SETT July ´06

The Submarine Escape Training tank at Fort Blockhouse (formally HMS Dolphin) Gosport Hampshire, was constructed during the late 1940´s, and ran its first training course in July 1954.

Since then improvements to techniques and equipment have led to deeper escapes being made from submarines. The current record stands at 600feet (180m) from a submarine. This was conducted to prove that escapes were possible down to the level of the continental shelf, where the majority of incidents would be likely to occur.

The need for escape training came about as staying put and waiting for a rescue vessel was not always possible due to the nature of the problem.

Horsea Island Dive Centre have been running dives at the SETT tank since 2000, with hundreds of divers experiencing what the SETT Tank has to offer.

Getting There..

Gosport is about 70 minutes from Scubafish HQ (Sarf Lundun to you), and early on a cold and wet Sunday morning the convoy headed toward Gosport, to arrive at the Fort Blockhouse gatehouse for about 8am.

Being a military installation Horsea island require a minimum booking time of 2 weeks for UK nationals and an extended period of over 30 days for foreign nationals. As well as a complete list of vehicles being taken into the site.

Also as its 30m Horsea also impose a limit of Advanced Open Water as a minimum certification for all divers.

The Dive.

An initial briefing is provided by both the RN instructors and Horsea Island instructors, informing all divers of safety concerns while at the site.

Once the briefings are complete, dive order is determined (2 – 3 divers in the water at any one time) and a short ride with the kit up the 10 floors to the tank top.

For the Purposes of Training, the SETT tank is around 30m deep, and runs at a temperature of about 34 Celsius, so heavy exposure protection is not required.

Getting into the tank to begin your dive is a careful affair, ensuring that each diver does not splash large amounts of water at the top of the tower Each diver has a maximum bottom time of 15 minutes (coming up you can take as long as you like, just so long as you keep moving upward). With stops mandatory as you rise through the column of water.

At the bottom you get the chance to swim round the exit air lock for the submariners, there is also the strange ability to look through the porthole to the outside world and realise that your 30m down.

All too soon your 15 minutes is up and you have to make your way to the surface and end your dive.

Added bonus.

An added bonus of diving the SETT tank is the reduced entry to the Submarine Museum (a princely sum of £3), which will give you the opportunity to take a tour of a 1950’s sub and see just how brave these men really are.

If you wish to dive the SETT Tank give Horsea Island Dive Centre a call, or check out their web site.

Tel: 023 9238 5642