Chairman: Bobby Pretorius
I have always loved water, a passion passed on to me by my parents. My first real exposure to diving was at a naval medical centre where I served during national service compulsory military training in South Africa. Here I completed the Diving Medicine Course, providing medical cover for navy diver training, and though I didn’t continue practicing diving medicine, I learned a lot. I have been scuba diving since 2001 when I completed the PADI Open Water course on the island of Utila off Honduras. I have dived mostly in warmer waters including the Maldives, Great Barrier Reef, Malta and Egypt, but in the past few years I have begun diving the colder waters of the UK, embraced dry suit diving, crossed over to BSAC, completed the Sports Diver and Assistant Instructor courses, and am now currently working towards Dive Leader. I love beautiful reefs, reef fish and wrecks, my all-time favourite dives were on the Thistlegorm in the Red Sea. I also enjoy sailing, I have RYA Competent crew and Powerboat Level 2 tickets, and enjoy snorkelling with my wife who doesn’t dive. I have an interest in diving safety, water competence skills teaching and accident prevention.
Diving Officer: David Irving
I’ve been diving for nearly 20 years and am an Open Water Instructor and Dive
Leader. I recently did my 900th dive out in Corfu. I’ve loved diving from the moment I first
went underwater. I do it because I enjoy the sensation of being underwater, of being
neutrally buoyant, and I do it so that I can see new things and go to places very few people
have ever been. In the UK, my favourite places to dive are Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands, because the wrecks there are so spectacular, and the Farne Islands in Northumberland, because of the seals, which are normally incredibly friendly. Further afield, Baia, in the Bay of Naples, is worth a visit for its archaeological remains and the fact that you are able to dive on an active volcano! And of course, Egypt, with its colours, its coral, and its huge variety of marine life.
Training Officer: Matt Chennell
I learned to dive with BSAC back in 2011. I took a break due to family life for a number of years before rejoining with WNSAC in 2023. I have dived in various locations in the UK and overseas. I have always loved marine life and been fascinated with the underwater world. It’s always such a privilege to be able to experience another world beneath the surface. I started snorkelling at a very young age so the progression to scuba diving was always in my vision to ‘stay and play for longer’. I am a qualified assistant instructor and love being able to share my passion for marine life and teach my skills and knowledge to others. This is why being part of a club is so rewarding! No two dives are the same and there is an infinite underwater world to explore! I’m not big on wrecks although I do love the marine life that call them home and enjoy underwater photography. My favourite dives have to be those where I have seen octopus and diving with the playful seals in the Farne Islands is a close second! I sit on the committee for WNSAC as the current training officer so get to watch and assist the progression of other like minded people who share the same passion for diving as every member of our club does.
Treasurer: Steve Pivett
I have been a member of the club for several years and have dived many places, I help the compressor officer with the Tuesday cylinder fills and often give poolside support during pool training sessions.
Secretary: Jacqui Scott
I have now been a member of WNSAC for 11 years, and have been the Club Secretary for the past 4. I am Ocean Diver trained and have enjoyed, if not rather limited, dives with WNSAC. I will continue to support the club, and maybe, one day, I will progress my diving qualification!
Welfare and Membership Officer: Rachael Lamb
I joined WNSAC for a try-dive with my son back in 2022 and we both took to it. Two years later, I became club membership secretary and welfare officer. I hold my ocean diver certificate and plan to do my sports diver certificate in the next round of training. I am not an ambitious diver, but enjoy what I have done so far, in local lakes, rivers and seas. The chalk reef off our Norfolk coast is really special and there are also many wrecks; we have lots of diving opportunities close by! My most ambitious location to date is Naples, where we dived to an underwater Roman town, saw mosaics, statues and experienced hot vents from the seismic activity under the sea-bed. I would love to do more diving abroad but ‘live-aboard’ trips are definitely off my list as I get really sea-sick! I love the club for its mix of people, friendliness and the social aspect; shore dives in particular usually involve camp stoves on the beach for tea and bacon butties, or local fish and chips and a pint afterwards. We also have really experienced members with a wealth of experience and knowledge, who are so generous with their time and advice.
Chief Equipment Officer: Curtis Bortz
Hello there! I’m Curtis, the Equipment Officer for WNSAC. I’ve been with the club for 10 years now. I started as a teenager wanting to get a head start on my studies for university, but quickly became hooked. Since then diving has been my main hobby, and I’ve had the good fortune to dive in various places across the UK and abroad. My main interest is in marine wildlife.
Deputy Equipment Officer: Peter Denman
I have been a member of the club for about 18 years, I help out at the club wherever I can. I started diving at the age of 55 down in Croydon with Trinity Dive Club, and most of my diving was on the South coast from Eastbourne down to Plymouth. Unfortunately I now no longer dive due to my great age (82), but I managed to dive in many countries, including Egypt, Turkey and Malta.
Chief Boat Officer: Ben Drew
I started my scuba journey in July 2025 and am currently working towards my Ocean Diver qualification. I was drawn to diving to have the opportunity to see marine life in their natural habitat, my friend introduced me to the club and I’m really enjoying it. As boat officer, I keep the boat ticking over so that the club can do more varied dives, a favourite boat dive is on the river Great Ouse, but we’ll be doing more ocean diving over the summer now that the boat is back in action!
Deputy Boat Officer: Matthew Fisher
I started diving in 2024 and am currently Ocean Diver qualified. You’ll usually find me at the pool on Tuesday nights helping out with training, supporting members, and generally lending a hand wherever needed. I enjoy being involved with the club and helping others get the most out of their diving.
Compressor Officer: Sam Nickls
I started diving in 2014 when I turned 50. I originally took diving up so I could holiday dive whenever I was away, but got such a bug for it I did further qualifications to better my own skills and to help the instructors. I am now a fully qualified theory instructor and sheltered & open water assistant instructor. Unfortunately at the moment I can’t do any in water instructing or diving as I’m waiting for surgery to fix a couple of issues, but still heavily involved in training. I’m responsible for our compressor and cylinder filling although I do have others that help me in these tasks.
Chief Social and Publicity Secretary: Abi Bellamy
I started my scuba diving journey at the age of 16 being taught by my dad in Bali, and now working towards BSAC Dive Leader. Over the last 17 years I have dived all over the world for recreation, research, and work, including spending two months on a remote tropical island in Indonesia researching fish behaviour for my master’s degree, two months in the Bahamas volunteering at a shark research lab, and two months in Honduras where I was involved in several projects, including urchin surveying. More recently I have taken the cold dive into British waters, and absolutely love it! My most exciting UK diving moment so far is having my fins nibbled by a playful grey seal on a club trip to the Farne Islands.
Deputy Social and Publicity Secretary: Harry Meyer
I am working towards my Sports Diver qualification and enjoy getting involved in the club alongside college and my apprenticeship.
