About
The Gay & Lesbian Underwater Group (GLUG) is a non-profit Scuba Diving club for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered divers and their friends.
We have over 100 members (around 45% women, 55% men), throughout the UK, and our ages range from mid-20s to late 50s.
We organise at least 10 dive trips in the UK and overseas each year. Occassionally we organise combined trips with other Gay & Lesbian Scuba clubs in other parts of the world.
We don’t discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation! Although the club is aimed at the gay community, we have welcomed several enlightened straight divers who find our club a refreshing change from the very macho, hetero-male environment found in many other scuba clubs.
Mission Statement
- GLUG is a scuba diving club comprising mainly gay men, lesbians, and bisexual men and women.
- GLUG’s aim is to provide high quality, enjoyable, and safe diving for its members, in a relaxed, non-threatening environment
- We aim to organise several UK and Overseas trips per year
- GLUG’s priority is to provide a core of excellent and sustainable activities for the benefit of all its members, and to use this track record to encourage new members to join
- All diving activities shall respect, and take care not to damage, the marine environment
- GLUG is totally committed to non-discrimination on the grounds of age, race, gender, sexual preference, and physical disabilities, however it does realise that for the purposes of scuba diving (but not for club membership), certain diving industry/universally accepted restrictions do apply
- GLUG recognised the following organisations / minimum qualifications as proof of ability to dive:
- PADI Open Water
- BSAC OceanDiver
- CMAS
- SAA Elementary
- NAUI Open Water Diver
- and other equivalents
- GLUG membership is open to individuals with HIV and other infections, and on the basis of currently accepted specialist medical opinion, recognises the very minimal risk of transmission/infection to other divers. GLUG acknowledges that some complications of HIV may preclude certain people from diving.
- GLUG organises discounts for training/certification and for diving equipment with gay-friendly commercial companies/organisations, which will be available to all members on production of their GLUG membership card, or other evidence of membership.
Diving with GLUG
GLUG, does not seek to control where or how our members choose to dive beyond expecting GLUG divers to adhere to good in-water dive practice we feel that all other decisions should be left to the members themselves. GLUG members are expected to conduct dives in a safe manner and in accordance with their certifying organisations standards/regulations, members are also expected to comply with Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs), especially as the fines for breaches are verysignificant and some of the skippers we charter are wardens!!!
Diving Insurance
It is the individual’s responsibility to ensure that they have suitable insurance cover for the activities in which they participate with consideration for the location in which these activities take place.
Further reading:
Good Dive Practice
Marine Conservation
Gay Rights
Human Rights
Ethical Tourism
Carbon Emissions
Good Dive Practice
GLUG has adopted the guidelines laid down by the Marine Conservation Society in the following three codes:
Coral Code
Underwater Photographer’s Code
Seashore Code (No longer available)
GLUG supports the look-but-don’t-touch maxim encouraged by the Marine Conservation Society. However, we do realise that for many of our members a dive in UK waters wouldn’t be complete without the chance to hunt for their evening’s dinner. The Marine Conservation Society has advised us that the taking of crabs, lobster and scallops in non-protected areas is a low-impact, sustainable practice. They do recommend that no diver take more than needed for personal consumption (with a suggested bag limit of 1 or 2 lobster, 4 crabs and 20 scallops per day). All divers should respect any relevant legislation regarding minimum sizes and closed seasons.
Members are reminded that some UK GLUG dives take place within ‘no take’ zones. It is an offence to take anything from these zones, attracting heavy penalties for any breach. These zones have been proven to achieve their intended goal, namely that of allowing the sea to recover and restock. These zones benefit everyone, divers included, as the protected wildlife tends to migrate to repopulate surrounding areas.
Marine Conservation
The well-being of the world’s oceans, and the species that inhabit them, are of obvious importance to any diver. But, from shark-finning to commercial whaling, and dredging to drift nets, there are so many issues to consider, and so many countries and companies implicated in wrong-doing, that no single diver could possibly hope to take a stand against all of them. What matters is that divers stay informed of the issues and act when they feel it necessary.
Concerned shoppers can consult Fish Online to make sure that the fish they are eating is sustainably caught and that by-catch and damage to the marine environment is kept to a minimum.
And ethically-minded divers may wish to read John Nightingale’s Bite Back column in Dive magazine where, each month, he highlights a different marine conservation issue, discusses the countries and companies involved, and provides details on how the general public can take action. You can find an archive of these articles by doing a search, using the words Bite Back, on the Dive Magazine site.
Further information on specific issues is available on the following sites:
Greenpeace
Sea Shepherd
Whale and Dolphin Society
Shark Trust
Bite Back
Gay Rights
Gay Rights are often unprotected, or even wilfully violated, in many countries which divers choose to visit. The hypocritical nature of the international tourism industry means that, more often than not, gay travellers have little to fear (although discretion may occasionally be advisable). Some of our members prefer not to support the tourist industry in such countries, whilst others feel that gay tourists can have a positive influence in the communities to which they travel. Travellers who are concerned about these issues can gain further information from the following websites:
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
International Lesbian and Gay Association
Stonewall
Divers who find that they are unable to avoid travelling to areas in which Gay Rights are not protected may wish to spare a little time to get involved in one of the many campaigns detailed on the above websites.
Human Rights
As with Gay Rights, Human Rights are often entirely unprotected in some of the most popular diving destinations. Travellers who are concerned about supporting tourism in such destinations can consult the following websites before making their travel plans:
Human Rights Watch
Amnesty International
World Organisation Against Torture
Rights & Democracy
Ethical Tourism
The following sites contain useful tips and guidelines for low-impact tourism:
Ethical Traveller
Responsible Travel
Carbon Emissions
For many of us a dive holiday will include a flight to our destination. Divers who are concerned about the carbon emissions produced by their dive holidays may wish to consider carbon off-setting.