Dare I say it, but the weather has stayed fine up to now and we have again enjoyed another month of diving. There have been some happy faces at the dry meetings as recounts of the diving are told.
I organised a weekend expedition to a favourite site of mine with high hopes of diving this year, where in previous years we have only been able to dive into the local hostelry’s, due to the inclement weather that was experienced. This trend was becoming a habit (albeit a nice one) until this year, when at Lyme Regis the weather treated us to three glorious days, two of clear skies and high temperatures, the other a bit overcast but dry. We made the most of these days and visited various sites, the Baygitano wreck, where the resident Conger was viewed with respect, East Tennants where we did a bit of flying (Drift diving) and some training sites. This weekend added to a good month, where we have managed to log a total of 70 dives, taking the total of logged dives for the year to 417.
We also had two-day trips earlier in the month. One to Brixham (should have been Chessil Beach, but bad weather made the fall back site come into play) and one to Seatown, where the sun shone in all its glory and as the words of the song “The class of ‘99” goes “Wear sunscreen”. My thanks go to Andy Wilson and Tim Clouter respectively for organising these dives.
If there is anyone willing to organise a days diving or an expedition that is not yet publicised, please let me know as soon as possible or add it to the planner on the notice board.
Training
Pool work for the current intake of Club Diver trainees has now been completed, but I still would like to see them using the pool to practise their newly learnt skills. The open water dives are progressing well due to the good weather that we have been experiencing and we hope to complete as much as possible before the season ends.
The Sports Diver and Dive Leader drills are also being wound up and there are only a few disciplines outstanding. Some members need to think about doing these drills when the time is available, or it may be too late to do them this year.
Well done to all those of you who have completed their required disciplines and achieved their next diving grade.
We have one new start this month and a new lecture program is imminent. CI’s and ACI’s take note please.
General
We are going to be offering two new courses for non-members in the coming months.
The first ‘Snorkelling for Beginners’ is due to requests that Andy and myself have received from various sources. We have drawn up a schedule, both theory and practical for snorkellers, which will be run over one week. At the end of this course, the new snorkeller will have the basic understanding and skill to take the first step into the discovery of the underwater world.
The second course is a new initiative that the BSAC has been promoting for divers that may not have dived for some time and wish to re familiarise themselves with their kit and practise drills in a safe environment.
A program called ‘ScubaWISE’ has been created that assess and highlights the requirements of these divers, so that they can practised safely.
If anyone is interested in either of these courses, they can contact Andy or myself and we will be glad to help them.
The Avon boat is still the only boat available to us at present. We need to get the Dunlop repaired as soon as possible or there will be problems on some of the forth coming expeditions. We are still awaiting the kill switch for the Johnson engine and the starter coil for the Mercury. I hope these will soon be available (Post Office permitting) for fitting to these engines.
The working parties are still required for these repairs, these will be on a couple of evenings, so please let Bob Abbott (Boat Care Officer) know if you are available and he will let you know the dates.
Note: A volunteer is still being sought to fill the post of Entertainment’s Officer, due to the recent
resignation of Julie Ryalls.
Dates for your diary
Dive Leader lectures – See me for any lectures you may require.
(There is no date for the end of this qualification as yet.)
9th to 11th July – Hallsands weekend
18th July – Horsea Lake, Horsea Island
24th – 25th July – North Wales (fully booked)
29th July (Social Night) – Visit to Smiles Brewery (buffet included in the price)
(See Harry Ryalls for information)
14th – 28th August – Oban, Scotland (Club’s annual expedition this year)
(and beyond)
Happenings
The Tryout Nite planned for June was cancelled at the last minute, there are two in the offering for next month, August is now full with three sessions booked. Please look at the rota that has been drawn up to see if and when you are needed.
DO’s thought for the month
Reading the dive logs that have been submitted to me so far this season has prompted this months thought. It seems that some of us are forgetting the rules.
REMEMBER, PRACTISE WHAT YOU TEACH!!
Harry Ryalls
DO. BAS-AC
