kids enjoyed the land based treasure trail. During May the Open Water Swimming season really took off and the Nemes Nutters Wednesday night swim club was born!  Its great to watch so many of you progress and compete in the various events this year. Well done to all our Channel Swimmers what a terrific achievement! To celebrate the Royal Jubilee weekend we had a very tasty Hog Roast and BBQ, thanks to all the staff who helped out and made this a real success.  The Hog Roast was so tasty I am sure we can find an excuse to have another one next year!  Throughout the year our Dover Channel dives have been a hit with new divers experiencing their first boat, wreck or drift dive and the more experienced divers loved the deeper wrecks.  The Summer kids activity days were great fun, staff loved getting soaked on the kayaks 🙂 and its nice to see we have some really strong open water swimmers in the younger age groups, olympic stars of the future maybe… watch this space!  In September our Project Aware clean up went well, we successful managed to remove lots of rubbish and raise more money for Project Aware, everyone seems to enjoy seeing what will come out of the lake.  Well done everyone who helped on land or under the water.  At the end of September we held our 1st Nemes Nutters Swim Gala and the response was amazing.  Huge thanks to Giovanna our swimming coach for all the Free Wednesday night coaching sessions, the results were obvious when we saw how well everyone did at the Gala.  You should all be very proud of yourselves. That brings us up to October, at the beginning of the month we had an awsome time playing with the seals in the Farne Islands.  With 2 boats full of divers and a couple of non-divers we all experienced some seal interaction, they were very playful and cheeky.  Great company, great food and lots of playful seals what more could you want… Brilliant 🙂

Photos of all the above events and activities are on our Facebook site (which gets updated regularly, unlike the blog, sorry must try harder!!!).

Looking forward we have our Halloween night dive this Wednesday 31st Oct and a little bird tells us there will be a firework display over the back of the lake at 8pm, last year this was excellent and well worth coming along to see.  But the real fun will be on Saturday 3rd November when we have our Halloween Spooktacular, with lots of spooky things above and below the water, games, prizes for best carved pumkin, food and we will be open until 9pm, dont miss it… it will be a SCREAM!!!!

Tickets are now on sale for our Xmas party on 8th Dec with a Rock tribute act, tasty 3 course meal and disco. Nemes Xmas Party 2012

As always we dont stop planning or making improvements so there will be plenty more in store to keep you entertained.

Hope to see you soon.

Best Wishes
Dave & Paula x

Easter Update

Yes its that time of year when divers and swimmers uncurl from their Winter hibernation, dust of their kit, try and squeeze back into their suits realising they have added a few pounds! Oh yes suits do shrink over the Winter… honest!!! 🙂

Water temperature at the lake is on the rise, we currently have 9 degrees and vizibility has stayed fantastic since our last update, its still around 10 metres.

Over the Easter weekend we will be open from 9am Good Friday through to Easter Monday. Come along and take part in our Underwater Easter Egg hunt on Saturday or Sunday. Bring the kids along and they can take part in the land based Treasure Trail. Theres loads of prizes on offer, see what you can find!

We are now taking bookings for our Dover Wreck Diving trips, we also have a long weekend trip to Plymouth in September. The Farne Islands trip to dive with the seals is fully booked, sorry! If you want to put your name down as a reserve we will let you know if a space becomes available.

The dive season seems to be off to a good start, the cold Winter didnt seem to put many of you off. Its good to see us Brit’s know some of the best diving is in (very) cold water.
The wildlife seem to be waking up too, so there is a good chance you will see a fish or two. The frogs have been busy doing what frogs do at this time of year so we will soon see the tadpoles and baby frogs taking over!

Swimmers, we will be starting swim assessments over Easter so give us a call to book in. You must wear a suit and cap this time of year. Dont forget although the sun may be shinning it takes a while for the lake temperature to pick up so it will still feel very cold! We have a Swim Workshop on May 12th, if you would like to book just call the dive centre on 0750 762 4911 and we will provide you with full details.

We hope you have a lovely Easter, go easy on the Chocolate!
Dave & Paula x

February already!

The new year is off to a great start at Nemes, we have superb vizibility at around 10 metres + and although it may be a little chilly with the water temp approx 4 degrees, the heated changing rooms and warm cup of tea will make sure you have a comfortable enjoyable day.

In January we had an amazing week in the Red Sea aboard Cyclone, the crew were fantastic and every dive had a treat for us. Northern Wrecks and Reefs is an excellent itinerary  A few sharks, turtles, dolphins and eagle rays came out to play, not to mention huge morays and even a group of whales decided to ride on the bow.  An unforgetable week with a great group of people and lots of happy memories.  Some photos have been posted on Facebook with more to come and we will also add an album to the website. Everyones photography skills improved as the week went on and as a result there are loads of beautiful shots – well done guys!

We now have the dates for this years Dover Wreck Dives and they are displayed at the lake and also on the Events page.  We have chosen to use MV ESP a lovely hard boat with a lift and for those who prefer to get to the best wrecks a lot quicker we have also booked Copperhead Diver, an 8 metre RIB capable of speeds above 40 knots. All trips will be 2 dive days and wreck sites are being planned as we speak. If you have a favourite site you would like to dive get in touch and we will do our best to include it 🙂

Talking of wrecks we have a couple of new attractions added to the lake, if you havent been to see us for a while come along and see whats new!

Hope to see you soon!

It’s Christmas!!!!

… well almost 🙂 
Its getting a little cooler now but the viz is absolutely fantastic. 
What a great year it’s been.  The Halloween night dive was a huge success – did you know pumpkins float?  The photos are now on the main website.  Thanks to everyone who helped out, the food was great and the weather was kind to us. 

We are now just about recovered from the Christmas Party on Friday night, well done Tony for being our ‘Deal or No Deal’ contestant!  The Black Eyed Peaz tribute band were really great, photos taken by the King Charles Hotel can be viewed here http://www.kingcharleshotel.co.uk/Photos_BlackEyePeas_021211.asp some of our photos have been added to facebook and the rest will be uploaded to the main site very shortly.  Everyone looks very drunk but we are sure thats just a trick of the light 🙂

Looking forward to next year we have lots planned already.  The Sharm liveaboard is already sold out (Sorry!).  We have booked a few one day charters to dive the wrecks off the Dover channel.  We are back to the Farne Islands in October and of course there will be the usual array of fun events at Holborough Lakes.

Keep an eye on the events pages for more details.

If you get fed up of Turkey, Xmas Pud and being polite to the relatives we will be open over the festive season.

Christmas Eve 10am – 2pm
Boxing Day 10:00am – 3pm
then every day until New Years Eve we will be open 10:00am – 3pm for bookings
New Years Day 10:00am – 3pm – Dont miss this one!!

If you plan on joining us over the Christmas period please phone ahead because opening times may change at the last minute depending on weather conditions, how much alcohol we consumed the night before etc, etc

We would like to thank you all for making 2011 a great year and we wish you all a very safe and enjoyable Christmas and New Year. 
Best Wishes
Dave and Paula xxx