expeditionary diver training and scientific diving services
About Us
Vectis Expeditions is all about expeditionary diver training and scientific diving services.
The underpinning philosophy behind what the company does is that mankind is responsible for the stewardship of the earth and all that lives on it. This isn’t a new idea, its been around formally since the book of Genesis was written. It’s just that mankind needs to be constantly reminded of this fact and do something about it.
As divers we have the privilege of seeing the underwater world and therefore have some responsibility to act as its stewards.
The company was founded in the midst of a global pandemic and a climate crisis but also at a time when there has never been so much interest in the oceans and the blue economy.
There is much work to do!
Services
1. BSAC Instructor Courses
Vectis Expeditions is affiliated to the British Sub Aqua Club (the governing body for the sport in the UK) and as a BSAC Centre of Excellence (Centre Number D0949) it can deliver the full range of instructor development courses from Instructor Foundation Course all the way through to Advanced Instructor.
2. BSAC Diver Training Courses
We offer almost the full range of BSAC Courses but focus on courses that produce a rounded Expeditionary minded diver capable of diving around the British Isles.
This includes BSAC Advanced Diver which is the next level up from BSAC Dive Leader (in turn similar to PADI Divemaster) and beyond to BSAC First Class Diver. We accomplish this by bringing together like minded groups on expeditions that deliver the right diving experiences to build your confidence and competence so that your qualification record books can be suitably endorsed (boxes ticked!)
3. Diving Expeditions
The founder is co-author of the British Sub Aqua Club’s Expedition Diving Manual so it comes as no surprise that the Vectis Expeditions offers diving expeditions. Although based in Cowes in the Isle of Wight, it specialises in diving expeditions throughout the UK, all year round.
4. HSE Scientific and Media ACOP Diving
Vectis Expeditions aims to fuse the founder’s 25 years of professional subsea engineering experience with his 30 years of diving experience to offer professional services under the HSE Scientific and Media diving Approved Codes of Conduct (ACOP). The company is focussed on the use of SCUBA equipment (open circuit and closed circuit) which are very well suited for much of this work. Branded Vectis Scientific, please contact us for more details of work undertaken.
Overview
Vectis Expeditions Ltd was founded by Andrew (Andy) Hunt to provide expeditionary and scientific diving services.
Andy is an accomplished diver with over 30 years of diving experience. He is a BSAC First Class Diver and National Instructor. He is a BSAC Advanced Mix Gas Rebreather Diver. He is also a HSE qualified commercial diver and has completed high level training with other diver training agencies such as PADI, IANTD, TDI but it was his passion for UK diving and an assessment of the long term training costs that led him down the BSAC path a long time ago.
He has served on the National Diving Committee (NDC) for the British Sub Aqua Club for many years, formerly as the First Class Diver Chief Examiner for nine years before returning to the post of Expeditions Advisor a few years ago. He currently leads the BSAC Operation Oyster citizen science project that aims to help restore native oyster populations around the UK.He has passion for leading expeditions around the UK especially the remoter parts of Scotland but is skilled at delivering adventurous everyday diving expeditions and projects much closer to home, able to make the most out of even your average shore dive.
Andy is also a chartered mechanical engineer and Fellow of both the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and Society for Underwater Technology. He started his engineering career in aerospace before an unexpected introduction to scuba diving at university awakened an interest for the underwater world that took his career in a different direction. He has extensive and broad experience in the field of subsea engineering having been responsible for the design and build of many complex underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). He has been working for the last 18 years on numerous research and development projects, both large and small, in the field of marine renewables (mainly tidal power). He aims to continue his professional journey thorough Vectis Expeditions Ltd to fuse both engineering and diving experience together to help deliver diving projects that help save the blue planet.
Photographs and Images on this website are taken from the Founder’s own collection or
with the kind permission of The British Sub Aqua Club, Heriot Watt University,
Bob Anderson of Halton Dive Charters, Richard Booth of Tyneside 114 Sub Aqua Club, Peter Allison
Website produced with assistance from Steve Jakeway