The Diver’s Tale

The Diver’s Tale is an unvarnished account of real British diving, based on the author’s 40+ year experience. 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. From ill-fitting homemade wetsuits to technical closed-circuit rebreather diving, this book is an insight into the ‘glamour’ and history of scuba diving in the UK by a man who has done it all.

The Diver’s Tale 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!

Now re-edited and brought back up to date, with a new chapter and a Foreword by Andy Torbet.

Acclaim for The Diver’s Tale

‘When it comes to celebrating the depressive/compulsive nature of the British diving condition, there is no writer like the talented Mr Lyon… I cannot recommend it highly enough’— SCUBA.

‘I found it utterly absorbing and so did my budgie, Cyril, as it fitted perfectly in the bottom of his cage’— Alex ‘Woz’ Warzynski, Chairman of the BSAC.

‘A breath-taking triumph that must take its place at the very pinnacle of diving literature, above Cousteau and all them lot. Now will you delete the photos?’— Helen Hadley, Co-owner Orkney and Shetland Charters.

About the author

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 (BSAC). 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 has a small flatulent dog called Skipper.