Q&A with Andy Forster

Andy Forster is the brainchild behind the ambitious Dive Project Cornwall, which aims to educate millions of adults and hundreds of thousands of young people about the importance of our oceans, Part of the plan is to introduce 400 lucky teenagers into the watery world of scuba diving. We chatted to him about the scheme, how it came into being, and what drew him to diving.

Photographs courtesy of Dive Project Cornwall

Q: How did Dive Project Cornwall come into being in the first place?

A: As a Divemaster at Porthkerris, I have taken many children on try-dives. The expression on their face and feedback from the experience got us all talking at Porthkerris and I started working on ideas on how to get more kids diving – Dive Project Cornwall was born!

Q: What are the main long-term aims and goals of Dive Project Cornwall?

A: To save the ocean! We will do this through educating millions of adults and hundreds of thousands of young people about the importance of our oceans – the future generation are the future of this blue planet.

Q: Dive Project Cornwall is one of those schemes which is close to our hearts, as it involves getting younger people into diving, and as long-time readers of Scuba Diver will know, we are all about The Next Generation of diving. We were on board as a sponsor from day-one. What other companies are involved with the project?

A: Yes, thanks Mark, you have been amazing since agreeing to work with us. Other incredible supporters who have jumped on board to help me get this started are PADI, Fourth Element, Suunto, Beuchat, Marine Conservation Society, Porthkerris, Kent Tooling, and my own businesses, Engine House Media and The Ocean Agency (both proud to be part of Leven Media Group). With the help of my founding sponsors, others have started to get involved to make a difference – Blue Marine Foundation, City to Sea, Cornwall Air Ambulance, Cornwall College Group (including Falmouth Marine School), Divers Alert Network (DAN), Kids Against Plastic, Marine Diaries, Sea Changers, Visit Cornwall and Burges Salmon to name a few – there are many, many more.

Porthkerris is a haven for divers

Andy returning from a dive on Drawna Rock

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Andy and project manager Jowen Spicer

Colourful wrasse on the shore dive at Porthkerris

I booked my course at

Porthkerris immediately and have been diving ever since

Andy is full of enthusiasm for Dive Project Cornwall

The Cornish coast wreck dives are varied enough to satisfy any diver’s curiosities, however it is not all wrecks and Cornwall boasts some fantastic natural reefs, such as the Manacles. Wherever you dive, you can find a plethora of marine life, including seagrass, pollock, seals, dolphins, mullet, cuckoo wrasse, pink sea fans, cuttlefish, edible crabs, crayfish, lobster and dead man’s fingers

Andy checking some of the trial kids pre-dive

We are also starting to work closely with dive centres – Ocean Turtle, Orca Scuba Diving, Andark, Sussex Diving and Leisure, In Depth, Welsh Diving, Go Dive and Overland Underwater are all supporting the project.

Q: Although you have been a lifelong waterman, enjoying kayaking and surfing, your love affair with diving is only relatively recent – and you have an interesting story as to why you learned to dive in July 2017 in the first place.

A: Yes. My friend wanted to go to Guadalupe Island to see the great whites for his 40th. Not being the sort of person to do things by halves, I researched the trip and realized to go in the submersible cage, you needed to be a qualified diver

Porthkerris dive boat at anchor Andy always has a smile on his face

Octopus on the house reef

Diving is my new life and I love it – I owe this fact to the whole team

– I booked my course at Porthkerris immediately and have been diving ever since – that was just over four years ago (July 2017). Now, as a Divemaster with 500-plus dives, I think you could say I’m hooked!

Q: You are currently a PADI Divemaster – are you progressing further?

A: Yes, I am going to be taking an active role in teaching the children from Dive Project Cornwall and am off to do my IDC in Utila in January 2022.

Q: As we always do in these Q&As, what is your mostmemorable moment when diving?

A: Oh, so many already. Guadalupe was incredible. The Maldives was sensational. But my favourite moment of all was with an autistic diver called Scott who came for guided dives and we saw a seal for over 20 minutes in Porthkerris. As Scott said ‘it was the most amazing 20 minutes of my life’. He was only 20-odd, but I can safely say at 50 it was definitely my best dive experience – the seal, and the fact that Scott enjoyed it so much!

Q: On the flipside, what is your worst memory when diving?

A: Depsite having experienced several incidents during courses and being present to ensure a couple of scenarios did not end with the worst, I don’t really have a worst memory! Diving is my new life and I love it – I owe this fact to the whole team at Porthkerris, who make every diving day very, very special and great fun. There is a special bond of comradery and friendship that runs through Porthkerris - it really is such a magical place, and so perfect for Dive Project Cornwall. n