Fun in the sun dive trips throughout the season. Keeping this invaluable asset in top-tier condition is a monumental task, undertaken with immense dedication by our Boat Officer, Glen. The club’ s success on the water is further supported by the tireless generosity of Guy, Andy, Glen, and Ian, who kindly take turns using their personal vehicles to tow the boat to various locations. Their commitment, along with Glen’ s expert maintenance, ensures that our boat is always ready, safe and reliable for exploring dive sites, making them the unsung heroes of our club.
Where do you go diving?
The club visits local quarries for training and refresher dives at Dosthill, Stoney Cove, Cromhall, and Capenwray. We mostly do RIB diving through the summer months and get to the south coast as often as possible. Last year the club enjoyed good
Welfare officer Andrea S training with Will and Sean
Josh, our paramedic, at the annual CPR demonstration viz at Plymouth on several occasions. We also visited Cornwall and Swanage and West Bay in Dorset. We witnessed the bloom of octopus, which was remarkable.
Do you dive with a purpose?
The club has exciting plans this year as we have a newly appointed Marine Champion who is keen to develop the environmental side of our activities, helped by both divers and snorkellers. Our priority is to give our newer divers maximum support through to Sports Diver, also encouraging them to take the boat-handling course.
Who is in your instructor team?
We have nine Open Water Instructors, two Assistant OWIs, four Assistant Diving Instructors and three Snorkel Instructors. We deliver most training in-house, although recently some members have enjoyed Practical Rescue Management SDCs and buoyancy workshops with
Regional Coaches. We have run our own Boat Handling course with a visiting instructor from another BSAC branch.
Where do you carry out your training?
Training begins at the leisure centre, then progresses to a local 5m deep pool, thanks to kind host Sandwell BSAC, before venturing to 6m at inland sites. We run a number of sea trips focused on younger members to build experience and give them their first sea dive. Similarly, our Sports Diver course incorporates practice at Sandwell’ s pool ahead of open water drills.
What is the club proud of achieving in the past year?
A big club project has been to get all the equipment belonging to the club itemised and logged on a spreadsheet, photographed and labelled. Our Equipment Officer is now being shadowed by Regan, a
Andy helps re-joined member Martin refresh his skills
Club Treasurer Andrea H training with Jane
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