Scarborough Underwater Club Incorporated 1961
History
The first skin diving (snorkel diving) course in Scarborough was organized by the Scar. Parks and Recreation Dept. Bruce Fleury, the aquatics supervisor at the time, hired an instructional staff of five: four men and one woman. Twenty-nine members registered for the first session in 1960. Classes took place at Porter C.I. January to the end of March.
The four male instructors proposed the formation of a scuba club and offered to conduct the first training program. Nineteen graduates from the previous snorkel diving course enrolled. The training staff appointed an interim executive.
The first scuba training program was at Porter CI in the spring of 1961 and did not include an open water checkout, yet it was expected they would all help with the training of new recruits from the Parks and Rec. skin diving program. Membership was $10 + $1/night pool fee and tanks and regulators were rented from Argosy Sports. There were 17 members that first year. The following year, training took place at Cedarbrae Pool and Community Centre – membership went up to 62! As of 2016, membership is at 103
Herb describes some mistakes made in diving due to lack of experience. On their 5th dive, he and another member dove to 80 ft. at Big Bay Point wearing 20 lb. of lead: “We didn’t drop our belts to get back to the surface but I sure discovered the limitations of a Shark II regulator. That was a lot of hard work getting off the bottom not to mention the amount of water I drank”. (No BCD in those days!)
* based on writings from Herb Lynch, former life member and many copies of various Buddylines
Mike McAllister SUCI President, Course Equipment Manager
SUCI Member Volunteer
Mike McAllister is a retired Millwright, PADi Certified Rescue Diver, Nautical Archeological Society Trained (NAS 1) and has a keen interest in history. He has written for the Discovery Channel, Eye Spy, Diver Magazine, North East Dive News and several other publications as well as having been interviewed on Radio & Television on the subject of the Avro Arrow. Mike is President of the Scarborough Underwater Club Inc. and a member of the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Recovery Team.
