ENVIRONMENT
Taking it further
Proper planning for prosperous projects
Now ’ s the time to start planning our diving for next year – Jane Maddocks has some advice to help you devise a project for 2022
For most of us , the past year has been about getting back in the water , recovering , improving old skills and just enjoying diving . For branches and centres , it has been about a cautious opening-up and resumption of training .
So , having done all that , we now approach mid-winter , and for many of us diving is reduced – and certainly colder – but we can use this time to make sure that 2022 is the best diving year for a long time . Winter is also an opportunity to revisit the BSAC webinar series . There are presentations covering a huge range of diving activities , and are well worth watching again .
Part of my plan is to get to the Kernow Festival 2022 ( see Yo-Han Cha ’ s page in this issue ]. This 20th anniversary bash will take place over the weekend of June 11th , with excellent South Cornwall diving , barbecues and a great social get-together on offer . Divers have come from all over the UK in previous years , and the 20th anniversary is going to
The image shows photogrammetry from the widely publicised Project Highball expedition
be spectacular . Keep an eye on what is happening at kernowdiving . org . uk
This is also the time of year when we plan our future dive trips , booking skippers for hardboats , or making sure the RIB is ‘ winterised ’, keeping it in good condition as trips to dive sites further away are organised .
It ’ s also the perfect time to sit in front of the fire or with members and friends , to plan next year ’ s project . A new guide , Planning a Small Diving Project , is now live on the BSAC website - bsac . com / projectsguide . It gives comprehensive guidelines about what branches or small groups of diving friends can do , and how to set up something that is fun and achievable for all grades of diver . The advice is geared towards small projects that can be done in a couple of days of diving . More ambitious projects will benefit from consulting the Expedition Manual .
“ For me , an ideal way to spend the winter is finding my next wreck project ”
Planning now will give the branch , centre , or group of friends , time to work out what skills are needed to make the project work . For some branches , persuading your Open Water Instructors to run the Marine Life Appreciation Course will really help next year as you identify the critters on the reef you want to survey as a project . Maybe some of your diving friends are Seasearch Observer trained and can get the project details sorted out .
My main interest is wrecks . For me , an ideal way to spend the winter is finding my next wreck project . My dive buddies are doing the theory for both the BSAC Wreck Diving Course and the BSAC Wreck Survey Course . The practical elements are waiting for slightly warmer water so we can get out to sea to do them . I am already looking at other friends I will dive with and working out how I can best use their talents to make my wreck ’ s story come alive .
If you are planning a diving project , it ’ s also worth checking out the British Sub-Aqua Jubilee Trust site . Anyone who got a BSAJT grant for their diving projects has to submit a report which is made public . Reading the reports can give you really good ideas about what you and your diving friends could try .
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