the evening , all the lights went out , cutting off the electricity in the area and more importantly the WiFi , sending everyone under the age of 40 into a blind panic .
After a chilly night , we awoke to find the road iced over , and the route down into Ingleton blocked by a massive tree that had also taken a wall out , but luckily not hit anything else . The owner of the tree was pecking away at it with a little chainsaw and a tractor , so a group of us pitched in to help , shifting wood out of the way until a forestry van turned up , two men got out and hefted the world ’ s largest chainsaw out of the back then chopped through the massive trunk in about 30 seconds . Show-offs .
Meanwhile the only 4x4 vehicle in the group had been making a mercy dash through the hills to Settle , for essential supplies of beer , crisps and chocolate , then another mercy dash as we were down to one roll of toilet paper .
Saturday night we cooked a meal on the ( luckily ) gas cooker by torchlight , covered it thickly with grated cheese , then spent the evening chatting and playing daft games .
Sunday , we awoke to a crisp , still , clear morning . The roads were still icy but just about passable , so we gingerly made our way to Capernwray and engaged Extreme Faff Mode , sorting out suits , regs and other kit for the trainees . We had a couple of people as shore cover , logging divers in and out , fetching the inevitable blocks of weight and acting as safety cover .
It ended up a successful day , with lots of trainees getting a couple of dives in and managing to keep warmish in the cafe . With the water above 10 ° but the car park at -3 , the steaming lake was almost quite nice to get into . We have plans to finish off the qualification dives early next year to get them ready for the first trips – an overseas trip at Easter , a few weekenders and the big one to Skye in the summer of 22 . ALEX ‘ WOZ ’ WARZYNSKI , University of Nottingham SAC
Ilfracombe ’ s delayed 60th
ONE OF THE OLDEST DIVE CLUBS IN THE COUNTRY HAS FINALLY BEEN ABLE TO celebrate at a special event in the Carlton Hotel , Ilfracombe . Covid-19 has challenged Ilfracombe and North Devon Sub-Aqua Club ’ s resilience , but now we have finally celebrated 60 years of diving the North Devon coast , albeit in our 61st year !
The club was convened as an early branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club , which itself was only formed four years earlier . In the early days , our divers used homemade kit , including wet suits and even converted Calor gas valves . Today , the club offers training of the highest standards , with the latest equipment . We welcome new trainees to help take the club into the future . Founder member Brian Watts , now our President , was one of those intrepid divers using the converted Calor gas valves . Having held pretty much every office in the club ’ s history , Brian has decided at the age of 90 to pause diving and take up surfing ! TONY FREEMAN , Ilfracombe and North Devon Sub-Aqua Club
Instructor ’ s pride at Bracknell
BRACKNELL BSAC HAVE JUST HELD OUR AGM . WE GRABBED THE OPPORTUNITY TO take the attached photo . The young lad on the left is Evan Melleney , who is a newly qualified Ocean Diver , trained during Covid , and who was awarded our prestigious Most Promising Diver Award . Next to him is his dad , Neil Melleney . On the far right is Felicity Townsend , his grandmother . The tall chap in the middle is Chris Edwards , a BSAC Advanced Diver and Open Water Instructor , who trained all three of them . How many instructors have had the opportunity , commitment and longevity to have trained three generations of the same family ! NIC HALLETT , Publicity Officer , Bracknell BSAC
Ullapool over the rainbow
I THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE A SHORT REPORT ON A TRIP TO ULLAPOOL , Scotland in mid-October , 2021 , with nine members from Sutton Coldfield SAC 0425 . Our former Diving Officer Paul Wright organised this trip to take the club ’ s two RIBs and eight members to a beautiful part of the world , 508 miles each way from Sutton Coldfield .
It was worth the long trip , as we arrived to stay in a wonderful holiday home , Dolphin House , overlooking Loch Broom . Our plans were slightly thwarted with unsettled weather , but we managed to cover six dive sites over our four-day stay . The wrecks Fairweather V and MV Innisjura were rewarding and other loch scenic dives ensured scallops were obtained .
I took a few photos but there ’ s one in particular that stands out . While waiting in the RIB for divers to surface I saw a full rainbow touching the sea - the other image shows our group in good spirits . Alan Fleming , Sutton Coldfield SAC
29