A great night was had by all on Saturday night at Team Sport in Liverpool. Big thanks to John Dunne for organising and wearing a very fetching Pink race suite. We had a really good turn out with so many we had to split into two groups. Some great racing as well as some very ‘competitive’ driving seeing quite a few drivers black flagged and having to go to the pits for a telling off!
At the end of the evening Martin Campbell and Kelly Baird took the honors in the two group final races and after a good laugh everyone headed off into town for a few beers and a plenty of discussions over tactics.
The Green Group. 3rd John Dunne, 2nd Mike Mansell and 1st Martin Campbell.
The Yellow Group. 3rd Robbie Edwards, 2nd Alex Naylor and 1st Kelly Baird.
This is a presentation for all diver grades but primarily aimed at prospective Dive Leaders and Advanced Divers to give them an insight into what is required to plan and execute a successful dive expedition.
Booking: To register, please add your name and number to the sheet on the club notice board
John Dunne is organising a karting night at TeamSport in Liverpool. The date is now confirmed as 25th February. The cost if £50 and details of the evening are below. If you are interested put your name down on the sheet on the club noticeboard or contact John directly.
Exclusive Grand Prix
Race it out to the finish line in our grand prix styled race. Groups can enjoy exclusive use of the track during the sessions, which consist of a combined practice and qualifying session, followed a short break before lining up on the grid ahead of the big race. There can only be one winner on top of the podium – so make sure it’s you who takes home the gold, and not your nearest rivals!
If you’re looking for an event with a little bit extra, this is the event for you! Whether you’re celebrating an occasion or just simply want to enjoy some high-octane fun with your mates or family, we’ve got you covered. With guaranteed exclusive use of the track for your group, an upgraded race format and trophy presentation to finish – you can arrange an event to remember!
Who can race? Grand Prix are available for ages 14+ with a minimum inside leg measurement of 29 inches (Adult karts only) and groups must have a minimum of 12 depending on track capacity at your desired location. Some of our larger locations require a minimum of 14, 16 drivers or if we are running on one our awesome international circuits.
What’s the format? It’s a simple yet very effective race format built with finding the ultimate champion in mind. Once you have been signed in, kitted out in your racewear and been through our safety briefing, its race time! You and your group will have exclusive use of the circuit whilst on track and will start things off with some practice laps to learn the circuit and get to grips with your kart before moving onto qualifying which is all about the fastest lap, just like in Formula 1 it only takes a touch of magic on one lap to take pole position. Your race will start out on the grid with an endurance style sprint to the chequered flag, where the aim is to hang to first place or risk the glory being snatched from you by your competitors. After every session on circuit drivers are rewarded with a break where you’ll be able to view your personalised lap times via email, or via our free app, of your performance and after the final session at the end of your Grand Prix it’s capped off with a trophy presentation for the top 3 drivers over on the podium.
The exact format and timings do vary from venue to venue as listed below: 2 x 15 minute – 5 minute practice leads straight into a 10 minute qualifying session, the race is a 15 minute sprint to the chequered flag.
What’s included?
Race-suit and helmet hire
Safety briefing
Exclusive track use
Personalised lap times emailed to you or available by downloading our app
Trophy presentation
How long is the experience? We recommend to allow 1.5 – 2 hours in total from arrival for your Exclusive Grand Prix experience for groups of up to 30.
All members of your group will be requested to arrive at the venue 30 minutes prior to your designated track time. We’ll get everyone signed in, into their race-suits and after a short safety briefing everyone will head to the pits.
There was a great turn out again for the annual new years days tug of war competition between the Mersey Divers and the New Brighton Lifeboat Crew. The good weather brought out a huge crowd to watch the very well organised lifeboat crew win again with another 2-0 victory. Although we had them worried this time on the first pull!
The Mayor of Wirral, Councillor Jeff Green, was there to officiate and present the Bob Grant memorial trophy to the well deserved winners.
A big thanks to the New Brighton Lifeboat Crew for organising the event as well as providing a great buffet afterwards. Thanks also to everyone from Mersey Divers who took part and came to support their side. Thanks to Vince Clegg for the photo’s.
The event is held to collect much needed donations to help support the RNLI. With the great weather and a large crowd over £1400 was raised for a great cause.
The Major will be running a diving holiday from the Divewise Dive Centre, St Julian Bay, Malta between Monday, 5th. June and Thursday, 15th June 2023, that is a 10 day period and the idea is to give everyone as much freedom as possible to make whatever arrangements suit them. Therefore you can go for a week, a long weekend or the full ten days. The basic flight details for the Monday are on Easyjet, Flight number EZY 2273 departing at 0540 hours in the morning. The return leg a week the following Thursday is on Easyjet, Flight number EZY 2274, departing Malta at 1125 hours. In recent times we have chosen to stay at the Cavalieri Hotel which is no more than a 10 minute walk from the dive centre. This offers great accommodation and is suitable for families. Some punters have also chosen to book a package holiday through Love Travel that comes out at about £800 for the week including flights. This may be the best deal in town. However, there is a wide variety of accommodation close to the dive centre to suit all pockets ranging from hostels to five star hotels. So the main points are as follows:
It is suitable for all grades of divers from Ocean Diver to Technical Diver and all grades in-between. The diving really is excellent and in very clear water.
You can do as much or as little diving as you want, also non diving partners and children are perfectly welcome.
You are expected to book your own flights and accommodation (list of suitable hotels is available).
Alan will book the transfers for you and arrange the diving you want to do via Divewise.
It was another very successful dinner dance and awards evening this this year, held yet again at Birkenhead Park Rugby Club. There was a great turn out with nearly a hundred members, partners, family members and friends enjoying themselves. After drinks and introductions there was the usual meal supplied by Alleycats, followed by more drinks, a lengthy prize draw and then the awards.
This year Steve Mills was awarded Diver of the Year in recognition of all the hard work put over many years behind the scenes and for having completed his cave 1 course.
Steve Mills – Diver of the Year
The Andy Marshall memorial trophy for trainee of the year went to Wendy Pretlove.
Wendy Pretlove – Trainee of the Year
There was a special club award this year to Steve McElroy for all his work over many years, especially with training.
Steve McElroy – Special Award
Next were awards for this years diving achievements. Quite a few this year thanks to the massive efforts of the training officers, Steve McElroy, Terry Maloney and Steve Mills as well as the many instructors who have given up lots of their time this year.
Wendy Pretlove – Ocean Diver
Phil Hughes – Ocean Diver
Jourdan McSweeney – Ocean Diver
Ange Coggins – Ocean Diver
Phil Coggins – Ocean Diver
Chris Gould – Ocean Diver
Chris Mills – Dive Leader
This year, the Golden Egg award for the biggest laugh of the year went to Ange Coggins for her attempts to get out of the water after a shore dive in Porth Dafarch this year.
After a really enjoyable evening, some dodgy dancing and as a result of raffles and auctions just short of £2000 was raised for the club. A very big thanks need to go to Vince Clegg and Graeme Cooper of all their efforts in organising the evening.
Ray Cramer is organising a trip to Holyhead on August 12th / 13th 2023.
The primary dive site lies in a strong tidal flow, there is only one weekend is the first in 2023 with the low current flow (at slack) and a suitably long dive window to allow for two waves of 60 minutes maximum dive times, and that is in October, this weekend is a close second.
Options for dive sites include:
1: Depth 59m Length 85m Height 11m
2: Depth 50m Length 60m Height 5m
Location: The plan is to use the Holyhead slipway. A suitable small campsite could be Cae Ffynnon Caravan and Camping Site, Rhosgoch, Amlwch, Anglesey. LL66 0AB adjacent to the Ring pub.
Dates: August 12th 2023 (15:24) / August 13th 2023 (16:18)
This dive is suitable for technically qualified divers only.
Anyone interested should put their name down on the interest form on the club noticeboard.
Please Note: a place is not reserved until a deposit has been paid.
Ray Cramer is organising a trip to Abersoch on July 15th / 16th 2023.
The dive sites lie offshore in a medium strength tidal flow; this weekend is the first with the lowest current flow (at slack). Another consideration is the launch site – this need investigating since it may be that commercial (office times) are required to access the slipway at Abersoch.
Options for dive sites include:
1: Depth 55m Length 90m Height 9m
2: Depth 45m Length 80m Height 2m
Location: The plan is to use the Abersoch slipway.
Dates: July 15th 2023 (10:45) / July 16th 2023 (11:31)
This dive is suitable for Dive Leaders and above.
Anyone interested should put their name down on the interest form on the club noticeboard.
Please Note: a place is not reserved until a deposit has been paid. A campsite deposit may also be required when this is booked.
Ray Cramer is organising a trip to Fishguard on June 17th / 18th 2023.
The dive sites lie offshore in a medium strength tidal flow; this weekend is the first with the lowest current flow (at slack). Another consideration is the launch site – the high water times for Fishguard are early enough to allow for high water access to the slipway in the early morning, as the flooding high water later in the day will need to be utilized for the boat retrieval (due to the travel times to the dive sites)
Options for dive sites include:
1: Depth 49m Length 71m Height 10m
2: Depth 55m Length 71m Height 11m
Location: The plan is to use the Fishguard slipway.
Dates: June 17th 2023 (11:28) / June 18th 2023 (11:51)
This dive is suitable for Dive Leaders and above.
Anyone interested should put their name down on the interest form on the club noticeboard.
Please Note: a place is not reserved until a deposit has been paid. A campsite deposit may also be required when this is booked.
Ray Cramer is organising a trip to Holyhead on May 27th, 28th & 29th 2023.
The primary dive site lies in a strong tidal flow, this weekend is the first in 2023 with the lowest current flow (at slack) and a suitably long dive window to allow for two waves of 50 minutes maximum dive times.
Options for dive sites include:
1: Depth 38m Length 50m Height 3m
2: Depth 42m Length 45m Height 2.6m
3: Depth 42m Length 32m Height 2m
Location: The plan is to use the Holyhead slipway. A suitable small campsite could be Cae Ffynnon Caravan and Camping Site, Rhosgoch, Amlwch, Anglesey. LL66 0AB adjacent to the Ring pub.
Dates: May 27th 2023 (11:24), May 28th 2023 (12:27), May 29th 2023 (13:29)
This dive is suitable for Dive Leaders and above.
Anyone interested should put their name down on the interest form on the club noticeboard.
Please Note: a place is not reserved until a deposit has been paid.
Ray Cramer is organising a trip to Holyhead on 29th & 30th April 2023.
The primary dive site lies in a strong tidal flow, this weekend is the first in 2023 with the lowest current flow (at slack) and a suitably long dive window to allow for two waves of 50 minutes maximum dive times.
Options for dive sites include:
1: Depth 39m Length 32m Height 3.8m
2: Depth 37m Length 50m Height 5.5m
3: Depth 42m Length 34m Height 7m (Sank 1971)
Location: The plan is to use the Holyhead slipway. A suitable small campsite could be Cae Ffynnon Caravan and Camping Site, Rhosgoch, Amlwch, Anglesey. LL66 0AB adjacent to the Ring pub.
Dates: April 29th 2023 (13:16) / April 30th 2023 (14:20)
This dive is suitable for Dive Leaders and above. You must ensure that you are dive fit and ready for this early season dive.
Anyone interested should put their name down on the interest form on the club noticeboard.
Please Note: a place is not reserved until a deposit has been paid.
Branch 5 team: Tony Fitzpatrick (trip organiser), Ian Bennett, Graeme Cooper, Tony McFarlane, Andy Parsons, Dave Roberts, Jan Ryan, Chris Woolerton
Tony Fitz Exploring the Elpida
Dive centre and accommodation A big thank you to Tony Fitzpatrick for organising a brilliant week of diving at Pissouri Bay Divers in Cyprus. Dive centre owner, Steve, is a total professional, who has an absolute love of diving. He and his team set up an excellent dive programme of wrecks, reefs and wildlife for us, and our group and Steve’s team were on the same wavelength from the outset, with banter and jokes flying from all sides. The dive centre is very well set up, with a shop, briefing room/workshop, kit washing/drying area and compressor.
Pissouri Bay Sunset
Our accommodation, at Kotzias Apartments, was five minutes’ walk from the dive centre, and offered well maintained holiday apartments, with cooking facilities and balconies for drying off clothes and/or dive kit. (Though in fact, we were able to leave all our dive gear safely at the dive centre to dry out overnight.)
Pissouri Bay by Night
The Dives etc
Ian, Jan and Andy, Airport Reef
Day 1, Saturday: Airport Reef
Two shakedown dives at Airport Reef opened proceedings. The site was a shore entry, located adjacent to Paphos airport. Irregular rocks, steeply shelving sand and unpredictable waves made the entry challenging. However, once in the water, a nice series of gullies led out to sea grass and sand, with a max depth of around 16 metres on both dives. There wasn’t much sea life to be found, apart from a few shoals of small fish. The exit was also hard work, even with fins off, and rocky potholes lurked under the waves, causing a few slips. Nevertheless, the dives were a nice reintroduction to warm water diving, with a sea temperature of around 27° C.
Surface Interval, Jan with Emma and Nikki from Pissouri Bay Divers
Day 2, Sunday: The Zenobia
Andy on the Zenobia
The massive Zenobia vehicle ferry wreck is justifiably Cyprus’s best known dive site. Our group headed out early driving over to Larnaca to board the dive boat “Queen Zenobia” for two dips on the 172 metre long wreck. Depths on the wreck rang from 16 to 42 metres, with the ship sitting on its side, at 90° to the sea bed. To take account of NCD limits, diver grades and personal dive preferences, the group split into various configurations to examine the wreck’s exterior features, such as its lifeboats and deck winches, and penetrate the interior. Across the two
dives, we explored the accommodation area and swam through the Zenobia’s cavernous vehicle hold, with its cargo of over 100 lorries still chained to the now vertical decks.
One of the Zenobia’s Trucks
On the line, Zenobia
Cooling off on the ‘Queen Zenobia’ Dive Boat
Day 3, Monday: Jubilee Shoals
Swim-Through, Jubilee Shoals
A short RHIB ride out of Pissouri (thanks to boat owner, Yiannis), took us to a fascinating area of pinnacles, walls and swim throughs, with depths ranging from around 10 metres, dropping off to what looked like around 60 metres or more. The group dived in two waves, with both groups covering the same plan. The site features an impressive 60 metre cave swim through, though the cave entrance, at around 36 metres, meant that not everyone did this one. However, on the second dive, we found a previously unknown cave and chimney, which gave a nice swim though, exiting vertically through the chimney. Another feature was the wing (or tail stabilizer?) from an RAF Canberra, which crashed on the shoals in 1954. Little seems to be known about the crash, or the location of any other wreckage, so there is scope for more exploratory dives. We also spotted first turtle of the trip at Jubilee Shoals, though unfortunately, it was not seen by everyone.
Stunning Underwater Scenery
Day 4, Tuesday: Constandis and Lady Thetis (Limassol Wrecks)
Ian Enjoying the Dive
These are two purpose-sunk wrecks, just out from Limassol. Steve enlisted the services of Limassol dive shop owner Marcel, who took us, plus a few more divers besides, on board his large RHIB for the short run out to the trawler, Constandis. The wreck sits upright, at around 24 metres depth to sea bed. Much of the machinery used for hauling in the nets is still in place, which makes the wreck’s exterior interesting. The interior is easily penetrated, with exits visible at all times. A resident grouper greeted the various divers as the descended down the line., and we spent an enjoyable dive swimming through the cabins and engine room.
After a short surface interval ashore, we headed out again, this time to the Lady Thetis, which sits upright in around 18 metre of water. Again, there were plenty of easy swim-throughs, and as well as more groupers. As on many local sites, lionfish have also taken up residence on the wreck. These were two very enjoyable dives, with plenty of opportunity to practise penetration skills.
Ian Lining up a Shot
Day 5, Wednesday: The Elpida and the Zenobia (second visit)
Diving the Elpida
The day’s dives took us back to the Zenobia, again aboard the “Queen Zenobia” dive boat. But first, we dropped in on the wreck of the Elpida (Greek for Hope), a purpose-sunk 63 metre-long cargo vessel, which sits at a max depth of 28 metres, in effect forming an artificial reef. Arriving at the site, the wreck was clearly visible from the surface, with schools of fish finning over the vessel. As we dropped down the down the shot line, it was clear that this large wreck would give ample opportunity for penetration, but again with plenty of visible exits available at all times. The ship was sunk in 2019, but has already attracted a healthy population of marine life, which, combined with great visibility, made for an excellent dive.
Surface Interval Aboard the ‘Queen Zenobia’
After the Elpida, we moved on to revisit the Zenobia. This gave us a chance to explore some different locations on the wreck, or get a different view of familiar ones. Divers who had not penetrated the accommodation area on the previous dives were able to take this route, while another group dropped down to swim up inside the now vertical bridge section. But even after three dives on this trip, there is still plenty more to see on the Zenobia and a return visit is essential. Andy summed it up: “Highligh of the whole week, dropping through the bridge, mind blowing stuff. Thanks again to Tony for organising an awesome week.”
Dropping Through the Zenobia’s Bridge
Day 6, Thursday: Museum of Underwater Sculpture Ayia Napa (MUSAN) and Green Bay or exploration dive on Jubilee Shoals
MUSAN Underwater Museum
This was our final day of diving, and we had a choice of scenic dives – one at Ayia Napa’s underwater sculpture park and a second at the Green Bay nature reserve – or a drift dive to explore more of Jubilee Shoals. Most of the group went for the MUSAN and Green Bay option, and the sculpture park lived up to its billing as a top site for photography, with the sculptures featuring a range of environmental themes. Green Bay presented turtles and cuttlefish, among other marine life.
Cuttlefish get up close with Ian
The Jubilee Shoals group had a good drift dive along the main wall, dropping to around 30 metres to revisit the chimney swim though and take a closer look at the Canberra plane wreck. No further wreckage was spotted, and with the wish to avoid deco, there wasn’t the option to stay longer or look deeper. Steve from the dive centre is planning to explore further, so next time Branch 5 visit the site, more of the Canberra’s story might be know.
Thursday night: team dinner and sad news of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
With Thursday being our last diving day, we organised a night out with our group, the Pissouri Bay Divers team and several other divers who’d joined us on trips over the week. The evening was in full swing when phones began pinging and a nearby bar started playing the UK national anthem. Although not unexpected, the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing still came as a shock. Andy summed up everyone’s thoughts by proposing a toast to honour the late queen and the new king. The toast was gladly made by all present, British, Cypriot and other nationalities, which reflects the high regard in which Queen Elizabeth II is held across the world. She will be greatly missed.
Another Night Out
Day 7, Friday: down-time
A late flight on Friday night allowed us to spend the day at the apartment complex’s pool and giving time to ensure that everyone’s no-fly restrictions had cleared. The final part of a highly enjoyable dive trip was for us all to drop back down to Pissouri Bay Divers to say our final goodbyes to Steve and his team, and discuss plans for a return trip next year.
A Big Thank You to Tony for Organising
Chilling Out at Bay Tree Bar
We’d like to thank… As mentioned, Tony Fitzpartrick took the initiative to organise the trip, and spent much time exchanging emails with Steve to put together a comprehensive diving programme with sites and activities to suit all members of our group. Having dived with Pissouri Bay Divers before, Tony knew that Steve and his team would be a good fit for a Branch 5 group. Both Tony and Steve were also a great source of knowledge on which local bars and restaurants to visit, including “up the hill” in the charming old village of Pissouri. Thank you again to Tony for getting it all together for us and ensuring we had a great trip.
The Hoff
As a note on Pissouri Bay Divers, they are certified as both a BSAC Resort Centre and a PADI school, and have an extremely wide breadth of knowledge and experience. Steve and his team worked ceaselessly to make sure that everything ran smoothly for us, including sorting out a couple of glitches with kit (at no charge), and regularly ordered in a case of beer to assist with post-dive debriefs. A big thank you to Steve, Nikki, Mike, Holly and Emma.
Night out at Perry’s (Tony Mc not Pictured)
We were also joined on most of our dives by some of Pissouri Bay Divers’ regular customers, who either live in Cyprus, or come out from the UK to dive with them every year. As you might expect, they are a great bunch of divers, so a big shout-out also goes to Jack, Shaun, Kathy, Daz (Darren) and Paul.
Team Photo
Photos courtesy of Jan, Dave, Andy, Ian, Tony and Graeme.
