Hello everybody…………………..It only seems like yesterday that I was talking about the beginning of the diving season and here we are drawing towards the end. August, in particular, was an extremely busy months with diving expeditions to Scapa Flow, Pembroke, Anglesey and Plymouth. For whatever reason the underwater viz has been a bit below what you would reasonably expect at this time of the year, but has certainly not stopped nor really detracted from the level of enjoyment.
We have now taken possession of the new boat which has been professionally fitted out and now start to run in the engine which takes 10 hours. However, this should have been achieved by the end of September and additionally, the repair to the Tornado will be completed well before then.
Thanks to the good offices of Martin Campbell in proving a skip, the club has been able to clear and dispose of most of the junk that had accumulated over the previous year. My thanks also go out to all the people who assisted in clearing not only the club and boatshed, but also the surround area. Very well done!. Moreover, most of the bottles which had been stored there have been reclaimed by their owners, albeit about six remain. These will now be tested by the club and taken into use. Should an owner appear then we would expect then to pay for the test and make a donation to the club for the inconvenience.
There are a number of diving/training and SDC opportunities on the horizon. These include:-
25/26th. September – Dave Edwards is running a diving weekend on Anglesey, so if you are interested you need to contact him.
2/3rd October – Assistant Dive Manager Training, Anglesey – This event is being run by Geoff Oldfield and is part of the revised Dive Leader sylabus, though I don’t have any further information to hand.
9/10th. October – Boat Handling SDC – This event is now full with the following people having signed up to take part, Sean Madigan, Belinda Condron, Dave Edwards, Kate Condron, Paul Berry, Andy Parsons, Graeme Cooper, Shaun Williams, Hannah Williams and Mark Williams.
The cost of the training package has gone up to £49.50 and you will now need to forward the cash to me soonest (cheques or bank transfer also fine) so that I may order the materials. No money means you cannot attend on a promise of future payment.
Finally, can I remind that the club dinner has been arranged for Saturday, 30th. October at Birkenhead Park Rugby Club at a cost of £40 per person. The numbers are limited to just over 100 and when I last checked the list was starting to look rather full. Those interested need to contact Dave Edwards direct to avoid disappointment.
Alan Jones
Chairman