Stellar Divers

"I recently completed my Open Water course with Stellar Divers, and it was an absolutely incredible experience. The instructors were fantastic, ensuring I felt relaxed and comfortable during both the pool sessions and at Capernwray. They were incredibly supportive and professional, tailoring each session to meet individual needs. I want to extend a massive thank you to Vic and Hotch for being outstanding instructors. Your kindness and welcoming nature made the course truly enjoyable, and I look forward to returning in the future. I highly recommend Stellar Divers to anyone looking to start or continue their scuba diving journey. Stellar Divers feels like a family, and it was wonderful to be a part of it!"

"Well, what can I say. I am fairly new to diving and still learning the ropes. I contacted Stella Diving and spoke to a gentleman by the name of HOTCH. I was after 8 cylinders filled for me and my friends at short notice. Hotch was a true gentleman of the diving community and was more than willing to accommodate my massing amount of questions I had whilst waiting for my fills to complete. The centre was tidy, welcoming and Hotch was clearly knowledgeable within his field of expertise. Thank you Stella Diving for your help today and it was an absolute pleasure to meet Hotch and some of his IDC students. Keep up the good service guys."

"An extremely well presented dive school, staff very friendly and professional. Took my books for their induction session and to sign up for their PADI courses. Thank you for the experience and from a dad's point of view, reassurance."

"I have had an amazing time completing both my open water and advanced open water with Stellar Divers! Whether in the pool or in open water all instructors and divemasters present constantly offered their full support and even when in a group I felt like I had their full attention. When in open water both the instructors and divemasters created an environment that makes you feel safe so you can fully focus on the task. Stellar divers has made me feel especially welcome and like I can happily dive with anyone I have worked with, I will definitely explore the rest of the courses they offer!"

"Had a great experience with Stellar Divers through the PADI Open Water Course. Hotch, Vic and the entire Stellar team were brilliant all through the course. The final assessment weekend was superbly organised and a great social event to boot."

"I just want to say a big thank you for your help and service for my cylinder and buddy u are very professional and nothing is to much trouble I will definitely be using Ur services again and thank you for a quick turnaround 5 star all the way."

"I completed Advanced Open Water Diver last weekend with Stellar Divers & they are an awesome team. Instructor was clear, gave excellent feedback & explanation. Dive Master was fantastic, really friendly and positive. Both were enthusiastic about progress made & completing training dives. The whole weekend was seamless & so well organized. If you’re going to learn to dive, do it with Stellar Divers."

"Can't thank Stellar Divers enough for my Open Water course. Right from the start everything was explained clearly, starting with the registering for the course. The closed water (pool) sessions were explained and demonstrated clearly by the instructors, as were the final open water tests. The organisation is top notch and I will definitely be signing up for more courses with Hotch and Vic."

"An awesome dive centre! Hotch, Vic and the whole team were so welcoming and patient, they all really went above and beyond to make the experience one I will remember forever. I joined Stellar Divers as a complete beginner and I’m now a qualified PADI open water diver. I’m so proud of this and I know I wouldn’t have been able to achieve it without all of the support from the Stellar team – thank you! Due to my own schedule being busy & me taking a break for a couple of months I got to work with a few different instructors. I found them all to be very knowledgeable, supportive and I felt safe diving with them. Whilst I was doing the course I went on a discovery dive in Cuba so I’ve seen first hand that not all PADI qualified instructors are as good as the ones I worked with at Stellar. I completed the course with a weekend of diving at Capernwray in November and I’d fully recommend it, even just for the social after!"

“I’ve just watched your Shark Conservation video with Tom & he is now following me everywhere asking when can he dive again!! Thank you for inspiring my son - he now wants to be a marine biologist.”

“I’ve just watched your Shark Conservation video with Tom & he is now following me everywhere asking when can he dive again!! Thank you for inspiring my son - he now wants to be a marine biologist.”

“I’ve just watched your Shark Conservation video with Tom & he is now following me everywhere asking when can he dive again!! Thank you for inspiring my son - he now wants to be a marine biologist.”

“I’d just like to applaud the way Simon Hotchkin and Victoria Hotchkin have set up the COVID management, still allowing us to be able to dive. Brilliant to start my Divemaster course with Vicky Burton - you were brilliant. Topping it off, socially distancing at Girton for a cold lake dive to get Alice through the Rescue course was fantastic this afternoon. All topped off with mince pies made by Mrs W, Julia Wood. Stellar divers - what a team.”

I would like to start by saying thank you so much for getting the girls through their PADI Open Water; they are both well chuffed, as am I, in their achievement. I thank you and your team for looking after them so well.”

“Hi Hotch, thank you, Ian, Carl, and everyone else from Stellar Divers that were there over the weekend for all the help and guidance! Sheena and I really enjoyed ourselves and are so pumped to dive again..”

“The coffee is awesome. Always friendly flexible and organised. Calm, clear and enthusiastic teaching, whilst making the whole thing loads of fun. Hotch and the gang are the people to dive with in Lincolnshire, whether learning or just loving your diving life.”

“First 2 open water dives today, including my first shark sighting. My instructor seems very happy with my skills, both in the pool yesterday and in the sea today. My mask is greatly improved, mainly just leaks when I smile, but for obvious reasons I seem to be smiling a lot. Ian’s training has prepared me well, please thank him.”

"An update on my open water dives - I completed 1 & 2 yesterday the instructor was very happy with what I learnt from you guys, a big thank you for that. I got to see some moray eels, stingrays, a bull shark , loads of fish and coral reefs it was a very good experience with no issues. Just want to say a massive thank you to you and your team you guys do a very professional and amazing job thank you very much."

"Such an amazing time yesterday both me and Emily would love to join your club, For you and your amazing team to take us all the way to becoming master scuba divers and instructors and beyond. Never before have I felt at ease talking to you and your team and trusting you all with the most precious thing I have my daughter. So if you would have us both can we please join your lovely club . Once again thank you so much.”

“If anyone is thinking about taking up diving or just having a go, I can thoroughly recommend Stella Divers, I was very nervous about diving in deep water (anything above 1.5 meters!) Me and my friends had various instructors including, Vicky, Ian and Sian they were all amazing, they were patient, knowledgable and calming and when I did my open water qualification at Capernwray they managed to get me down to 14 meters ! I still can’t believe they did that, we also had an awesone time there, such a nice group of people. Thank you so much.”

“I cannot thank you, Seasick, Vicky and the rest for making me feel so welcome and for the trip of a lifetime! I’m still processing what I saw on the dives and the experiences like hanging on a line at night while sharks circle or the hilarious deep water assessment.”

“Thanks to Ian and Dredge for all their support and help today and getting Anna and and I through our final pool session, you were both ace – bring on Capernwray x”

“Thank you for making me so welcome this morning! I really enjoyed it, and I’m looking forward to coming back again soon. I hope those who are going have a fantastic time in Egypt!”

“Many thanks to you and all your instructors for their time, patience, advice, understanding and knowledge, they’re all a credit to Stellar Divers.”

"Just had a perfect morning being introduced to scuba by the guys and gals at Stellar, very professional, courteous and friendly, can’t wait to see you again, thanks for everything.”

“What a nice bunch of people at stellar, thank you for getting me my PADI! I want it all now"

“My 9 year old daughter is currently doing her PADI Master Seal, having already undertaken a Bubble Maker dive and her PADI Seal. The care and guidance the instructors give is second to none and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Stellar Divers.“

“We knew we had to do the Dry Suit course, but wow we didn’t expect such a great bunch of people too. Stellar Divers are without doubt the best dive centre we have ever come across!”

“Hi Simon, I just wanted to say again, a big thank you to you and Vic and the rest of the instructors for all your help and patience in helping Scott through his open water course. It really was a fantastic weekend, every person on the trip was genuinely friendly….a great bunch of people. You seem to have made a lasting impression on Scott as he doesn’t care about the cold water now, he keeps telling me he just wants go back and dive again asap….He loved it. Thanks again for everything. Ian and Scott.”

“I simply can’t recommend Simon, Vic and the team at Stellar Divers enough, with not just amazing diving tuition and support but also many laughs and great trips together.”

“Thanks again for a fantastic weekend, it’s not possible without the time, commitment and organisation you both put in with the rest of the dive team you have built. I never felt unwelcome by anyone all weekend and I tried to make others feel that way too. It’s such a refreshing warm atmosphere in the club which is why I’ve returned and will continue to do so, that mixed in with the hospitality at the kings arms, I couldn’t have made a better choice of club to dive with in the UK. So, thank you, very much for everything. I’m sure to be on another course very soon."

“A very big thank you to all the team at Stellar Divers this weekend at Capernwray. We had such a warm welcome at the pub which continued through out the weekend. A special thanks to Alice who was just amazing, putting us at ease and going above and beyond in her responsibilities. We successfully completed our AOW and Dry Suit course under the guidance of “Sea Si” Thank you Simon for making the final dive a little bit more special by allowing time to just enjoy the fish. An amazing club with amazing people.”

“Had an absolutely amazing weekend in capernwray with my 12 year old son and his grandad. Vicky and Dan have both been amazing with him and we cannot thank you enough for the support and encouragement you have given him. Jack is thrilled to have qualified this weekend. Thank you once again.”

“I just want to Thankyou both once again for helping to get where I am today. If it wasn’t for you guys teaching me how to dive I would never have this amazing Job’ hope I get to come and dive with you both again soon! PADI OWSI #407000 Specialty Instructor ? almost MSDT now!!”

“Just wanted to say a big thank you for all the excellent training, tips and advice your team gave me on my Open water course. I had an excellent time at Capenwray meeting new people and putting my new skills to the test. Think it’s safe to say I’ve got the diving bug! You’ll definetly be hearing from me pretty soon about booking the advanced open water course!”

“Hi the Hotches, Just wanted to say thank you for a fab weekend, lovely people & fab company – could you pass on my particular thanks to Carl, Dan H, Chris & Seasick- for their support & of course Vic for getting me through the last bit lol. Looking forward to doing the next course:) Best wishes Jonesy xx”

“Well that’s it Open Water diver complete massive thanks to Simon Hotchkin and Victoria Hotchkin and the rest of the team at stellar divers and a big thanks to Bali scuba team what an awesome day cheers everyone.”

“Thanks for yesterday the DSD course was superb. Both Helen and Gilly were fantastic and a pleasure to be around (can’t be praised highly enough). I would also like like to come back.”

“Just want to say a massive thank you to Hotch, Vic and all at Stella Diving for helping Fiona and myself to become Padi certified open water divers. #amazing”

“The team at Stellar have been fantastic, they are friendly and patient, we loved every minute. The Maldives at Christmas was beautiful and we both want to do more now so roll on spring and our advanced open water. Thanks again everyone, see you in March.”

“We went diving on holiday and had a bad experience but we wanted to try again. The way stellar have been has been wonderful especially Vic and Sian. Everyone is brilliant, right from the first day we met at the office everyone has been patient and kind. If you want to scuba dive you need to train here, we’ve found our happy place.”

“I just wanted to say thank you for a brilliant weekend at Capernwray. At no point did I feel like an outsider, yourselves & everyone in the group made me feel welcome. I was a little apprehensive about the dive but the professional way you looked after us made me feel safe at all times. You have created something special and I wish you every success for the future. Thanks again.”

“Simon, I would like to express how wonderful the experience Grace and I had at your dive centre today and to pass on our thanks to Petra and the two gentleman who made the experience so enjoyable.”

“Hi Hotch & Vic, Just wanted to drop you a line as I didn’t drown to say thank you. From the warm welcome & even a reassuring hug from Hotch on Sunday. The whole experience was so good. Petra, Alice & Dan were all amazing. Everything was explained clearly & all my anxieties floated away from the first underwater breath. I would love for you to let me know what the next step would be.”

“Hi Hotch! Just want to say a massive thank you to you, Vic, Lance and Duncan for a fantastic weekend! We loved every minute! So happy we chose to learn with you guys! You’ll definitely be seeing us again! (We’re already looking at the advanced course) Thanks again! Olie & Leanne”

“Thank you for a super fantastic dive holiday STELLAR DIVERS of Lincoln – You made us feel so welcome – I couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of people to spend a week on a boat with ? And Dolphins/sharks to order – I’m impressed!!! I shall hopefully see you all soon sign me up for the next one…”

“Final two dives today. First hard dive to a cave at 40m, current very strong and end of cave drops to 400m! Second was a coral garden at 18m, will post some pics when I can. It’s always nice when the dive master compliments you on you diving skills compared to some of the other divers. Must be something to do with the training from Simon Hotchkin and Lance Hicks ?”

“Just done dive 54. I spend most of my time on these dives at the back of the group and I know it’s not the best place too be but I have become fascinated with the amount of diving styles people have and I’m thankful of being trained by one of the best, sorry two of the best, and being a member of a great group. I also find myself looking out for a lot of other divers and keeping an eye on them even thou I know the dive leader is more than capable. I’d like too thank stellar divers for teaching me the ways of the diver and some day I hope too pass these ways on.”

“Hotch/Vic,Thanks so much for today! Was an invaluable refresh for us ahead of Corn Islands next week and also lovely to see you.”

“Mia thoroughly enjoyed her first Scuba Dive experience today and has talked of nothing since..thank you! She’ll be on the next course xx”

“Thank you Hotch for fitting me in at such short notice, I’ve just received my PADI card and am now ready for my holiday can’t wait to try nitrox for real. Thank you again for getting me on the course I loved it and you made everything so understandable despite my questions!! Thanks see you in 2017.”

“I enjoyed our course and also experienced a great bond when together in such challenging circumstances – so it was in all a very worthwhile experience. So please pass on our thanks to Lance, Duncan and Richard for getting us through. Many thanks to you and Simon also for the entire experience and hope to see you again one day.”

“I need to drop you a line to thank you because I am amazed at what I have achieved, from being scared of water and now a scuba diver. I’ve just got back off my holidays and had some amazing dives with SHARKS!! it was fantastic, I can’t thank the team at stella enough for their hard work and support. If you want to learn to dive or overcome a fear then these are the ones to do it with”

“I’m using my dads profile because I’m 10 and I’m not allowed to have Facebook yet. I was really scared to try diving at first but from my first go Chris (seasick) made me feel really safe and I couldn’t wait to do more. All the dives I’ve done have been so much fun every time I have come to the pool. Everybody has been really kind and have been so so supportive and I’ve enjoyed every second of it ! I want to say thank you to everyone especially Hotch, Vicky, Sian, Richard, Lance and Chris you lot are all awesome! From the Dad: “Couldn’t recommend this club enough, absolutely fantastic team who put everything in to what they do. As a dad of a ten year old beginning her diving training, I’ll be honest I hated the idea, but the whole team put my mind at rest immediately. I couldn’t have asked for a better school or club to teach my little girl. My daughter will be coming to this club for years to come and will be progressing through her training with this fantastic team, thank you so much.”

“Was indeed an epic weekend with great company! Still buzzing!! Huge thanks also to you Hotch and your lovely Mrs Hotch ?”

“A giant thank you to Hotch, Lance, Duncan, Ollie, Chris, and Allen for a wonderful weekend of diving. It is quite an accomplishment for me to be an advanced open water diver. It was merely a stepping stone to my goal of leaving the UK as a reduce diver at a minimum. Again, thank you all for the wonderful instruction, the friendly Wainwrights, and the overall great company!!!"

“Hotch and the team are amazing! They got my very done quick, just for my Greek holiday! They were very professional and thorough. I felt very comfortable diving with them, despite the 1ft vis at Blue Lagoon on my first 3 open water dives…lol. Can’t wait for the next course!”

“Alex and myself had our final dive today and I am pleased to say we both passed. Many thanks to you all at Stellar. Please pass our thanks onto Chris and Lance. Ryan our instructor here said that our training was top notch and praised our instructors in England. We are having a day off tomorrow and the have 2 dives booked for Thursday as qualified divers. Once again many thanks for everything, we will be coming to see you again soon as have the bug now."

“Enny is now a junior adventure diver! She completed Naturalist, Navigation and Peak performance buoyancy in Malta over the Easter break. She dived down 14 metres to HMS Maori outside Valletta harbour. 2 more dives until her advanced. Owes it all to you guys."

“I did a discover dive with Stellar and I have to say how impressed I am with everything there, I was looked after and really enjoyed the experience, I will be doing more. Thanks guys.”

“Many thanks for the Seal Team Missions. Sammy is really enjoying his training. Everyone has been very encouraging.”

“I hope you both have a wonderful Christmas and I’m looking forward to diving with you again next year. Thank you very much to you and the team for making my Open water experience so amazing!”

“My diving learning experience is now completed and I wanted to thank you and the team for all your help. I think I have dived with all the active members of the team at least once and, of course have done a lot with you two. I’ve done more than I anticipated and got much more out of it than I thought I would. It’s been fantastic fun and has opened me up to some great experiences this year with the promise of many more (and even better) in future years so a huge thank you to you both and all the team.”

“Many thanks to Hotch & Vic for training Ryan & I in our 5 day crash course to attain our Open Water certification. They’re the most enthusiastic, friendly & accommodating people we’ve met. Fantastic coaches! Once again thanks and we look forward to joining you on our next course.”

"I would just like to say a big thank you for making Arian so welcome on Sunday she had a great time and feels it has given her a good taster for what she will experience in South africa. Also a big thank you to Mark for his patience Arian said how lovely he was. I am sure she will have a great time in Africa"

"Normal excellent standard, explanation and consideration of risks and how to manage them effectively that I have come to expect from Stellar.”

"We had been contacted by Gary Noble who unfortunately has had some poor training experiences elsewhere in the past, but is delighted with the professional service he has received from Stellar Divers and yourself in particular. We would like to express our gratitude to you for helping Gary resolve his issues and assisting in furthering his diving career. It is always a great pleasure to hear someone praising the efforts of one of our members. Congratulations on receiving such a commendation from one of your students. We appreciate your efforts and wish you every success for 2015 !”

"I just wanted to say a big thank you for the week on the Liveabord! I thoroughly enjoyed it with great people, great food, a fantastic crew and just an amazing atmosphere I know there’s so much work behind the scenes and the whole holiday ran smoothly down to yours and Vic’s planning and the huge amounts of time you put in so cheers for making it a truly amazing holiday! Thanks to Vic again for being my guardian and personal guide, we got to see so much in such a short amount of time and that’s all down to her I’ll be interested in more trips in the future with the stellar diver family, if you want me back."

"Top team & GREAT instructors! 1st class all round! Can’t praise them all enough! Thank you for my Open Water Referral for Thailand! See you when I get back!"

I’ve amazed myself that I’ve got this far with my PADI Open Water Referral course but it’s all down to Hotch and his team for their excellent training. They gave me the confidence to master all the skills and I must say that I really enjoyed the pool sessions. I’m looking forward now to my open water dives and will certainly let you know how I get on. I will be back for sure for a swim around and I’m quite interested in doing my Emergency First Responder in the New Year and letting Hotch introduce me to open UK water and the Dry Suit Diver course but not till April ! I’m a warm water person.”

"We can’t praise Stellar high enough. What an amazing group of people. If you want to learn to dive go to Stellar. Everyone is so friendly and the teaching is brilliant. I nearly gave up after panicking, but Vic was so reassuring and encouraging which enabled me to go back underwater and then complete my confined water dives. We will go back for more training after completing our open water dives. Our 2 youngest had a discovery dive and they too have become hooked and want to start their Padi training asap! Thank you Stellar Divers!.”

"We can’t praise Stellar high enough. What an amazing group of people. If you want to learn to dive go to Stellar. Everyone is so friendly and the teaching is brilliant. I nearly gave up after panicking, but Vic was so reassuring and encouraging which enabled me to go back underwater and then complete my confined water dives. We will go back for more training after completing our open water dives. Our 2 youngest had a discovery dive and they too have become hooked and want to start their Padi training asap! Thank you Stellar Divers!.”

“Thanks to all at Stellar for all Tina and Mia’s pool and classroom work. They had no problems throwing themselves into sharks bay in sharm for their 4 qualification dives. Their tutor, Karen from Elite Diving, was pleased with the way they had no issues with the salt water or the big open water and said they must have been schooled well in the pool. Having qualified they dived ras mohammed and terin for seeing a huge stone fish, 4 turtles, a couple of hammers a good time was had by all. 
The pic is of Mia holding instructors hand making sure he’s ok with Tina in the background.”

“Thanks to all at Stellar for all Tina and Mia’s pool and classroom work. They had no problems throwing themselves into sharks bay in sharm for their 4 qualification dives. Their tutor, Karen from Elite Diving, was pleased with the way they had no issues with the salt water or the big open water and said they must have been schooled well in the pool. Having qualified they dived ras mohammed and terin for seeing a huge stone fish, 4 turtles, a couple of hammers a good time was had by all. 
The pic is of Mia holding instructors hand making sure he’s ok with Tina in the background.”

“Thank you so much to Vic, Hotch and the team at Stellar Divers for making my Open Water course fun and enjoyable. Everyone was very friendly, knowledgeable and patient! You certainly deserve your 5 Star PADI rating guys.”

“Just a quick note to say a massive thank you to Hotch, Vic, Bill, Neil, Lance and everyone else at Stellar Divers for helping us get through our open water dive course. We are now looking forward to the next stage at Capernwray!”

“My partner and I just finished our open water dive course and cannot praise Hotch, Vic and the team at Stellar Divers enough. Helpful and friendly throughout, getting me and my partner through any issues we had in next to know time. Would thoroughly recommend to anyone looking to learn to dive or after meeting other divers. Can’t wait to start our advanced open water with you next month!”

“Thank you for a brilliant course and all the support along the way, I have really enjoyed it and I look forward to my future as a qualified open water diver!”

“If you want to learn to dive, don’t look anywhere else. From my first attempts to drown myself in the pool to swimming blind on my wreck course Vic and Simon and the other instructors have been superb; patient, calm and great instruction. Met some fabulous people all passionate about diving. And, most of all, had really good fun!! Ron”

"Amazing, friendly and extremely supportive in helping others to achieve their best and gain their personal full potential in scuba diving. A Super fantastical team.”

Decided to learn to dive to overcome my fear of deep water. I looked around for dive clubs and after some digging came across Stellar. From the initial crash course i took to enable to complete my diving on holiday I have now been bitten by the diving bug. The tuition is excellent, the patience amazing (even though poor Vic had to spend all day teaching me to follow a compass heading). But most of all the fun and friendship are first class. Here’s to many more bimbles around the lakes and oceans of the world….. Beautiful!

“The best dive group I know in the area. Friendly fun and relaxed. Great people and we all like going diving with mr hotch n mrs hotch and the gang.”