Diving Officers Communication (Jun 2000)

I cannot believe that the year is half over already. Where is the time going? Thankfully we have managed to do some diving and to date we have logged a total of 399 dives. This last month has seen something happening every weekend, be it a day trip or longer. We have had a variety of weather and if you visit the web you can enjoy the reports that have been written about them.

These trips have not been without excitement. At Plymouth the weather was a little damp, but we did manage to dive every day. The boat that Bob Abbott volunteered to tow to the site performed very well, that is until the port rear tube decided to pop. Yes we had a puncture, but true to form we soldiered on and completed our plans. The weather cleared up on Monday, when the majority of those attending the weekend had made the journey home, which allowed us to visit the Mewstone and dive the ledges. This made a change from the dives done on the fort protected by the breakwater of Plymouth sound. A trip to Burton Bradstock was met by heavy sea mist that stayed the course and did not disperse at all, thankfully though we still managed to do some diving at this site. Some of those there were introduced to the terror of Chessil Beach when the tide turns. Diving is not all falling of boats. Later in the month saw us visiting Lyme Regis, where the excitement continued unabated. Firstly the shot was pulled out of the wreck on Saturday, so the second wave only had sand to dive on. The Sunday came with clear skies yet again and a trip to East Tennant’s was undertaken. This ended with myself and Brian having a helicopter trip to Poole and a short stay in Poole General Hospital. If you missed the debrief last Wednesday you missed what this was all about, but let me just say this was a job for ‘Superman’. Fortunately the correct action was promptly taken and all were well. The month has ended with a dive on the club wreck; I look forward to reading the dive logs.

Our Advanced Diver Representative (Chris) has now provided some information about adventurous diving and is planning to organise some events. If you are interested in any let him know as soon as possible.

Training

This month has seen quite a few inquires and we have seen a number of new members joining the club. The present Club Diver training programme is drawing to an end and there are plans to restart it as soon as possible for this new intake. I will be issuing the dates to those eligible in the coming weeks. The Sports diver programme has been completed and the Dive Leader programme is progressing very well. There has been a few hic-up’s but these are being sorted as I write this. If anyone has missed any from previous programmes they will attempt to do them under this new programme. The Club Diver lectures are still on going, anyone who has missed any of the lectures, should let me know as soon as possible so that alternate dates can be arranged. This is true for any of the lecture programmes that we can currently provide.

General

Reading and listening to some of the comments that have come about from this months diving gives me cause for concern. There have been a lot of ‘divers getting separated’ that should know better. This is the first principle of diving that those with experience should be practising and not taking for granted. If this has happened on a dive that you have taken part in, stop for a minuet and review what went wrong and how to avoid it happening again. Thankfully all these occurances were resolved without incident.

Mike Oates organised another Go-Karting evening, which sadly I had to miss due to my knee problems. I understand that Mike kept up tradition by winning yet again. The only down side was the lack of club members supporting this event. Please don’t be disillusioned by this turn out I’m sure Mike will organise another one sometime.

Bob Abbott has been busy on his own yet again and has repaired the punctures in both the Avon and Dunlop. I’m giving up trying to get him to ask for help, he just ignores it, so on behalf of the membership Thank You for this work. Both boats are now usable and will hopefully be used in earnest through out the rest of the season.

BOB YOU WIN !!

Lecture Program for 2000

Club Diver review – Program due to end soon. Last lecture Wednesday 28^th June.

(New program to start as soon as possible for new starts.)

Sports Diver lectures – New program to be planned later this year.

Dive Leader lectures – Lecture program on-going

Dates for your diary

14^th – 17^th July.2000 – Hallsands (FULLY BOOKED)

29^th – 30^th July.2000 – Harbour Regatta

Sunday 6th August – Hard Hat diving at Portland

August 2000 – Club Annual trip away (Mariazion or Maenporth)

Sunday 10th September – Hard Hat diving at Portland