The Richmond Dive Club, a non-profit (501c7) organization was founded in 1999. Our diverse membership comprises a wide range of ages and experience levels, with one common interest: a love of the ocean and the desire to explore it.

Among our 120+ masked members, there are divers who have traveled all over the globe and dove every ocean, sea, lake, and river. They’ve finned over colorful reefs, squeezed through mysterious wrecks and caves, then swam among incredible ocean beasties. 

Arrr, matey.

Some of us have extensive knowledge in underwater photography, advanced scuba diving technologies, and wreck history. And we’d love to share our knowledge and experience with you. We’re always looking for more dive partners. especially those who want to know more about our sport and why it inspires such passion. Besides, we loooove to tell stories.

Local diving with the members of the Richmond Dive Club includes day and weekend boat dives to the best wrecks off the North Carolina coast, as well as training dives at Lake Phoenix, a mere 50 minute drive from South Richmond. Upon request, we can suggest trips to farther and more exotic destinations, such as Roatan, Bonaire, Philippines, etc. We work with all the local dive shops—many are club sponsors—to promote their trips and encourage everybody to continue their education.

Since we haven’t completed our evolution back to the sea, we also organize dry land events called Surface Intervals, which have included trips to Richmond Squirrels baseball games, the Baltimore Aquarium, movies, the Mariners Museum in Newport News, and the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Waynesboro.

We hold monthly meetings, beginning with socializing (what else?), where you can mingle with 40-60 fellow divers and visitors who just might take up the sport. The business portion is kept to a minimum with reports from the dive committee and various members, followed by an introduction of visitors, all interspersed with late arrivals and muted dinner orders. Finally, there’s a presentation by a well-known authority on dive topics, such as travel, safety, marine life, equipment and underwater adventure, featuring films, mixed media or slides. Past speakers include Discovery Deep - Frank Stopa, Dr. Peter Buzzacott (Divers Alert Network), James Sinclair, Tanya Houppermans, Pete Nawrocky, John Chatterton, Ritchie Kohler, David Caldwell & Heather Knowles, as well as many other divers, photographers, and explorers from around the world.

If you’re newly certified, a new diver in the area, or looking for a dive buddy, please come to our next meeting (click here for time and location) and find out more about us!