CLUBFOCUS
Pat Holliday dives Durdle Door
Boat handling practice , Stowe Lake
organising events and training that get multiple clubs together . It ’ s easier to get instructors in , and their time achieves far more for members . We are all members of our club , but we are all members of a much bigger club too – BSAC .
What type of diving is going on ?
We mostly go recreational diving , but there are some cave divers , trimix divers and rebreather divers in the club . We get a Portland Harbour licence for the RIB each year , which gives us access to a good variety of dive sites even when the weather is not being kind . In the past year , we ’ ve also dived from charter boats in Mull , the Isle of Man , the Farnes , and our next trip is to Lundy . We aim for at least one warmwater trip a year : the Red Sea remains a favourite . In 2022 , 58 of our members did
824 club dives . During the last decade , our dives / diver / year statistic has increased steadily from 11.9 then to 14.2 today .
Is it easy to look after your assets ?
Our Equipment Officer is very diligent and is lucky to have a few knowledgeable members to help . We raised £ 1,090 through a recent GoFundMe page to contribute towards repairs to the jetty at the Blue Lagoon . Shout out to a local open-water swimming club called the Blue Tits that helped by contributing towards costs and labour .
Do you get involved in other local projects ?
We help with the annual duck race , we ’ ve cleared a local river of rubbish , above and below water , even removed a dead swan for the fire brigade . We help clean the sea lion tanks at Woburn Safari Park . We do regular clean-up dives at the Blue Lagoon . You may have heard of Wheelsdan , a paraplegic record-breaking diver ? We provided inwater support for his world record attempt at the Fastest Freshwater 5K Scuba Dive , Arms Only , at Stoney Cove .
Anything else you ’ d like to tell SCUBA magazine readers about ?
We welcome other clubs to dive at the Blue Lagoon , subject to certain conditions . Diving is possible at 10.30am on Sundays all year and at 6.30pm on Wednesdays , April to September . You just have to contact our Diving Officer at least 48 hours in advance of diving . Each visiting diver will need a day membership of MKSAC , which costs a fiver . So why not come and see for yourself ? �
32 Members from nearby clubs at the IFC