A talented watersports instructor from a Lake District hotel has been using his free-diving skills to help guests and visitors to Windermere’s shoreline retrieve their lost possessions.
Smartphones, credit cards, wallets and a wedding ring are among the unusual items which 20-year-old Angus Hosking from the Watersports Centre at Low Wood Bay has located on the bottom of the lake and returned to their rightful owners.
Angus, who teaches wake-boarding, water-skiing, knee-boarding and wake-surfing at the centre, took up free-diving last year. Instead of using scuba gear, this form of underwater diving relies on the swimmer’s lung capacity to hold their breath for as long as possible.
With fins, dive mask, a torch and safety knife, Angus, from Coniston, can stay beneath the water for over three minutes and regularly undertakes dives of up to 90 seconds to depths of 10-15 metres. He partners up with diving buddy Declan, who has also worked at the Watersports Centre at Low Wood Bay, to scour the lake bed for interesting finds.
Angus, who has worked for English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues since 2017, explains: “I’ve always been a strong swimmer and love being in the water. What started as a bit of fun has turned into something of a hobby to see what will turn up on the lake bed.
“Sunglasses are a regular find, so too old phones, car keys and wallets which have been dropped from the jetty or from one of the pleasure boats. We focus our searches around the jetties of Low Wood Bay and Waterhead where most of the interesting items have turned up.
“One of our more historic finds was a drinks can dating back to the 1940s. We also helped a conference guest find his credit card earlier this summer and one of our best retrievals was the wedding ring of one of the marina club members here.
“It’s great fun to try and trace people to return valuable items such as wallets, keys and phones. Sometimes we can get in touch and post the item back to them – much to their delight.”
Whilst working for the hotel group, Angus has been put through various watersports instructor qualifications, including ski and powerboat driving and the attainment of his International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft.
For further information about the Watersports Centre at Low Wood Bay, call 01539 439 441 or visit https://englishlakes.co.uk/low-wood-bay/watersports/