FAMILIES washed away the excesses of the festive season and welcomed in the New Year with a splash.Ipswich Sub Aqua Club held a "try dive day" at Crown Pools on New Year's Day and dozens of people took the plunge.
FAMILIES washed away the excesses of the festive season and welcomed in the New Year with a splash.
Ipswich Sub Aqua Club held a "try dive day" at Crown Pools on New Year's Day and dozens of people took the plunge.
The day was open to adults and children who wanted to have a go at scuba diving and is used as a way of introducing the sport.
Joe Crofts, club expeditions officer of the Ipswich Sub-Aqua Club founded in 1956, said: "We have held this on New Year's Day for as long as I can remember and is a good way of clearing the cobwebs.
"We get people who have never been here before and others who come here year after year. It is open from anyone from seven to 70 years – giving them an idea of what it is like to dive.
"One year we had a 70 year old who hadn't scuba dived since he was in the navy in world war two and thought he might give it one more try.
"New Year is a good time to start and I hope it inspires to younger generation to look at things a fresh and realise there is more things out there than computer games. It is such good fun and opens up a whole new world."
Mr Crofts' interest sparked at the age of ten years in 1962 when he watched an underwater wildlife programme on television. Ten years later he gave it a try and hasn't looked back since.
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