Hello everybody……………Well D Day (19th. July 2021) arrived last Monday which means that the club house can now resume as normal, so it will be good to see you all again and, of course, we do need your support. The big news is that our new boat was collected from Hull last Tuesday and will be on display outside the boat shed this evening (Thursday, 22nd July). It really is something to behold, so our thanks go out to everybody who has supported the purchase of this large capital item. It will now go to Conway Marina to be fitted outer with the electronics, (GPS, radio etc) before returning for sea trials closer to home.
Diving – During the last month successful diving trips have been run to Pembroke and Cornwall, so our thanks goes out to Chris Mills and Geoff Oldfield for organising these events. There was, unfortunately, one nasty incident involving Stuart Mathews who besides obeying all diving protocols sustained a spinal bend and had to spend a period of days in and out of a recompression chamber, albeit it he is likely to make a full recovery and is now progressing well. Just pausing for a moment on trips, you must understand that if you put your name down for a trip and then are unable to attend then it is normal that your deposit is forfeit; moreover, you also remain liable for any additional charges incurred by your non-attendance (such as towing). The truth is that we are ultimately tied in with people’s livelihoods and quite naturally they want the full amount agreed with the expedition leader not half the money. If you want to avoid liability you need to find a replacement.
Club House – Part of the recovery process from lockdown will be to put the club house, boat shed and classroom back in use. What is evident is that the club has been used as a dumping ground for rubbish and this now needs to be sorted out by working parties. To that end Martin Campbell will be supplying a skip and anything resembling ‘junk’ will be disposed of at the tip. Moreover, a plethora of diving bottles appears to be growing almost on a weekly basis. You now have a month to remove your bottles after which out of test cylinders will be disposed of or retested by the club and taken into use as their own.
Training Matters – It is hoped that we will receive further direction from the staff of Guinea Gap Baths with regard to swimmer numbers, reopening the changing room, use of showers etc. This means that Thursday Training Nights will receive fresh impetus and really get going again. We expect quite a few people putting themselves forward for Try Dives, so there will be a need for volunteers to assist, remember Dive Leaders can take Try Dives into the pool. Whilst it is true that we are extremely lucky in having a National Instructor and something like six advanced instructors within our ranks, when you drill down further we have very few Open Water Instructors and a group of Assistant Instructors who have not continued with their training. It follows that we are now looking for people to attend the Instructor Foundation Course and become involved in training. In my view, this is probably the best BSAC course on offer, it weighs in at £157 for the weekend, however, the committee has agreed to reimburse £57 to everybody taking part.
Skill Development Course – These will shortly recommence with Assistant Dive Manager (2/3rd.October), Boat Handling (9/10th. October), Diver/Cox Assessment, Practical Rescue Management. The last two have no dates at present, but with regard to SDC’s like Boat Handling you will need to buy the pack (£47) from HQ before undertaking the course. There can be no exceptions to this. Keep an eye on Facebook or the Notice board in the club for further information.
That’s it folks, take care and safe diving.
Alan Jones