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Send your letters to simon @ scubamagazine . co . uk
Guillemot rescued
– team effort !
THIS STARTED OFF WITH AN ORGANISED DIVE TRIP TO ST Abbs in mid-April , involving four dive clubs – Dearne Valley Divers ; Barnsley BSAC ; Rothwell and Stanley SAC and Dunoon Divers .
The boat was MV Shore Diver with skipper Paul Crowe from Dive St Abbs .
On the Sunday after the second dive at Black Carr , Paul Crowe spotted a bird at West Hurker that was caught up in fishing line and asked if we would rescue it . So , without a second thought , a couple of divers volunteered to go help the stricken guillemot – Geoff Fox and Peter Fawcett from Rothwell and Stanley . They managed to free the bird from the fishing line , but some was still was wrapped around its wing . They headed back to the boat to be collected . At this point , three more divers got involved . Gary Partridge ( Barnsley ) took hold of the bird , while Shaz Bailey ( Dearne Valley ) and Callum Ellwood ( Dunoon ) set about cutting the line from the bird ’ s wing . The bird was released back into the water . At first it dived down before reappearing further along , prompting a group cheer from the boat and a cheer was had all round .
This is why I love diving – I get to meet people from all over , and my clubs know that I will talk to anyone . It gives me the opportunity to arrange dives with a diverse bunch of people willing to collaborate with each other . CLARE PETTINGER , Rothwell and Stanley SAC and Dearne Valley Divers
Aberdeen embraces Diving for All
ABERDEEN SUB-AQUA CLUB ( BSAC 67 ) IS a growing and thriving club , diving the cold seas around the North-East coast of Scotland . Having doubled its membership in the last two years , the club was searching for something different that would give its excited young team some new challenges and allow the club to put something back
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Left to right : Geoff Clarke , Paul Crookbain , Therese ( Tee ) and Lee into the wider community .
In November last year , we decided to start a Diving for All ( DfA ) programme to give people with different abilities the opportunity to try scuba . With no prior experience of this area of diving , we did some groundwork to identify how we could start slowly and safely , and decided to start with members of the amputee community . They wrote to local disability support groups and quickly found some keen amputees to give scuba a go !
In February , we ran our first DfA Try Dives , which were hugely successful ; the new divers loved being underwater and are now converts , desperate to return ! Having gained confidence and a better understanding of the factors involved with DfA , the club will soon be extending the opportunity to try scuba diving to people with all other kinds of disabilities , the club are now arranging try dives for the visually impaired and paraplegics .
We have also just completed a highly successful fundraiser , which raised nearly £ 1,100 for specialist equipment and to cover pool costs so that the DFA Try Dives can be offered for free .
We have received great feedback from the volunteers : “ Myself and fellow right above knee amputee Lee were very kindly invited by Aberdeen Sub-Aqua club to a taster night at a pool in Aberdeen . When we arrived , everyone was so welcoming