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Video nation
A NEW COLLECTION OF SHORT PROMO videos is now available for members to share on their social media or club websites .
Designed to appeal to a wide range of potential scuba divers , the videos cover themes such as learning to dive , making friends , travel , protecting the environment and more .
The videos are an effective way to promote your club and increase engagement , and BSAC members . Depending on what your club wishes to achieve , whether it ’ s to attract new try divers or already trained members , these eye-catching videos can also enhance the performance of your website .
Both clubs and members are also welcome
Final journey of a ship ’ s bell
A PIECE OF MARITIME HISTORY HAS been presented to an Irish town after divers returned the bell of SS Dundalk to the Louth County Museum .
The divers from BSAC Centre Discover Diving in the Isle of Man made the journey to Dundalk , Co . Louth , to return the ship ’ s bell and its wrought-iron hanger , as well as a porthole and washbasin .
The flagship of the Dundalk and Newry Steam Packet Company , SS Dundalk was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in November 1918 as she made her way back from Liverpool . The tragedy led to the loss of 21 men , mostly from the Dundalk area .
The sinking had a profound effect on the community , and the return of the ship ’ s relics some 105 years later means they can now go on permanent display in the museum .
The artefacts returned to the town were recovered from the ship ’ s wreck site , three miles off the coast of Douglas , during a trip organised by the Dundalk Diving Club in 2019 . However , during the first recovery dive , the bell was lost , so Discover Diving ’ s Steve Cowley , Michelle Haywood and to share the videos on their own social media .
The short videos can be downloaded for reupload to social media pages or embedded directly if used on a website .
All videos are available in square format for use on Instagram and Facebook , or in portrait if used on TikTok . Some of the videos are also provided in landscape to show on web pages or TV screens .
For more information and to download the new videos go to bsac . com / shortvideos
Kathryn Fowler returned to the site two days later to successfully recover it .
The team then went to great lengths to clean up and preserve the items , as Michelle explains .
“ The bell was initially soaked in water and then mild acid to remove the marine life . The wrought iron hanger spent six months in a wheelie bin in a caustic soda solution attached to a battery charger to cause a reverse hydrolysis reaction to remove the salt from the layers of metal . It was then baked at 80 degrees for three days , then the temperature was gradually increased to 180 over a 10-day period to dry it out .”
After declaring the finds to the Receiver of Wreck , plans to return the artefacts to Dundalk in 2020 were thwarted by the pandemic . Fast-forward to September 2023 , and the ship ’ s bell and other artefacts were finally repatriated to Dundalk in the company of Michelle and the Discover Diving team .
“ We knew the importance of the bell to the town , so once the Receiver of Wreck had awarded the title to us , it was always our intention to return the bell for display ,” said Michelle .
More than 100 people from the Dundalk Relatives Association attended the handover at the museum , where the Dundalk ’ s bell will now be on display on a long-term loan .
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BOOKS FOR UNDERWATER EXPLORERS
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